Funded projects 2021
Table of contents
Expansion/ extension of research cooperation
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: March 01, 2021 - May 31, 2021
Applicant: Dipl.-Ing. Lucas Klinkenbusch, PROFESSUR FÜR GEBÄUDELEHRE UND ENTWERFEN:, Faculty of Architecture
School: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Participating partners:
- University of Nairobi (Kenya)
- Makerere University (Uganda)
Within the scope of the funding provided by the flexible funding program for internationalization, a networking trip was carried out. This is intended to serve as a starting point for new teaching and research projects, which are to be implemented in the context of the network "East African Education Collaboration" (EAEC) to be created. In the long run, cooperations and university partnerships between the TU Dresden and the participating partners shall be established. Among other things, this should enable the exchange of students and teachers within the framework of joint study projects, the development of a concept for a project house as a "Project Problem Identification Center" as well as the initiation of third-party funded projects with partners from Europe and Africa.
For the first time for the TU Dresden, networking with the three universities in Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda will open up a joint academic dialogue on urban and spatial development. The access to research fields in East Africa for researchers of the TU Dresden, which is opened by the networking with the partner universities, thereby also increases the attractiveness of the TU Dresden as a science location.
Funding line: Funding for cooperation with strategic partners
Period: 11. April 2020 – 31. Dezember 2021
Applicant: Prof. Dr. Thomas Strassner, Faculty of Chemistry and Food Chemistry
School: School of Science
Participating partners:
- Charles University, Faculty of Science, Prague, Czech Republic
As part of the promotion of cooperation with strategic partners of TU Dresden, this project represents the continuation of the already established collaboration between the research groups of Prof. Strassner and Professor Štěpnička from Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. The joint collaboration has already resulted in two publications in the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry. The collaboration focused on the design and synthesis of new platinum complexes for application in catalysis and materials science. Even though the exchange of staff members between the two chairs could not take place as planned due to the Covid-19 pandemic, short stays on both sides were possible, which in turn created the basis for a further publication. The Charles University also expressed interest in sending young scientists to Prof. Strassner's chair for their doctoral studies - it is evident that the high scientific quality and an international environment make our university an attractive destination for doctoral students.
Covid-19
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.07.2020 – 31.12.2021
Applicant: Roman Rodionov, Medical Clinic and Polyclinic III
School: Medicine
Participating partners:
- Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University, Russia
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, a therapy approach using convalescent plasma to treat Covid-19 patients was sucessfully established through a cooperation between the University Hospital Dresden, the Medical Faculty of the Tu Dresden and the German Red Cross. Within the framework of the funding program Internationalization, the protocol for treatment with convalescent plasma could be shared with the State University of St. Petersburg and thus humanitarian aid could be provided by technology and knowledge transfer. This project is indeed an example of a rather unusual application that was eventually funded by the funding program internationalization. However, in unprecedented times like these, it is essential to use international cooperation networks to support and facilitate the development and distribution of state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic tools to help countries in need.
Digital teaching format
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.04.2021 – 31.07.2021
Applicant: Prof. Dr. rer. pol. habil. Eric Schoop, Chair of Business Information Systems, esp. Information Management, Faculty of Business and Economics
School: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Participating partners:
- Shiraz University, Iran
- Stellenbosch-University, South Africa
The funds provided by the funding program internationalization made it possible to employ specialized e-tutors in the applicant’s chair‘s international virtual mobility teaching module. As part of the TUD-COIIIL project "collaborative online international, interdisciplinary, intercultural learning", the applicant worked with partners from Shiraz University and Stellenbosch University on expanding collaborative online teaching in order to standardize it for transfer to other international teaching collaborations at the TUD. The focus was on an eight-week virtual case study with mixed international teams from the participating universities. The digital cooperation of the students on a collaboration platform requires close tele-tutorial support by didactically qualified e-tutors in order to be successful. The e-tutors, who were specially trained in dealing with intercultural differences among the students, were responsible for preparing the learning project, ensuring a good working atmosphere, documenting learning progress and making their experience available for the evaluation-based further development of the digital, collaborative arrangement. The insights gained from the intensive accompanying research (interviews with students and e-tutors) were sucessfully incorporated into the application process for virTUos (virtual teaching and learning at the TU Dresden). The professorship is involved in the overall project with the sub-project DikoLint (digital, collaborative learning in international teaching).
Funding line: Funding for the cooperation with strategic partners
Period: 01 January 2021 - 31 March 2022
Applicant: Prof. Dr. Christian Louter, Institute of Structural Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering
School: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Participating partners:
- TU Delft (Netherlands)
- CTU Prague (Czech Republic)
Within the framework of the funding, initial financing will be provided for the implementation of a digital teaching cooperation with the TU Delft and the CTU Prague in the field of glass construction. This is to be implemented via an Erasmus+ application. The approved funding via the funding program Internationalization serves the subject-specific preparation of this application.
Already in 2019, the idea of an international teaching cooperation was developed collaboratively with colleagues from TU Delft. On the basis of Open Educational Resources (OER), digital teaching formats are to be created across universities and countries. For this purpose, a project application is to be submitted in 2021 together with TU Delft and CTU Prague within the framework of Erasmus+. The object is the comprehensive virtualization of practical courses and "rare" experiments for provision as OER, for example in the form of videos, animations or Remotelabs.
On the part of the Institute of Structural Engineering of the TU Dresden, an international "Education Community" for the subject area of glass construction will be initiated. Within this framework, further European partners are to be acquired, OER content developed and social media working and publishing media established.
The added value of this planned teaching cooperation is multi-layered. For example, new and high-quality digital teaching content and formats will be available for the TU Dresden. In the long run, the international visibility can be increased, digital study offers can be expanded and the Open Education idea can be carried forward. In particular, the content prepared and developed by the project partners can be used not only by teachers and students, but also by the general public worldwide.
Funding line: Funding for the cooperation with strategic partners
Period: February 01, 2021 - March 31, 2022
Applicant: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Stamm, Institute of Hydraulic Engineering & THM, Faculty of Civil Engineering
School: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Participating partners:
- TU Delft (Netherlands)
- CTU Prague (Czech Republic)
The requested funding will be used for the initial financing of a long-term teaching cooperation with institutes of the Delft University of Technology and the CTU Prague as well as TU-internal partners, such as the Institute of Structural Engineering and the Distance Learning Group of the Faculty of Civil Engineering. The focus of this application is on the development of digital teaching and learning materials in the field of hydraulic engineering and other water-related disciplines. In order to implement these projects, an application for Erasmus+ is to be submitted, which will be prepared as part of the funds provided by the Internationalization funding program. The focus of the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering of the TU Dresden in the academic cooperation is to be the construction of a "virtual hydraulic engineering laboratory". The institute's hydraulic engineering hall is an important basis for the development of virtual and augmented reality applications for teaching and learning purposes.
The teaching cooperation offers the TU Dresden the opportunity to build up expertise and to better position itself internationally, both thematically and strategically, for example through better integration into international e-learning networks. Furthermore, synergy effects are expected from the cooperation with CTU and TU Delft.
Guest stay
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 31.10.2021 - 31.12.2021
Applicant: Professor Dr. Thorsten Claus, Direktor IHI Zittau
Unit: Central Academic Unit
Participating partner:
The winter semester 2020/2021 saw the successful introduction of a double-degree program in the field of international management between IHI Zittau and the St. Petersburg State University of Economics (UNECON). UNECON is one of the most prestigious universities with an economic profile in the Russian Federation and a long-standing partner of the University of Economics in Wrocław, which is also linked to IHI Zittau through a double degree program. This project strengthens the long-standing relationship between the institutions through joint virtual courses and conferences as well as regular partner visits. As part of the project, a research stay of Prof. Fejgin's, which had to be postponed several times due to the pandemic, took finally place in late 2021. During his stay, the status quo and potentials, but also the risks of the economic relations between Eastern Saxony and Russia were to be analyzed - with a clear focus on companies in Eastern Saxony, which are facing special transformation problems due to the upcoming phase-out of brown coal. The insights gained during the stay will be presented to a professorial board in order to discuss further activities (publication, ongoing joint research, third-party funding applications).
Conference/ Meeting/ Symposium/ Colloquium
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 13.10.2021 – 16.10.2021
Applicant: Prof. Dr. Klavdia Smola, Institute of slavic studies, Faculty of Linguistics, Literature and Cultural Studies
School: Humanities and Social Sciences
This international conference, supported by the Internationalization funding program, addressed Soviet unofficial culture as an important medium for storing and analyzing taboo cultural memory. The conference brought together leading scholars (including from Canada, France, Russia, Sweden, Norway, USA) hybrid and at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum Dresden to present current research on the phenomenon of unequal distribution of memory resources and patterns of collective memory as a function of power structures and politics. All talks and presentations are open to the interested public in the form of the research project (Counter-)Archive: Memorial Practices of the Soviet Underground. International collaborations between the professorship and partners were established or strengthened during the conference and have already led to the planning of an edited volume (published by Palgrave MacMillan) scheduled for publication in 2023.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 30.09.2021 – 02.10.2021
Applicant: PD Dr. Mirko Breitenstein Forschungsstelle für Vergleichende Ordensgeschichte, Dresden-concept Project Center (DcPc)
Unit: Central Academic Units
Participating partners:
- Society for Council History Research (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce, Roma / Universität Wien)
- Saxon Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Leipzig
FOVOG was asked by the highly renowned "Society for the History of Councils" to host the conference "Councils and the World of Monasteries" in 2020 (postponed to 2021 due to Corona). In accordance with the internationalization strategy of the TU Dresden, FOVOG is building up various organizational levels of networks of global cooperation in its field of research at the highest international level - be it by means of several Humboldt Fellows and a Humboldt Award Winner, by means of an acquired Mercator Professorship, an international Research Training Group, and more recently by establishing a "Global Association for Historical Research of Monasticism" (GARMon) currently spanning four continents. Despite the unfavorable conditions caused by the pandemic, the conference provided an excellent opportunity to present the TU Dresden and FOVOG as beacons of research in the humanities. With the involvement of young scientists (e.g. through lectures in preparation of the conference), international contacts to research institutions of the Catholic Church could be expanded through the conference. The conference is a successful contribution to the international profile of the TU Dresden.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 16.08.2021 - 18.08.2021
Applicant: Dr. Tatiana Sandoval-Guzmán, Centre for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD)
Unit: Central Academic Units
The Forum series Salamander models in cross disciplinary biological research, which was originally launched in 2018, was held as an online format at the CRTD in 2021. The goal of the series is to expand understanding of salamander models, promote salamander research, and stimulate discussion and collaboration within this research community. More than 200 renowned researchers from around the world gathered online in August 2021 to discuss recent salamander model research, and to participate in online poster sessions and workshops. In addition, the organizers succeeded in expanding collaboration among participants, which is reflected in the initiation of two specific projects. First, a website on the model organism salamander, which will serve as a hub for scientists working in this field, is under construction, and second, the CRTD will play a crucial role in creating an atlas of the model organism salamander by providing tissues, images, and expertise on salamander anatomy. In summary, the Forum has made the TU Dresden an internationally recognized and highly respected expert for salamander research.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 09.06.2021 - 10.06.2021
Applicant: Dr. Thomas Behnisch, Institute of Lightweight Engineering and Polymer Technology (ILK), Faculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering
School: Engineering Sciences
Participating partners:
- Institute of Textile Machinery and High Performance Material Technology (ITM)
- Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF)
With the support of the funding program Internationalization, the "2nd Dresden International Colloquium on Tailored Carbon Fibres" took place in June 2021. The colloquium, which was initiated in 2018, had to be postponed one year due to the pandemic and took place in an online format. The focus of the event is a scientific exchange on the current state of research in the field of carbon fiber research. The colloquium enables an exclusive (almost family-like) and compact exchange, which is usually not possible at large conferences. The ILK benefited directly from the highly topical state of science and was already able to incorporate this in three third-party funding applications. A special focus of the event is also the promotion of young scientists, who were able to present their research results in a Young Investigator Session prominently embedded in the program.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 31.03.2021 – 01.04.2021
Applicant: Juniorprofessor Dr. Tim Buchen, BKM Junior Professorship in Social and Economic Networks of Germans in Eastern Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries, Institute of History, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
School: Humanities and Social Sciences
Participating partners:
- Centre for German-Jewish Studies, University of Sussex
In cooperation with Gerhard Wolf from the University of Sussex (Mr Wolf also stayed at the TU Dresden as a visiting scholar within the Dresden Fellowship Program in 2021), an international conference on forced migration and settlement in modern European history was conceived. Nearly 100 scholars responded to the call for papers, of which 21 were selected. Originally planned for 2020, the conference was postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic and moved to virtual space. The conference brought together international experts in the field, such as Donald Bloxham and Susanne Heim, whose keynotes were also made available to the university public. The presentations and findings of the conference are to be published in an anthology (inquiries are underway with Palgrave Macmillan and Routledge).
By extending the cooperation with a leading university in the UK and numerous experts in Europe, the USA and Hong Kong, as well as the planned publication, the project contributes to increasing the international visibility of the TUD. The topic of migration and settlement in an interdependence perspective enriches the research agenda of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences within the research priority area Culture and Societal Change and marks its position on the international research landscape.
Promotion of early-career researchers
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 25.11.2021 – 30.11.2021
Applicant: Frau Dipl.-Ing. Julia Krafft, Institut für Gebäudelehre und Entwerfen, Faculty of Architecture
School: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Involved partners:
- University of Rwanda, Rwanda
The funding program internationalization supported the initiation of a cooperation between the TU Dresden and the University of Rwanda in the field of architecture. Specifically, discussions were held on-site regarding the applicant’s planned PhD thesis in cooperation with Dr. Josephine Malonza, one of the few female architects with a PhD on the entire African continent. An important part of the trip was the specific identification of suitable neighborhoods in Kigali, Rwanda for the upcoming field research within the cooperation. The goal of the collaboration is to create a set of criteria as a basis for discussion among stakeholders involved in urban planning processes in order to make the needs of low-income populations more relevant. The funding also served the purpose of providing a basis for the application for a Maria Reiche Doctoral Fellowship for the applicant to conduct her doctoral research.
Summer/ Winter Schools
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 05.09.2021 - 10.09.2021
Applicant: Prof. Dr. Dominik Steiger, Centre for International Studies (ZIS)
Unit: Central Academic Units
Involved partners:
- Universität Leipzig
In cooperation with the University of Leipzig, the Center for International Studies organized the second international summer school of the series "Human Rights in Theory and Practice" in September 2021. Under the motto "The European Convention on Human Rights in Times of Crisis", approximately 100 international and German students came together to explore European human rights protection. Through international top-class lectures, e.g. Anja Seibert-Fohr, Judge at the European Court of Human Rights and Jessica Gavron, Legal Director at European Human Rights Advocacy Centre as well as Zane Ratniece, Legal officer at the Constitutional Chamber of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague , a diverse accompanying program in cooperation with Dresden-concept, joint canteen visits, the possibility of child care, the TU Dresden showed itself as a modern, cosmopolitan university that puts values such as equal rights, compatibility of work and family into practice. At the same time, the summer school offered the opportunity to show that the TU Dresden has excellent offerings not only in the technical subjects, but also in the humanities and social sciences. The next edition of the summer school is already being planned for 2023.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 20.07.2021 – 21.07.2021
Applicant: Dr. Anna Martius, Boysen-TU Dresden-Graduiertenkolleg, Faculty of Mechanical Science and Engineering
School: Engineering Sciences
The Summer School "Mobility in Transition" of the Boysen-TU Dresden Research Training Group is a successful example of how a hybrid implementation of the Summer School, necessary due to the corona pandemic, can proceed successfully and serve as a measure to increase the international visibility of the TU Dresden. A total of about 350 participants from 69 different nations addressed online and in presence multi-layered questions related to the challenge of "Mobility in Transition". High-ranking keynote speakers and participants from a wide range of disciplines highlighted once again the transdisciplinary and international focus of the Research Training Group. Interested parties can view most of the presentations and panel discussions online.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 03.10.2021-08.10.2021
Applicant: Dr. Carolin Müller, Prof. Dr. Thomas Köhler; Center for Open Digital Innovation and Participation (CODIP)
Unit: Central Academic Units, Center for Open Digital Innovation and Participation (CODIP)
Involved partners:
- Private University of Education from the Diocese of Linz (PH-Linz), Austria
- Université de Strasbourg, France
- University of Bergen, Norway
- Yogyakarta State University, Indonesia
- Shiraz University, Iran
The funding program for internationalization supported the 14th edition of the Summer School, which is an integral part of the Research Network Education & Technology, at TU Dresden. The summer school brought together international researchers from the fields of interdisciplinary education, information technology and digital literacy on the topic of forms of participation in digital space and presence. The aim of the long-established summer school is to support doctoral students in improving the scientific quality of their work, the visibility of young researchers during their doctorate and their professional integration after the doctorate, and to make the TU Dresden internationally relevant as a central actor and location of this process. The 14th edition of the Summer School focused on the increasingly important use and development of innovative forms of participation in digital spaces, as well as exploring the benefits of developing transferable digital and intercultural skills and international mobility. Young international scholars from different disciplines, organizations and institutions exchanged ideas on current research, methods and tools in educational technology.
Workshop/ Seminar
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.10.2021 – 30.09.2022
Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Xiaoping Xie, Knowledge Architecture - Laboratory of Knowledge Architecture, Faculty of Architecture
School: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Involved partners:
- Kyushu-University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology,Trondheim, Norway
- Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
In the winter semester of 2021/2022, the funding program internationalization supported the international seminar "Towards the Digital Urban Era" between the Faculty of Architecture of TU Dresden, the Graduate School of Design of Kyushu University (Japan), the Department of Architecture and Planning of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Norway) and the Faculty of Architecture of Zhejiang University (China). The project represents a promising and sustainable approach of using hybrid forms of teaching and learning to shape international collaboration in a way that enables timely interaction between faculty and students across university boundaries and one that overcomes the time and space constraints for collaborative teaching and learning on the Asian and European continents. The kick-off event on September 30th 2021 opened with a speech by Rector Prof. Staudinger and Senior Vice President of Kyushu University, Prof. Masakazu TANI, as well as keynotes by Prof. Dr. Frank H.P. Fitzek and Prof. Annemie Wyckmans. A total of 82 students from 14 different countries from the four partner universities participated. The results of the seminar were shown in an exhibition at the BZW in spring 2022. The seminar also won the TU Dresden's Diversity Sensitive Teaching Award in the summer semester of 2022. A continuation of the joint international teaching seminar is planned and will hopefully be integrated into the teaching framework of the participating universities long term through an MoU between the four partner universities.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 02.09.2021-03.09.2021
Applicant: Jun.-Professorin Susann Wagenknecht, PhD; Institut für Soziologie; Faculty of Philosophy
School: Humanities and Social Sciences
Participating partners:
- IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark
The funding was used to support an interdisciplinary conference of internationally renowned scholars and young researchers, which was organized in cooperation with Associate Professor Ingmar Lippert from the IT University of Copenhagen. The focus of the event was the concept of "form", which is fundamental to social theory. Current research results from the fields of sociology, anthropology, and Science and Technology Studies (STS) were presented, thus strengthening the international visibility and interdisciplinary orientation of the social sciences and humanities at TU Dresden. Simultaneously, the conference also offered the opportunity to firmly position TU Dresden on the map of Science and Technology Studies (STS). For the humanities and social sciences, Science and Technology Studies are of strategic importance. However, the TU Dresden and the research location Dresden in general currently lack the reputation as a university for innovative social sciences inspired by interdisciplinary Science and Technology Studies (STS). The conference also serves to establish long-term cooperation with scientists from the IT University Copenhagen and the University of Edinburgh. Results of the conference are to be included in a special issue or publication in an internationally renowned journal.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 02.09.2021-03.09.2021
Applicant: Dr. Lena Geuer; Institut für Kunst- und Musikwissenschaft, Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences
School: Humanities and Social Sciences
Participating partners:
- Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (HfBK)
The funding program internationalization supported a workshop on the topic “Aka Pacha – Contemporary Arts in Las Americas”. The workshop was conceived by Dr. Lena Geuer in collaboration with Franciska Nowel Camino from the HfBK. “Aka Pacha” leads to an alternative interpretation of ecological, aesthetic and social conditions against the background of indigenous knowledge cultures. Former Dresden Fellowship guest at the Department of Art History in the summer semester of 2021, Prof. Dr. Elena Shtromberg from the University of Utah was invited to give the keynote presentation. Together with scholars from Bolivia, the USA, England, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, the workshop discussed artistic works in the context of the concept of "Aka Pacha" in a global and transcultural perspective. The workshop was held in a hybrid format and not only offered networking opportunities between the participating scholars, but also paved the way for the TU Dresden to become more visible in the context of a transcultural and decolonizing art history. The sustainability of the workshop and its research results will be ensured by the publication of a conference volume.
Funding line: Flexible funding program for internationalization
Period: 01.04.2021-30.09.2021
Applicant: Dr. med. Anne-Sophie Hajduk; Allgemeinmedizin, Medical Clinic III
School: Medicine
Participating partners:
- Internationale Praxis der Kassenärztlichen Vereinigung Sachsen
The funding program Internationalization supported the elective course "Migrant Health" in the summer semester 2021. The course addresses the special professional and cultural competencies required for the medical care of migrants and the examination of the concepts of "global health" and intercultural doctor-patient relationships. Dealing with this topic is relevant for all medical disciplines, but at the time of application it was not part of the compulsory curriculum. The course prepares the future physicians in cooperation with actor patients for the practical challenges (e.g. low health literacy, language problems, translation aids) in the care of migrants/refugees. At the same time, the teaching of medicine will be expanded to include a culture of teaching and learning that is focused on internationality. In the long term, it is planned to include the contents of the elective subject in the compulsory curriculum.
Funding line: Funding for cooperation with strategic partners
Period: 01.10.2020 - 31.12.2021
Applicant: Prof. Dr. Gianaurelio Cuniberti, Dresden Center for Computational Materials Science (DCMS)
Unit: Central Academic Unit
Participating partners:
- King’s College London, United Kingdom,
A strategically central field of action of the DCMS focuses on the expansion of the internationalization of research collaborations. Since 2018, the DCMS has been collaborating with King's College London and the Thomas Young Centre London under the umbrella of the transCampus - both are internationally renowned institutions in the field of materials research. The original goal of the funding requested was to expand the institutional partnership at the research group level, which in the medium term should lead to a joint application for third-party funding as a basis for further staff exchange. Two workshops were planned to which selected scientists of the KCL and TYC should be invited to networking meetings at the TU Dresden and Dresden-concept institutions. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the implementation of the planned projects could not be realized. Despite the changes and restrictions, important cornerstones for further joint projects in the future could be laid: On the one hand, the partnership between DCMS and both institutions in London was extended to include the "Dresden Center for Intelligent Materials (DCIM)" founded at TU Dresden in 2021, and on the other hand, the summer school "Materials 4.0" taking place in August 2022 will include research and cooperation topics of both partners involved.