Cross-border regional partnerships: Saxony-Czech Republic-Poland

Dagmar Möbius

Since June 2021, Dr. Cornelia Krause has been working as an advisor for regional partnerships in the tri-border region of Saxony, the Czech Republic, and Poland. As part of the TUD Excellence Program, strategic partnerships were identified at the central level, and central personnel resources were allocated for the coordination and further development of each of the partnerships.

Which specific projects do you think are particularly important, and why?

Projects that address challenges of cross-border significance for the entire region are particularly important. These include joint teaching and research initiatives focused on the following: health, societal and structural change, energy (hydrogen), mobility, circular economy, sustainability, landscape conservation, information technology, microelectronics, and materials science. Through these individual projects, we aim to:

• Further strengthen cutting-edge research and excellence
• Augment academic reputation through international collaborations
• Increase international visibility
• Boost the impact on the economy and society (relationships with our alumni working in these fields are particularly important)
• Promote inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration
• Promote junior scientists in an international context

What has been achieved to date, and what should alumni know about your work?

The partnership network has been expanded to include the Technical University of Liberec and Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem (UJEP) Since 2019, over 40 Erasmus, Interreg, and Horizon projects have been implemented and more than 520 joint publications have been published. The Saxon-Polish Innovation Day is held annually. Doctoral students are trained jointly, for example with Charles University, the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden, and two institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences. This has resulted in the formation of an International Research Training Group (IRGT). In addition, the transnational Central European Campus Nisa/Neisse is jointly run by the International Institute (IHI) Zittau and TU Liberec. To date, more than 50 students have graduated from the program, and 34 are currently enrolled.

The partnerships in the SN-CZ-PL tri-border region are not only of fundamental importance for excellence in research and teaching, but also for the promotion of a knowledge-based society in the border area. We look forward to strengthening this cooperation in the coming years and invite all members of the university community, especially our alumni, to contribute their ideas to this great partnership and bring it to life.

Contact:
Dr. Cornelia Krause
Advisor, Regional Partnerships & Monitoring Internationalization

Email: