King's College London

L-R:  Professor Edward Byrne; Professor Sir Robert Lechler (King's Provost/Senior Vice President),  Minister-President Michael Kretschmer

 

The visit marked the next phase of an ongoing research relationship with the Saxony based Technische Universität Dresden.

Minister-President Michael Kretschmer, and a delegation of science and business leaders, were in the capital to oversee the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the London based Thomas Young Centre, (a collaboration of research groups from King’s, Imperial College, Queen Mary University London and UCL), and the world renowned German university.

The Memorandum will see the transCampus initiative, which builds collaborative research relationships between experts from Germany and the UK, broaden its scope to include materials research, which includes elements of applied physics and chemistry, as well as chemical, mechanical, civil and electrical engineering.

Originally focussed on advancing biomedical research when it was launched in 2015, the transCampus model has produced eight jointly appointed professorships, and a joint PhD programme involving 20 research groups and more than 30 students.

Thanks to the strong links between the partners, academics and students enjoy unrestricted access to world-leading research data and facilities in both London and Dresden. The cross-border pooling of expertise has already produced life-changing results, with sick children in Saxony benefitting from new gene therapies developed in London, and the acceleration of the development of 5G technology, an area in which both universities are world leaders.

Speaking about the signing, transCampus Dean, Professor Stefan Bornstein said: ‘This agreement heralds an exciting new phase in the evolution of this hugely important initiative.

‘That Minister-President, Michael Kretschmer and a delegation of science and business leaders from Saxony have come to King’s to be part of this milestone occasion underscores the importance of the transCampus to Dresden, London and the rich international research community we are building.’ 

Professor Hans Muller-Steinhagen, Rector of TU Dresden said: ‘The close collaboration between Dresden and London is a success story and a blueprint for an active dialogue at a scientific and student level.

‘This synergy not only doubles our competencies, but rather it enables radically new research projects and increases the visibility of both locations.’