Today, during an online ceremony, representatives from McGill University and their counterparts from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to facilitate research collaborations between the two institutions. Present at the signing were McGill University’s Provost Christopher Manfredi and Vice Principal Martha Crago, and from TUM, Senior Vice President Professor Juliane Winkelmann, and Professor Thomas Brück.
McGill and TUM are well-matched partners, both with high international rankings (McGill ranked 40th in the Times Higher Education survey with TUM right behind in 41st spot), and strong track records in scientific research. Indeed, TUM is one of the highest ranked schools in the EU and counts 17 Nobel laureates among its researchers and alumni.
“This is a perfect match not just for McGill, but for relations between Canada and Germany,” said Martha Crago, Vice Principal, Research and Innovation, McGill University. “Both of our nations have long and deep traditions of supporting advanced research, and the combined strengths of our respective institutions will be sure to yield important discoveries in the years to come.”
“With this Alliance, TUM and McGill will carry forward the rich tradition of Canadian-German research and innovation and will enhance the international reputation of Bavaria and Québec – two regions strongly linked by a long friendship,” said Juliane Winkelmann, Senior Vice President International Alliances and Alumni, Technical University of Munich. “We look forward to many more years of progress as our institutions lead the world in meeting significant global challenges.”
The move comes as Canada and Germany look back on 50 years of scientific and technological cooperation, which began in 1971 following the signing of the S&T Cooperation Agreement between the two governments. Since that time, the two nations have been vigorous and active partners in over 500 research projects. Thanks to the agreement between TUM and McGill, that trend is set to continue.
McGill has been active in developing agreements with German institutions; in January 2020, the University held a joint workshop on Medicine and AI with FAU, and in June 2020, a major research agreement in 3D brain models was reached with Forschungszentrum Jülich (FZJ). This led to the launch of the Helmholtz International BigBrain Analytics Learning Laboratory.