Strengthening international collaboration: The University of Ghana is named “enhanced partner” of the University of Freiburg
Freiburg, 09/05/2025
The University of Freiburg and the University of Ghana are strengthening their long-standing cooperation by agreeing to an enhanced partnership, renewing a memorandum of understanding, and signing a student exchange agreement. The University of Freiburg is the first individual German university to sign the Africa Charter.
Prof. Dr. Kerstin Krieglstein, Rector at the University of Freiburg, and Prof. Dr. Melanie Arndt, Vice Rector for Internationalisation and Sustainability, welcomed Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice Chancellor at the University of Ghana, and Professor Jemima Anderson, Dean of International Programmes, to Freiburg. Since 2018, the two universities have been linked by a strategic partnership, particularly through close cooperation within the international research college MIASA (Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa), which focuses on sustainable governance.
The delegation trip, which lasted several days, provided an opportunity for strategic discussions, faculty visits, joint explorations of the city and region, and thematic exchanges on projects in the field of sustainability and international cooperation. Representatives from both universities signed the updated Memorandum of Understanding and a Student Exchange Agreement. In addition, the UFR became the first individual German university to sign the Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations. With the University of Ghana as a new “enhanced partner,” the University of Freiburg is continuing to diversify its partnership portfolio.
“We want to set an example for equal, transformative scientific cooperation. In doing so, the University of Freiburg also wants to fulfil its social responsibility and contribute to greater understanding between the countries of Europe and the African continent,” says Prof. Dr. Melanie Arndt, Vice Rector for Internationalisation and Sustainability.
For greater understanding between European and African countries
“Our collaboration is based on shared values such as academic excellence, innovative research and cultural exchange. The student exchange has enriched our universities and increased our global impact,” explains Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor at the University of Ghana.
The Memorandum of Understanding underscores core values such as academic freedom, institutional autonomy, social responsibility, and sustainability. It forms the basis for deeper cooperation in research, teaching, and the exchange among students and academic staff, and strengthens the partnership between the two universities within the framework of an “enhanced partnership.” In addition to the newly signed agreement, this special cooperation also exists with Nagoya University in Japan, Penn State University in the United States, and the University of Adelaide in Australia.
By signing the Africa Charter, the University of Freiburg, together with other research-intensive universities worldwide, is committing itself to an ethically sound and partnership-based engagement on the African continent based on the principles of equality and balance. The Student Exchange Agreement signed at the same time creates further opportunities for students from both universities to participate in exchange programmes and strengthen their intercultural and professional skills. Both institutions see the continuation of the partnership as a central component of their internationalisation strategy and want to work together to give new impetus to global university cooperation.
