Strategic Partnership of the Universities of Münster and São Paulo

Brazil is one of the focus countries of the internationalisation strategy of the University of Münster. The numerous longstanding successful collaborations and joint activities between the University of Münster  and Brazilian universities achieved a new dimension through the wwu.usp project. Thus, the University of Münster and the University of São Paulo (USP) aimed at an innovative and sustainable strategic partnership by intensifying and expanding the already existing alliance.

The strategic partnership project wwu.usp between Münster University and USP was initiated in 2015 and funded by the DAAD in two phases as part of DAAD's "Strategic Partnerships" programme: the first phase covered the research areas "Law", "Neglected Diseases" as well as "Information Systems" and lasted 4 years; the second funding period started in 2019, was dedicated to the topic "Cities and Climate" and ended at the end of 2021. The project has deepened the collaboration between the two universities in almost all disciplines since 2015. The project name wwu.usp was created on the basis of the previous name of the University of Münster (Westphalian  Wilhelm University, WWU for short).

Although the wwu.usp project has already been completed, the collaboration between the two universities will continue in order to further develop joint activities in research, teaching, knowledge transfer, innovation, etc. and to strengthen the strategic partnership between the IUniversity of Münster and USP.

To the project website wwu.usp

Cotutelle Framework Agreement UM & USP

In the second funding phase of the vwu.usp project, a framework agreement for the joint supervision of doctoral students from both universities was elaborated and signed at the university management level with the aim of consolidating the collaboration. This agreement is based on the existing diverse collaborations between the partner universities, which were initiated and deepened within the framework of the strategic partnership project. The aim of this Cotutelle agreement is to facilitate and thereby help to disseminate future cotutelle procedures of doctoral students and joint supervision between the University of Münster and USP in all faculties. In this way, both universities support the promotion of young researchers in the long term by enabling their future researchers to acquire international research experience. At the same time, the exchange of doctoral students should serve to sustainably secure and strengthen the partnership at the various levels.

Double degree programme SãMBio

For many years, the Department of Biology at the University of Münster (UM) and the Institute of Biomedical Sciences at the University of São Paulo (USP) have been cooperating in teaching and research.   

Initiated by Prof. Dr. Eva Liebau (UM) and Prof. Dr. Carsten Wrenger (USP), the double-degree program SãMBio was launched in the winter semester 2017/2018. 

The program enables MSc students to complete part of their studies at USP and earn a degree from both universities. The master's program is funded by the DAAD program “Integrated International Degree Programs with Double Degrees,” and the stay at USP is also financed by DAAD. 

Furthermore, the SãMBio program strengthens the academic and cultural ties between the University of Münster and USP, offering a unique international education opportunity. 

Further information about the SãMBio program and details on how to apply can be found on the project’s official homepage.