From August 29 to 31, the Northwest Alliance – the strategic alliance between the University of Bremen and the University of Oldenburg – presented itself together with the U Bremen Research Alliance at the annual conference of the German Academic International Network (GAIN) in Boston.
With four Clusters of Excellence that will begin their work on January 1, 2026, the Northwest Alliance is at the forefront of cutting-edge research in highly relevant social fields including marine research, hearing, animal navigation, and space exploration. The conference, attended by over 600 participants from the US and Germany, provided an excellent opportunity to engage with researchers currently working in the US about career perspectives in Northwest Germany. The two university executive boards were represented by Professor Dr. Katharina Al-Shamery, Vice President for Academic Career Paths, Equal Opportunities and International Affairs at the University of Oldenburg, and Professor Michal Kucera, Vice President for Research and Transfer at the University of Bremen.
Both contributed their expertise to a jointly organized workshop on the topic of “Career paths in university alliances in the changing academic system.” Together with other experts, including Prof. Dr. Frank Ziegele (CHE Center for Higher Education Development), Dr. Christina Reinhardt (Ruhr University Bochum), and Dr. Simone Schwanitz (Max Planck Society), they discussed new and appealing career paths and forms in interorganizational cooperation structures.