The second edition of the Lower Saxony – Scotland Joint Forum, organised by the European Centre for Advanced Studies (ECAS), took place on November 22 + 23 as an online event. With over 300 participants, we can proudly announce that the conference was a great success!

The first day was shaped by a panel discussion on the opportunities and possibilities that arise from partnerships between companies and universities. New forms of cooperation were presented and discussed by leading representatives from science and business from Scotland and Lower Saxony.

Especially at a time when nations are becoming more distant from each other due to national egoism or the Brexit, the Joint Forum clearly demonstrated the importance of international cooperation and the open exchange of ideas between universities, societies and countries.

On the second day, 11 different workshops provided space for scientists, students and other members of universities to discuss how cooperation can look like in a variety of topics. The interdisciplinary workshops dealt with topics from the natural sciences as well as the humanities. Thus, questions of sustainability and the reduced use of resources were discussed as well as the critical handling of one’s own (institutional) history.

Some of the workshops can be considered as the starting point for the establishment of partnerships that may be further deepened in the Lower Saxony – Scotland Tandem Fellowship Programme. In this funding programme, which is led by ECAS, postdoctoral researchers from both regions have the opportunity to build networks and work together as a tandem on a specific research project. They receive grants for their research stays when they visit their tandem partner at a Lower Saxonian or Scottish university. The workshops at the Joint Forum provided the ideal platform for establishing initial contacts and developing ideas.

The Joint Forum will be continued in 2022. Further information will be available at https://joint-forum.org/. The first applications for workshops at the Joint Forum 2022 have already been received.