International collaborations in science

Guidelines for responsible cooperation on an international level

Leibniz University Hannover is committed to promote awareness of the benefits and risks of international collaborations. Students, doctoral candidates and professors as well as administrative staff are made aware of these issues while offering guidance and protection. In this context, goals, measures and effects of responsible internationalisation are considered as solutions to global challenges and as a means of creating new opportunities for young researchers as well as a process of weighing up the benefits and assets of academic knowledge.

International cooperation in science must always be regarded in the context of the respective political, economic, linguistic and cultural conditions in and between the partner countries. It is shaped and challenged by these aspects, both in positive and negative ways. International collaborations involve benefits and risks: To what extent can collaborations and negotiations be conducted with partners that do not share the system of values and the scientific system of Leibniz University Hannover? Both contextual factors and involved parties that limit existing leeway or allow for more leeway must be identified.

Science diplomacy can be an influential tool in building bridges between societies as well as in developing joint strategies for overcoming global challenges. Moreover, science diplomacy defends universal human rights and is actively involved in multilateral processes.
Science Diplomacy: Leopoldina definition
Guidelines for responsible cooperation (in German)