BUA Visit Deepens UChicago-Germany Partnership

Last week, UChicago Global welcomed a delegation from TU BerlinOpens in new tab and Charite – Universitatsmedizin BerlinOpens in new tab as representatives of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA)Opens in new tab to the University of Chicago. The group represented the breadth of research, educational and translation priorities the UChicago-Berlin partnership aims to support:

• Dr. Lisa BuchauerOpens in new tab, Professor of Systems Biology of Infectious Diseases, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

• Dr. Peter NeubauerOpens in new tab, Chair of Bioprocess Engineering, Technische Universität Berlin, and Vice Academic Director (STEM), Oxford Berlin Research Partnership

• Dr. Jan an HaackOpens in new tab, International Research Marketing and Cooperation, Technische Universität Berlin

• Martin RahmelOpens in new tab, Director of the Chemical Invention Factory and Managing Director of innovate! lab gGmbH

Since 2024, UChicago Global has built a collaborative relationship with BUA to expand research networks and create pathways for engagement. BUA and UChicago have facilitated two seed funding mechanisms for collaborative projects, the second round of which is now underway, funding a total of eight projects. The impact was evident in the delegation itself: himself a seed funding recipient, Neubauer coordinated the cohort from Berlin to engage with scholars working to address major societal challenges in health biotechnology, sustainable chemistry, and energy transition.

Neubauer also delivered a Distinguished Seminar at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME)Opens in new tab highlighting his work in bioprocess engineering and the use of artificial intelligence and laboratory automation to accelerate scientific discovery to fellow researchers and students. The delegation toured the Duchossois Family Institute’s cGMP facilityOpens in new tab, a meaningful stop given the delegation’s interest in bioprocess engineering and translating discoveries into real-world applications. The first facility of its kind at an academic institution, it manufactures clinical-grade live bacterial therapeutics under anaerobic conditions for use in clinical trials.

At the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and InnovationOpens in new tab and Hyde Park LabsOpens in new tab, they explored startup development and best practices in technology and knowledge transfer. Rahmel shared his work exploring a transatlantic chemistry and materials innovation ecosystem that would connect research, entrepreneurship, early-stage spinouts, and industry. Elsewhere on campus, delegation members participated in a range of programming from campus research facility tours to meetings with individual faculty and University research leadership to discuss opportunities for collaboration and ways to deepen the connections between the Chicago and Berlin research and innovation ecosystems.    

This visit reflects UChicago’s commitment to transatlantic research collaboration and the strength of its enduring relationship with Berlin, and it is one chapter in a much longer story with Germany. The engagement is rooted in the Humboldtian ideals that have shaped the University since its founding, and it has been sustained through a 70-year partnership with DAADOpens in new tab and more than 50 current faculty recognized by the Alexander von Humboldt FoundationOpens in new tab.  

In FY26, UChicago Global built on those ties as Germany’s High-Tech AgendaOpens in new tab, Global Minds InitiativeOpens in new tab, and renewed Excellence Strategy directed significant investment toward areas of UChicago research leadership, including quantum technologies, AI, biotechnology, and climate. Collaboration with BUA has been central to that effort, including seven faculty workshops, several of which have already led to follow-on workshops, new grant applications, and formalized graduate exchange. That groundwork also led the German Embassy to select UChicago as a host institution for the German Research and Innovation Tour (GRIT), where more than 40 faculty met senior representatives of Germany’s leading research funders, and German counterparts recognized the effort as a model for academic partnership with US institutions.  

With conversations continuing about a more sustained bilateral model, and with partnerships positioned to mature ahead of the EU’s Framework Programme FP10Opens in new tab funding that begins in 2028, the Berlin relationship is well placed to keep growing.