Across the pond: US, EU unis partner for greater exchange opportunities

American college Washington State University (WSU) has signed a deal with two European universities which will grant its students greater opportunities for student exchanges and cross-institutional research.

This week it announced new transatlantic collaborations with Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) in Austria and Leibniz University (LUH) in Hannover, Germany.

Agreements with European Union (EU) universities also allow WSU to compete for EU support for research and exchange programs through the EU’s ERASMUS+ program.

WSU recently gained access to Erasmus+ funding – which has a budget of €14.7 billion (US$18.4 billion) for supporting 4 million Europeans to gain education, training and sport opportunities overseas – through a partnership with the Technology University of Dresden.

Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH) in Hannover, Germany. Source: Shutterstock

“The strategic directions and grand challenge research areas of these two universities reflect those of WSU,” said Joseph Iannelli, associate dean of international programs for WSU’s Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture.

Iannelli is also the executive director of WSU Tri-Cities’ School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.

“These collaborations aim to strengthen the programs of the participating institutions, providing synergies that can advance research and educational programs more effectively and swiftly than each institution could do on its own,” he said in a statement.

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