The UK and Germany will sign a fresh agreement to boost their joint science and technology research, the government has announced.
Top science institutes in both countries will work together on joint research into areas including artificial intelligence (AI), quantum and clean technology.
Science and tech secretary Michelle Donelan and Germany’s minister for education and research Bettina Stark-Watzinger will sign a joint declaration of intent (JDI) in London today.
Donelan said: “Germany is the UK’s second-largest trading partner, as well as a critical science and research partner through the likes of Horizon Europe and CERN. Bringing our shared strengths in science and tech together will be essential.”
Britain rejoined the Horizon scheme on 1 January 2024.
Expert researchers from both nations’ science and tech sectors – such as the Max-Planck Society, the Royal Society, Universities UK and the Helmholtz Association – will also meet at a joint forum today, to agree on opportunities for shared research and development work.
“By supporting our brightest minds and leading institutions to work together, we will maximise the opportunities for them to create new jobs, build new businesses, and ultimately deliver a better quality of life for us all,” Donelan added.
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And Stark-Watzinger said: “The UK with its excellent research and its renowned science institutions, universities and companies is one of Germany’s key partners.
“In the face of current challenges, it is all the more important that we move ahead together and prepare the ground for joint research solutions.”
She said the UK’s reentry into Horizon – Europe’s science research body which it left following Brexit – was a “major step in this direction” but ministers must “deepen bilateral cooperation” between the two nations.
She added: “Today’s exchange of views is only the beginning. Our JDI provides the basis for good and close cooperation to strengthen science and research.”
UK ministers will also look into using funds via the £377m International Science Partnerships Fund to enable UK researchers to collaborate with German partners, the government said.
And the first round of one-year Global Innovation Fellowships – hosted in Berlin, by the British Academy and the German Council on Foreign Relations – will be awarded today.