alumni-clubs.net e.V.

alumni-clubs.net e.V. is an association of alumni initiatives throughout German-speaking countries. Both the alumni organizational units of the universities and nonprofit and charity clubs of former students and faculty members from the higher education sector are active within the association. Annual and subject-specific conferences provide a forum for professionals in the field of alumni relations to exchange information and pursue new training and professional development opportunities.

Asia Berlin Forum e.V. (ABF)

The Asia Berlin Forum includes representatives from areas of business, political, academic, and cultural life who are interested in forming networks and advancing dialogue with the Asia-Pacific region.

Berlin Consortium for German Studies (BCGS)

The Berlin Consortium for German Studies (BCGS) is an association formed between Freie Universität, which hosts the program, and a number of Ivy League universities, which send students to Berlin for one or two semesters through the BCGS program. In return, Freie Universität is able to send students to the American universities. The program is run by Columbia University, and their office is located at Freie Universität.

Deutsch-Französische Hochschule (DFH) / Université Franco-Allemande

The Deutsch-Französische Hochschule, or Université Franco-Allemande, is a virtual association of subsidized German-French academic programs. With its German-French program at the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science, Freie Universität was one of the founding members of the DFH.

Europaeum

The Europaeum is an association of 18 of Europe’s leading universities that strives to promote young researchers and European collaboration. The joint organization of summer schools, international conferences, publications, and teaching programs all serve to foster cooperation in research and teaching between the universities. They also help strengthen a European academic network and advance the careers of future academic leaders.

European University Association (EUA)

The European University Association (EUA) serves as the voice of the European higher education sector in Brussels. Annual and subject-specific conferences are held to provide information on the latest developments in higher education. Freie Universität has been a member of the EUA since its founding.

GATE Germany

GATE Germany advertises Germany as a prime location for higher education. The initiative is financed by the German federal government and administered by the DAAD. Its work involves producing advertising campaigns, websites, and printed materials. In various regions around the world, the initiative regularly organizes trade fairs and road shows where German universities can present themselves and their programs.

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is one of the world’s largest support and aid organizations for the international exchange of students, scholars, and scientists. It is supported by the German higher education institutions and student body organizations in the form of an association. The DAAD fosters the international character of higher education institutions in Germany, strengthens the study of German language and literature abroad, and supports developing countries in establishing and expanding high-performance higher education systems. The DAAD is the most important funding organization for Freie Universität’s international relations. The university’s liaison offices in Beijing, Cairo, São Paulo, Moscow, and New Delhi work together closely with the DAAD.

German Research Foundation (DFG)

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is the most important academic support and aid institution for research in Germany. Most external funding raised by Freie Universität is through the DFG. A large number of scientists and scholars from Freie Universität have been appointed as experts to DFG’s selection committees.

German Rectors’ Conference (HRK)

The German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) is the voluntary association of state-operated and state-accredited universities and other higher education institutions in Germany. The HRK serves as the mouthpiece for its members and is a major voice in the German higher education landscape. It is also a forum for higher education institutions to formulate shared goals and opinions.

German Studies Association (GSA)

The German Studies Association (GSA) is the most important association of North American scholars, researchers, and educators who work on topics related to German-speaking countries. The disciplines represented range from German language and literature to history, political science, art history, music, and anthropology. GSA acts as a partner for Freie Universität’s Berlin Program for German and Advanced European Studies. In a jointly organized selection process, the two bodies grant doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships at Freie Universität each year.

German Studies Center (ZDS) at Peking University

The German Studies Center (ZDS) is an interdisciplinary teaching and research institute at Peking University. Since 2005, it has been part of the network of DAAD-funded Centers for German and European Studies worldwide. The ZDS offers an interdisciplinary master’s degree. The program is managed by Freie Universität Berlin on the German side in cooperation with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

German U15 e.V.

German U15 is an association whose members include Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, the universities of Bonn, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Göttingen, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Cologne, Leipzig, and Mainz, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, and the universities of Münster, Tübingen, and Würzburg. Their objective is to increase awareness among political and economic leaders and the general public of the teaching and research performance, as well as the social and economic influence of leading German comprehensive universities.

Heads of University Management & Administration Network Europe (HUMANE)

HUMANE is a European association of higher education institutions primarily dedicated to the administrative structures and tasks of universities. Freie Universität participates in continuing education courses and events in order to exchange information with other bodies regarding the latest developments and make further advances in professionalization.

Institute of International Education (IIE)

The Institute of International Education (IIE) is the oldest association in the world dedicated to the internationalization of higher education. Subject-specific conferences and publications support the universities’ work. Freie Universität has utilized the IIE over the years as a forum to maintain its partnerships and spark new trends.

Internationales Begegnungszentrum der Wissenschaft e.V. (International Center for Academic Exchange)

The Internationales Begegnungszentrum der Wissenschaft (IBZ) was built in the early 1980s as a guesthouse for visiting scholars and scientists at research institutions in Berlin. The building is now shared by the Max Planck Society and Freie Universität. The Freie Universität’s provost is the chair of the association’s board.

International Parliament Scholarship (IPS)

The International Parliament Scholarship (IPS) program was initiated by the Bundestag, i.e. the German parliament. Each year, half-year scholarships are awarded for about 120 parliament internships and clerkships. Scholarship recipients come from the Western Allied nations, Israel, and many countries in Eastern Europe. The program’s goal is to give participants insight into the workings of parliamentary democracy in Germany. Participants have student status at all three major universities in Berlin: Freie Universität, Humboldt-Universität, and Technische Universität.

International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN)

Since 2016, Freie Universität has been represented on the Advisory Committee of the International Sustainable Campus Network (ISCN) which consists of more than 90 universities worldwide. The focus of the global university network is exchange about all facets of university sustainability management. This takes place in annual conferences and workshops, in which Freie Universität Berlin regularly participates.

Kiron Open Higher Education

Since 2015, Kiron Open Higher Education, an education technology non-profit organization, has been devoted to providing accessible education to refugees and underserved communities worldwide. Through Kiron Campus, its online learning platform and other educational programs, Kiron empowers individuals who have experienced forceful displacement with transformative skills for the future of work, thus strengthening society. Kiron operates offices in Germany and Jordan, ensuring its reach and impact extend to diverse regions. Freie Universität gives Kiron students access to the FUB campus and encourages its own students to volunteer with the non-profit organization.

Magna Charta Observatory Universitatum

The Magna Charta Observatory of Fundamental University Values and Rights is a nonprofit organization based in Bologna, founded by the University of Bologna and the European University Association (EUA). The Magna Charta Observatory aims to gather information, express opinions, and prepare documents relating to the respect for, and protection of, the fundamental university values and rights laid down in the Magna Charta Universitatum.

New University in Exile Consortium

The New University in Exile Consortium is a group of international colleges and universities linked to the New School in New York to support refugee and threatened scholars. The Consortium aims at creating a supportive community for people in exile.

U7+ Alliance of World Universities

U7+ is an alliance of 47 universities from 18 countries around the world. The alliance was founded in 2019 and sees itself as an action coalition of universities in a multilateral context. The universities committed to collaborate in thematic areas, among others climate change and clean energy. They have also agreed to prepare students for their roles as active members in civil society, both locally and globally.

Una Europa

Una Europa is a European university alliance consisting of eleven excellent and research-intensive universities. The alliance aims to shape the university of the future. Together with our renowned and research-intensive partner universities, we aim to transform the European Research and Education area. The members of Una Europa are in addition to Freie Universität Berlin, the University of Bologna, the University of Edinburgh, KU Leuven, the Complutense University of Madrid, the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, the University of Helsinki, the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Leiden University, the University College Dublin und the University of Zürich.

University Alliance for Sustainability (UAS)

Within the framework of the University Alliance for Sustainability, Freie Universität Berlin cooperates with four strategic partner universities – the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel), the Peking University (China), St. Petersburg State University (Russia) and the University of British Columbia (Canada) – and focuses on sustainability as a comprehensive topic for collaborating in research, teaching, and campus management.

Network of Universities from the Capitals of Europe (UNICA)

UNICA is an association of universities from Europe’s capital cities. Since these universities face similar challenges, they share many topics of interest, which are addressed in regular meetings, working groups, and workshops. Freie Universität is a founding member.

Study Foundation of the Berlin House of Representatives

The Study Foundation of the Berlin House of Representatives was formed by the lower chamber of Berlin’s parliament in 1994 to mark the departure of the Allied military forces from Berlin. The goal is to use the foundation’s earnings to give scholarships to outstanding students from the former four Allied countries to study in Berlin for a year. Freie Universität runs the program.

Stiftung für Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft (EVZ)

The Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) was established in connection with the process of reparations for those who worked as forced laborers during World War II. The foundation’s activities include providing scholarships for descendants of forced laborers and students who are researching topics related to forced labor. More than ten recipients of EVZ scholarships come to Freie Universität each year. Freie Universität has also taken on the electronic administration and development of the EVZ archive, under the leadership of the Center for Digital Systems (CeDiS).

The Forum on Education Abroad

The Forum on Education Abroad is a non-profit, membership association in the US. The Forum provides training and resources to education abroad professionals and its Standards of Good Practice are recognized as the definitive means by which the quality of education abroad programs may be judged.
The Forum’s 800+ institutional members include U.S. colleges and universities, overseas institutions, consortia, agencies, organizations, and foundations who are committed to improving education abroad.

Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin e.V. (Institute for Advanced Study, Berlin)

The Wissenschaftskolleg is an internationally renowned institution for outstanding scholars and scientists who spend several months in Berlin, devoting their time to a research project. The fellows invited to the Wissenschaftskolleg are brought together into a “class” each year to ensure that their daily meetings yield stimulating interdisciplinary discussions. Freie Universität was one of the founding members and also provided the rector for many years.