In accordance with the motto “All good things come in threes,” Santander has now welcomed Freie Universität Berlin as the third university in the German capital as one of its university partners, after Humboldt-Universität and Technische Universität. This illustrates the significance of Berlin as a location for research and education within the global network, Santander Universities. One of the main projects Santander will support at Freie Universität Berlin is the International Summer and Winter University FUBiS. By funding scholarships for this program, Santander intends to help students from many countries to gain both linguistic and intercultural competence. In addition, Santander will sponsor 20 Deutschlandstipendium scholarships.

The cooperation agreement was signed by Prof. Dr. Peter-André Alt, the president of Freie Universität Berlin, and Oliver Burda, vice chair and HR director of Santander. Professor Alt said, “As an International Network University we have many contacts with universities and organizations in Germany and abroad. Cooperating with the largest global university network, Santander Universities, will greatly enhance our international work.” Freie Universität’s development strategy, which won funding through the German government’s Excellence competition, emphasizes both international cooperation and support for students and junior researchers.

At the signing of the contract, Oliver Burda emphasized, “Santander is very much concerned about the promotion of young talent, as we will soon be dependent upon the next generation of talent. We are very pleased and proud that our funding specifically helps young people, and that as of today, we are funding more than 130 Deutschlandstipendium scholarships per year.” This brings Santander closer to its goal of financing about 600 scholarships in Germany.