Freie Universität has temporarily suspended all academic relations with Russian research institutes and universities.

Saint Petersburg State University (SPSU) was founded in 1724 by Peter I the Great and is among the oldest universities in Russia. Today, 32,000 students at 20 faculties are instructed by 6000 teachers. At the university 4000 graduate students and postdocs conduct research.

Freie Universität cooperates with different faculties of Saint Petersburg State University since 1968 and signed in 2012 a contract on a strategic partnership.

Joint-Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

As part of their strategic partnership, Freie Universität Berlin and the St Petersburg State University offer outstanding young researchers the opportunity to take part in a two-year PostDoc fellowship with stays in Berlin and St. Petersburg.

Every year two fellowships are awarded to highly qualified postdocs who are at the beginning of their careers. The fellowship lasts 24 months and enables a year-long stay in Berlin and St. Petersburg. Details on the current call for applications can be found on the Center for International Cooperation website.

Joint Seed Money Fond

For the development of the strategic partnership Freie Universität Berlin und Saint Petersburg State University as first German and Russian universities agreed on a joint seed money fond, which supports new joint projects in their starting phase. The fond is financed equally by both partners and will offer initially 3 calls of funding until 2017.

Details on the strategic partnership and the actual calls can be found on the website of the Center for International Cooperation: https://www.fu-berlin.de/en/international/network/strategic-partnerships/stpetersburg/index.html.

University Alliance for Sustainability

On the initiative of the Free University of Berlin, since 2015 the cooperation with the St Petersburg State University has been expanded with funds from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and networked with the other strategic partnerships of Freie Universität. A current example is the establishment of the University Alliance for Sustainability, in which the other strategic partners Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Peking University and University of British Columbia are involved. By 2018, the strategic partners in teaching and research on sustainability will network and encourage the exchange of experiences on sustainable campus management.

Further information on the English language project website of the University Alliance for Sustainability.

German-Russian Interdsciplinary Science Center

Saint Petersburg State University and Freie Universität founded the German-Russian Interdisciplinary Science Center, which supports interdisciplinary research in natural sciences. As a Center of Excellence it is financed by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) by means of the Foreign Office and supports research stays and teaching of German and Russian scientists in the area of physics, geophysics, physical chemistry, and mathematics in Germany and Russia.

The program provides every six months mobility and sur place scholarships, which are granted to Russian and German outstanding students and scientists for short-term research stays and teaching. Beyond that, research workshops and summer schools are sponsored.

Further information: http://www.g-risc.org/

Law Student Exchange Program

The Department of Law of Freie Universität Berlin has the possibility to nominate each year an exchange student for a stuy at Saint Petersburg State University. Eligible to apply are outstanding students with excellent command in Russian for the winter term (beginning of September until the end of January) oder for a whole academic year (beginning of September until the end of June).

Click here for further information (in German only).

Subject-related exchange of students of economics

For students of the Faculty of Economics at Freie Universität Berlin and the Eastern European Institute at Freie Universität Berlin who are enrolled in the master’s degree programs in Economics, Public Economics and East European Studies, there is a subject-related exchange with the economic science faculty of the St Petersburg State University. Excellent students with appropriate knowledge of English can apply for a study visit in the winter or summer semester. The exchange is supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as part of an international study and training partnership (ISAP).

Further information can be found here online.

Exchange of Researchers and Students

Saint Petersburg State University and Freie Universität Berlin have signed an agreement on exchange of researchers and students (information in German).