General agreements with international partners for overarching cooperation beyond individual projects

Types of Agreements

Depending on the purpose of the collaboration, various types of agreements may be considered:

• Letter of Intent (LoI)
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
• Student exchange agreements and/or exchange agreements for researchers and staff

Procedures

Agreements can be concluded at the university, faculty, or institute level.

• University-level agreements: With approval from the University's Presidential Board, university-level agreements may be concluded if the student exchange involves at least three faculties and the partnership is not directly assigned to a specific institute or faculty.
• Faculty-level or institute-level agreements: It is recommended to conclude agreements at the faculty or institute level when only one faculty or institute is interested in the collaboration, or when the partner is a single faculty or institute.

For each cooperation agreement, both parties must designate one person as the partnership officer for the agreed collaboration. The partnership officer determines the prioritization of the partnership in consultation with colleagues involved in the exchange and, if applicable, allocates available resources.

Central Support

The International Relations Team at Göttingen International provides legally reviewed templates that can be used immediately upon partner approval. The templates are in English. If the partner requires an additional language version, the partner would be responsible for creating it. However, in case of any discrepancies the English version shall prevail.

If documents are used that do not conform to the University of Göttingen’s templates, they must undergo legal review and, if necessary, be negotiated with the partner university. The International Relations Team coordinates this process and collects the required signatures once negotiations are successfully completed.

Signing Process

All agreements listed above are signed by the President of the University.

For faculty-level agreements, co-signatures from the respective Deans and partnership officers are required to ensure approval from the involved faculties and the partnership officer.

For departmental or institute-level agreements, co-signatures from the respective Deans, the institute heads, and the partnership officers are required to ensure approval from the involved faculties, institutes, and the partnership officer.

Co-signatures can be obtained electronically via email.

A digital contract document is sufficient for many partner universities. If paper copies are required, the number of copies needed varies depending on the level of cooperation and the partner university.

Timeline from Intent to Signing

If the University of Göttingen’s templates are used, it is possible to conclude a Letter of Intent, MoU, or agreement within a few days, provided the partner agrees to the template and the Dean signs promptly (this is typically only feasible if the Dean is informed early about the need for co-signature).

Tip: We recommend informing the Dean early about your cooperation project and intended agreement to ensure timely approval and the possibility of short-notice co-signatures.

If the University of Göttingen’s templates are not used or have been significantly modified, requiring legal review, the process may take several months. The preparation timeline also depends on the level of coordination and negotiation required with the partner university to develop a joint document. Please consider this when planning.