Delegation visits from Leeds and West Yorkshire

On February 25, Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth, Vice President Transfer and International Affairs, welcomed a delegation from West Yorkshire, England, comprising representatives from politics, business, and science to KIT. The delegation was led by Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire and Chair of the UK Mayors Group. The visit was combined with a three-day stay by representatives from the University of Leeds, with which KIT signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2024. 

The guests from West Yorkshire gained a wide-ranging insight into KIT's activities during visits to the Karlsruhe Research Factory for AI-Integrated Production, the Karlsruhe High-Performance Computer (HoreKa), the Energy Lab, and the ZEISS Innovation Hub @ KIT. During discussions with Vice President for Transfer and International Affairs Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth, Dr. Jochen Ehlgötz, Managing Director of the Karlsruhe Technology Region, and other local partners, the focus was on opportunities for cooperation with KIT and the region. The day was rounded off with a German-British round table on the topic of “Women in Engineering,” where representatives from business, politics, and science discussed challenges and successful approaches to securing young talent in both countries. 

The strategic development of the cooperation with the University of Leeds was discussed in talks with Prof. Dr. Thomas Hirth and Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Hai Sui Yu. In addition to the existing focus areas of cooperation in meteorology and climate research, as well as mobility, polymer chemistry, and robotics, numerous new areas of research were also discussed in which cooperation is to be intensified. In the area of teaching, England's imminent return to the Erasmus+ program opens up attractive opportunities, for which the starting signal was also given during the visit. For further information on the cooperation with the University of Leeds, please contact Ms. Nadja Bandulet, KIT's European Affairs Officer.