University of Birmingham and Germany's BAM launch new partnership

The University of Birmingham has signed an agreement with Germany’s Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung - BAM) - that will see them working together across a number of key research fields.

Experts at BAM and the University will collaborate in a number of areas: Energy; Additive manufacturing; Environmental Sciences; Chemistry and Digitalization.

University of Birmingham Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) Professor Robin Mason and President of BAM, Professor Dr. Ulrich Panne signed a Memorandum of Understanding, covering all five areas, when BAM delegates recently visited the Edgbaston campus.

The agreement provides a framework for a range of activities that will help to demonstrate the technology, manufacturing or regulatory readiness levels of scientific developments.

Over the next 12 months, the partners will collaborate on joint activities including research experiments, staff exchanges, seminars, joint publications and reports, as well as exchanging data, materials and samples.

Professor Robin Mason said: “Europe continues to be a region of key importance for the University of Birmingham research and we are building partnerships with major institutions across the EU, such as BAM. We believe our partnership will benefit the advancement and use of scientific knowledge in the UK, Germany and beyond.”

When visiting the University, BAM delegates, led by Professor Dr. Panne, met a number of Birmingham researchers and learned more about their work. The exchange will be developed through a series of two-way research visits to BAM’s Berlin headquarters and Birmingham.

• The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 6,500 international students from over 150 countries.
• Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und –prüfung (BAM) is Germany’s material research institute and its remits are to improve safety in technology and chemistry through research and development, testing, analysis, approvals, advice and information to the Federal Government, industry, and national and international organisations in the fields of material technology and chemistry. BAM has five focus areas:
• ­Energy - research throughout energy carriers' usage chain, from production, to storage, to consumption, to disposal.
• ­ Infrastructure - technical reliability and ongoing safety of infrastructure systems and components, as well as all modes of transport.
• ­ Environment – research on the diverse and long-term reciprocal effects between materials and the environment.
• ­ Materials - characterization, period of use, reliability and sustainability of substances as well as basic and other materials are dealt with in the focus area materials.
• ­ Analytical Sciences - methodological and instrumental aspects of testing and measurement processes to determine reliable data.
• BAM has 1700 staff (900 technical and scientist staff) and is located in Berlin. It reports to the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.