15 Years of the Brazil Centre: A Success Story of German-Brazilian Scientific Cooperation at the University of Münster

On 23 June 2025 at 3:15 p.m., the University of Münster will celebrate an impressive milestone in German-Brazilian scientific cooperation: the Brazil Centre will mark its 15th anniversary with a celebratory event at the Alexander von Humboldt-House. Established in 2010, the centre represented a significant milestone in the long-standing partnership between Münster and Brazilian institutions, which now spans more than six decades. Since then, the Brazil Centre has become the central hub for all Brazil-related activities, playing a pioneering role in coordinating and strengthening this collaboration.

In the same year, the ‘Brazil Chair’ was introduced in collaboration with the CAPES funding agency. This visiting professorship has greatly enhanced academic exchange, resulting in numerous long-term projects, publications, patent applications, conferences, and policy briefs. Just two years after its foundation, in 2012, the centre opened a liaison office in São Paulo — a clear sign of its growing local engagement.

Over the years, the Brazil Centre has initiated the development of strategic partnerships, especially with the renowned University of São Paulo (USP). This collaboration gained significant momentum through the DAAD-funded project “wwu.usp” (2015–2021), which promoted joint activities in areas such as law, informatics, ecology and music. The project also established regular exchange at management level.

Today, the centre can look back on an impressive record: a total of 15 cooperation agreements have been signed with leading universities, research institutions, and funding agencies. These are complemented by collaborations with Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF), cotutelle agreements for joint doctoral supervision, targeted support for students and researchers, and a mix of innovative and traditional event formats such as the Ed.Tech Hackathon and alumni gatherings.

More recently, the Brazil Centre has expanded its focus and taken initial steps towards establishing a network across Latin America. A fact-finding mission to Colombia, Argentina and Chile revealed new opportunities for cooperation, which are to be further developed in the future.

The Brazil Centre looks back with pride on its dynamic and successful history — as a platform for innovative projects at the University of Münster and as a driving force in international dialogue. Looking to the future, the Centre intends to continue playing a pivotal role in promoting and expanding academic and cultural exchange between Germany, Brazil, and other Latin American partners.

Members of the University of Münster and friends of the Brazil Centre are warmly invited to celebrate this special occasion with us, reflect on past achievements, and look forward to the future of our cooperation.

Please register via this link: https://indico.uni-muenster.de/e/jubilaeum-bz.

The event programme can be found here.