Keele University is celebrating a new partnership with one of Indonesia’s top-tier research universities which will create new opportunities for research collaboration.

The partnership was sealed between Keele and Universitas Sumatera Utara (USU), in Medan, North Sumatra, when a delegation from USU recently visited Keele.

During the recent visit a Memorandum of Understanding was signed, committing to joint research activities and to build upon current collaborative grant-writing and publications. The partnership aims to be extended into a formal institutional collaboration with activities including cooperation on curriculum and training development and exchange opportunities for staff and students.

The delegation from USU also carried out a research exchange with academics from Keele’s School of Geography, Geology and the Environment and the School of Life Sciences.

Dr Deirdre McKay, Reader in Social Geography and Environmental Politics at Keele, said: “USU visited Keele last April to learn about our award-winning initiatives in greening our campus. Both universities are committed to sustainability, green technology and innovation, so we found broad synergies across our environmental research portfolios. Formal research collaboration is just the first step in what we hope will be an enduring partnership.”