In the global competition for resources for research and training and the recruitment of talented individuals, it is important to build local and international networks with outstanding scientific institutions. In doing so, the LIMES Institute put a focus on Asia and in particular, Japan.

Waseda University and the University of Bonn can look back on a long and close cooperation, which formally began in 1960. Since then, both universities have promoted academic exchange at all career levels, which has further promoted collaboration.

In 2006, a new cooperation was established between the Consolidated Research Institute for Advanced Science and Medical Care (ASMeW), Waseda University and the Life & Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES), University of Bonn in the area of life sciences. In recent years, the fruitful cooperation extended to include the Tokyo Women’s Medical University - Waseda University Joint Institution for Advanced Biomedical Sciences (TWIns). A memorandum of understanding was signed between the two institutions, which was supplemented in 2010 by an addendum on the mutual allocation of laboratory space at each site (LIMES in TWIns and TWIns in LIMES).
Today we can look back on a number of meetings hosted in Bonn and Tokyo, in which Japanese and German researchers came together to discuss new ideas in research and teaching in the context of global challenges in the life sciences. This has been enriched by two successful funding applications from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), which currently support the exchange of young researchers and professors between the partner institutions.
Since 1991, the Waseda University European Centre has been located in Bonn. The main function is to support Waseda-related research and academic exchange activities within Europe.
On our international LIMES page you can find an interview with Dr. Hideomi Tanaka, guest scientist from Waseda University in Tokyo.
Below three exchange students tell us about their experiences on the occasion of a symposium in Bonn:

In 2011 the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding initiated a partnership between the University of Bonn and the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT). It was built on existing collaborations of TUAT with the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bonn, which will be expanded in the coming years through the exchange of graduate students and scientific staff. The LIMES Institute acts as a partner institution, particularly to the biomedical working groups of TUAT.

Local partners in Bonn include the Centre for Advanced European Studies and Research (caesar) under the umbrella of the Max Planck Society, and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), an establishment of the Helmholtz Association. Our close scientific interactions with both research centers is further strengthened by joint appointments, and the involvement of caesar and DZNE employees in the LIMES study programs. In the Cologne / Bonn region, we further cooperate with the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing and the CMMC Cologne.

Most important national collaborations:

• Center of advanced european studies and research (caesar), Bonn
• German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn
• The Universities of Heidelberg, Dresden and Cologne

• DFG Excellence Cluster "ImmunoSensation" (Bonn)
• Trans-Regional Collaborative Research Centre SFB/TRR 83 (Heidelberg)