photo by: Dan Oetting/KU

University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod, left, and University of Regensburg President Udo J. Hebel exchange signed documents formalizing KU's first comprehensive international partnership.

The University of Kansas has announced a new partnership with a leading German university that will result in more student and faculty exchanges, along with collaboration on key research projects.

KU leaders on Tuesday signed a formal partnership agreement with the University of Regensburg, a public research university in the Bavaria region of Germany. The partnership agreement marks KU’s first such agreement with an international university.

“This strategic partnership agreement marks an exciting new direction for KU as we begin building a core set of international partnerships,” KU Chancellor Douglas Girod said in a release.

KU has had an informal working relationship with Regensburg for about 20 years in the areas of chemistry and American studies. The new partnership formalizes relations and expands cooperation into the studies of business, law, economics, engineering, and immunology and cancer research.

Like KU, Regensburg operates a medical school, and conducts extensive research on potential cures and treatments for cancer.