Concluding contracts
Successful university partnerships thrive on the commitment of the academic representatives involved. The International Office supports you with organisational and administrative matters, whilst the academic structure and further development of the partnership are the responsibility of the faculties. Here you can find out how to conclude agreements on student exchanges and teaching partnerships.
Signing a cooperation agreement – Here’s how to proceed
Coordinate the technical aspects of the collaboration
Before you involve the International Office, please discuss the key aspects of the collaboration with your partners:
- Target group (undergraduates, postgraduates, PhD students, etc.)
- Direction of exchange
- Number of exchange places
- Duration and type of stays
- Language of instruction and language requirements
- Participating study programmes/departments
Set out the mandatory details of the contract in writing
There are certain details that are essential for the successful implementation of the partnership. You should set these out in writing during the negotiations to guide the next steps. To make the process easier for you, please refer to the proposal for establishing a partnership:
Obtain approval from the dean's office
To enter into a cooperation agreement, you will need the approval of your faculty.
- Involvement of the faculties’ internationalisation officers
- Informal approval from the dean (in the Faculty of Humanities, exclusively via the Internationalisation assistant)
(Outside the Erasmus+ programme: use of the model contract)
Under the Erasmus+ programme, the contract is drawn up by the International Office on the basis of the proposal form! All you need to do is submit the proposal form.
For collaborations not covered by the Erasmus+ programme, Paderborn University provides model contracts. The contract is available in an annotated version for internal use and in an unannotated version for the partner university/institution. You can obtain the model contract from the International Office by email on request.
The model contract contains various options that can be selected or adapted depending on the planned collaboration. Where possible, please discuss these with your partner university/institution in advance.
We recommend using Paderborn University’s model contract as the basis for contract negotiations. This usually speeds up the legal examination and the conclusion of the contract considerably.
Of course, draft contracts provided by the partner university/institution may also be used. In such cases, however, a greater amount of work is often required for examination and coordination.
Submit a proposal to the International Office
Please then submit the fully completed proposal for establishing a university partnership, along with any existing draft agreements, to the International Office. The more complete the information is, the more quickly the process can be completed.
Forms
Contract negotiations
The International Office then takes charge of the formal contract negotiations with the partner university/institution.
In doing so,
- the International Office reviews the draft contract and,
- consults with the Legal Department and the data protection officer where necessary,
- coordinates requests for amendments,
- and oversees the entire coordination process right up to the signing of the contract.
You do not, as a rule, need to conduct the legal contract negotiations yourself, but you should have clarified in advance all substantive issues directly relating to the exchange (number of exchange students, stage of study, language skills, etc.).
Signing
Once the negotiations have been concluded, the agreement will be signed through the administrative channels.
- Erasmus+: digital signature by the Erasmus university coordinator
- Worldwide: Signing by the President or Vice-President for Finances and Human Resources
If you are planning a signing ceremony with the partners (in person or virtually), please coordinate the date, venue and participants with the President’s Office in good time . In this case too, the International Office will prepare the version of the contract to be signed via the administrative process and forward it to the President’s Office prior to signing.
Active Partnership
The cooperation agreement comes into force upon signature. A Departmental Coordinator is appointed for each partnership, who acts as the central academic point of contact for cooperation with the partner university/institution.
Their responsibilities include, in particular:
- Promoting the partnership through classes, information sessions and advisory services
- Providingacademic advice to students planning an exchange at the partner university/institution
- Selecting outgoing students in accordance with the central application procedure at the International Office
- Providingacademic support to incoming students, where this is provided for by your faculty
- Maintaining cooperation with the partner university/institution and supporting the further development of the partnership
- Point of contact for the International Office regarding academic enquiries about the partnership
Frequently Asked Questions
The duration depends largely on
- how complete the information is,
- how quickly both universities provide re-enrolment information,
- and whether the standard contract provided by Paderborn University is used.
Erasmus+ agreements can usually be finalised within three months. Outside the Erasmus+ area, the process of finalising the agreement usually takes considerably longer. If the University of Paderborn’s model agreement is used for non-European agreements and the partners have only minor requests for amendments, the agreement can usually be finalised within 3–6 months. If the partners have their own contract, if there is disagreement over data protection or liability provisions and jurisdiction, or if there are substantial requests for further negotiations, you should expect negotiations to take at least one year or even considerably longer. Another key factor is how promptly the partners follow up on proposed amendments.
Contact
Head of Unit - General questions of internationalisation, funding programmes, university partnerships
Office: I4.128
Phone: +49 5251 60-2455
E-mail: schwan@zv.upb.de
Office hours:
by appointment
Erasmus+ Institutional Coordinator
Office: I4.213
Phone: +49 5251 60-3209
E-mail: juliane.wiese@zv.uni-paderborn.de