Networking

As the National Academy, the Leopoldina represents German science in international formats and bodies in which foreign academies are involved. The International Relations Department serves as the central link for the Leopoldina’s cooperation with national academies and partner institutions worldwide. It promotes international scientific exchange and thus helps to enhance the visibility of German science. It coordinates the Academy’s international policy advice and science diplomacy initiatives and, to this end, brings together representatives from politics, society and academia from Germany and abroad. For this purpose, it cooperates on a project basis with academies and institutions around the world and maintains a strategic network of partners from a select group of countries that form the backbone of its international activities.

As Germany's National Academy of Sciences, the Leopoldina represents German science in international networks. It is committed to promoting exchange between disciplines and countries and to strengthening science-based policy and social counselling.

The Leopoldina hosts the secretariat of the Committee for the Coordination of International Relations (AKA), which also serves as the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany’s Working Group on International Affairs. In this role, it enables key German science organisations to coordinate joint positions on international issues. As a cooperative body, the committee also serves as a platform for joint initiatives.

The Alliance of Science Organisations is an association of the most important science and research organisations in Germany. It regularly comments on issues of science policy, research funding and the structural development of the German science system.

The Leopoldina has been fulfilling its role of providing science-based advice to society and policy-makers since its appointment as the National Academy of Sciences on 14 July 14 2008. In this capacity, it works in close collaboration with the German Academy of Science and Engineering - acatech and the Union of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities. The Leopoldina has established a coordinating committee, which is chaired by its president.

The Joint Committee was established by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the Leopoldina to raise awareness amongst researchers of dual-use issues in security-relevant research and to further develop and foster both a responsible approach to security-relevant research and self-governance within the research community. The Committee advances the implementation of the recommendations on “Scientific Freedom and Scientific Responsibility” issued by the DFG and Leopoldina.