University BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and Sorbian institute sign cooperation agreement and confirm their collaboration

Joint press release from BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and the Sorbian Institute

The President of the Brandenburg University of Technology (BTU) Cottbus-Senftenberg, Gesine Grande, and the Director of the Sorbian Institute (SI), Hauke Bartels, sign a cooperation agreement.

On Monday, 26 January 2026, BTU and SI concluded a cooperation agreement to consolidate their collaboration in teaching and research as well as their commitment to the region. The partner institutions want to develop and strengthen joint projects on Sorbian culture and language (Sorabistics) in the long term. In doing so, they are building on many years of experience.

Prof. Gesine Grande, President of BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, says: “The cooperation agreement we are signing today takes our collaboration to a new, institutionalised level. It creates a binding framework for joint teaching and research, for the supervision of theses and doctorates, for new research priorities and, last but not least, for greater visibility of the Sorbian language and culture at our university.”

“Lusatia, the location of both institutions, is undergoing rapid change. Therefore, the transformation and cultural heritage of the region are just two examples of fruitful joint research. The perspectives are often different, but bringing them together helps us move forward – a new framework is now being created for this purpose,” emphasises Prof. Dr. Hauke Bartels, Director of the Sorbian Institute.

Plans include joint courses on the Sorbian/Wendish language and culture, supervision of theses and doctoral dissertations, and joint research projects, particularly in the field of minority studies. Joint conferences and meetings, the acquisition of third-party funding, and the mutual use of infrastructure, libraries, digital resources, and the Sorbian Cultural Archive are also part of the cooperation. But the Lower Sorbian language is also to become more visible on campus and in public.

The two institutions can already look back on a series of joint activities. In March 2025, SI and BTU organised in Cottbus/Chóśebuz a transdisciplinary forum on the digital culture of the Sorbs/Wends. SI research assistants regularly give lectures on Sorbian/Wendish topics at BTU, most recently in the public lecture series OPEN BTU.