Strategic partnerships

The University’s International Framework makes a clear commitment to international engagement. One of the University's initiatives is identifying strategic partners from hundreds of individual linkages.

A ‘strategic partner’ is an institution with which the University will develop stronger and more productive collaboration. These stronger partnerships will lead to opportunities for external funding, resources and further collaboration beyond these institutions. In addition to research collaboration, the university will engage with a strategic partner in student and staff mobility, student articulation, joint partnerships and conferences, and areas of international engagement. Activities will differ at each partner institution depending on the relationship.

We formalised our first strategic partnership with Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in 2019. In 2020, we formalised our second strategic partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

The University of Auckland already supports strategic partnerships through the International Central Networks and Partnerships Grant (ICNPG) and Strategic Network Funds (SNF). See International Opportunities.

In 2018, the University selected Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) as a strategic partner institution following an extended analysis of our international engagement. Since the signing of the MoU, the partnership has established two rounds of seed funding programmes, workshops and academic visits to enable academic engagement and produce collaborative projects.

The first significant action under the partnership was a bilateral university workshop in Auckland, which resulted in a seed-funded collaboration development program.

Collaboration Development Seed Fund 1.0

Penn State and the University of Auckland have established a Collaboration Development Fund supporting a limited number of small collaboration grants. Jointly funded by the administrations and faculties of both universities, they established long-term collaborative research and education projects between the institutions. 

Despite the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the inaugural programme resulted in:

• 12 collaborative projects, receiving four awards and a total grant of USD 1, 216, 079 (including the seed grant provided by both universities)
• Total joint investment of NZD 160,000
• 7 presentation activities (including a poster session held by the Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems at Penn State that creatively engaged graduate students and a Strategic Collaboration Symposium to reinforce the relationship between both universities).

Collaboration Development Seed Fund 2.0

After the successful round one of the seed-funded program, round two was launched in 2023, focusing on the common UNSDG (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) themes of SDG3: Good Health and Well-being, SDG4: Quality Education, SDG11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG13: Climate Action.

• A total of NZD 80,000 spent on the two projects
• Both projects are undergoing, and the outcomes are expected by the end of 2025

In 2020, the University of Auckland formalised a strategic partnership with
the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa centred on our close ties through the APRU network and APAIE, our long-standing student exchange and academic cooperation, and our strong academic and research cooperation.

The University of Hawai’i partnership is being led by our Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Creative Arts and Industries, and Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences with an early focus on language study, indigenous studies, urban and regional planning, and indigenous health.

Initial discussions have identified opportunities to leverage long-standing faculty and research connections and to expand our student mobility programmes. As a network partner through APRU our academic and professional staff members may apply to International Central Networks and Partnerships Grant (ICNPG) for mobility support.