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Berlin University Alliance and Laidlaw Foundation Forge Landmark Partnership to Develop the Next Generation of Ethical Leaders

Berlin University Alliance becomes the first partner in Germany to join the prestigious Laidlaw Scholars Network, with up to 20 undergraduate scholars to receive funding annually

Starting in 2027, each year up to 20 undergraduate students from the Berlin University Alliance will gain access to the Laidlaw Scholars Leadership & Programme. The programme supports committed undergraduate students in developing into ethical leaders in every sector and geography. More than 20 leading universities across Europe, North America and Asia are part of the Laidlaw Scholars network including Oxford, Imperial, MIT, Toronto and Hong Kong University. Through the partnership with the Laidlaw Foundation, the Berlin University Alliance strengthens the international connectivity of Berlin as a science hub.

News from Oct 12, 2026

The Laidlaw Scholars Leadership & Programme for undergraduate students centers on an independent research project, as well as a "Leadership in Action" project, in which participants apply their knowledge in a social or non-profit environment abroad. The Laidlaw Scholars Programme is designed to equip a new generation of diverse leaders with the skills, values and international perspectives needed to tackle the world's most pressing challenges.

The Laidlaw Scholars Leadership & Programme is aimed at students from various disciplines in their first two years of undergraduate study and offers individual support within a global network of more than 3,000 future decision-makers and researchers worldwide.

"The partnership with the Laidlaw Foundation underscores the international standing of the Berlin University Alliance as an excellence network. The foundation collaborates worldwide with select top universities – the fact that Berlin is becoming the first partner institution in Germany within this network is a special honour. Most importantly, our students benefit: we are creating new opportunities to support excellent talent from all four alliance partners early in their academic development and to prepare them for responsible roles in science, business and society."
(Dr. Martin Mann, Managing Director of the Berlin University Alliance)

"We are delighted to welcome the Berlin University Alliance as the first partner institution in Germany into our network. The four institutions of the Berlin University Alliance stand for scientific excellence, social responsibility, and international cooperation – values that also shape the Laidlaw Scholars Programme. In an increasingly polarised and uncertain world, developing the next generation of wise thinkers who will lead with impact and integrity, is more important than ever.
(Susanna Kempe, CEO of the Laidlaw Foundation)

The partnership with the Laidlaw Foundation also supports a key goal of the Berlin University Alliance: to further strengthen the connection between top-level research and teaching and to advance the exchange of excellent researchers and students. By establishing teaching and learning as a cross-cutting theme, the Berlin University Alliance has given strategic importance to this area within its Excellence Strategy since 2019. The Laidlaw Scholars Programme complements this approach by combining research-oriented learning, international networking and personal development into a joint offer.

About the Laidlaw Foundation

The Laidlaw Foundation invests in the education of the underprivileged and underrepresented in order to break the cycle of poverty, reduce inequality and develop a new generation of ethical leaders. Our funding supports five core programmes:

  • Sponsoring the Laidlaw Schools Trust – a growing, Multi Academy Trust in the North East of England, providing extraordinary education that transforms lives;
  • Developing a new generation of diverse leaders who embrace research-based decision-making and ethical leadership through our Laidlaw Scholars Leadership and Research programme at the world's leading universities;
  • Ensuring more women reach the C-Suite by providing MBA scholarships at London Business School, Oxford University's Saïd Business School, HEC Paris and IE Madrid;
  • Supporting more women from underserved communities to receive a degree and break cycles of inequity through the Trinity College Dublin Trailblazer programme; and
  • Building innovative and inspiring spaces in which pupils and students excel.

About the Berlin University Alliance

Home to over 100,000 students, the Berlin University Alliance is the excellence network of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Together, the four institutions are shaping an integrated science and innovation space with shared infrastructures, strong networks, and new forms of collaboration. In this way, the Berlin University Alliance strengthens Berlin as a center of science and contributes to actively shaping the transformation of research and academia. The Berlin University Alliance is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) and the State of Berlin as part of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments.

Further information

Media Contacts

Berlin University Alliance

Laidlaw Foundation

 Credits: Telling Photography

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