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The German-Russian academic year 2012/2013 offered an outstanding opportunity to discuss overarching themes of German-Russian academic collaboration, to exchange
experiences on both sides and to develop prospects - also for further bilateral collaboration. 120 participants from Germany and Russia met in April 2012 at the University of Kassel for the German-Russian Symposium on "Knowledge transfer - the new core task of Higher Education Institutions".

The contributions in this volume document the aspects of knowledge transfer presented and discussed at the conference. They cover the economic relevance of the Higher Education Institutions for the regional innovation process as well as the strategic role of knowledge transfer back from economy and society to the universities. Best practice examples of innovative concepts and models of knowledge transfer are given by university representatives from Russia and Germany.

The second subject priority sheds light on the bilateral relationships between Germany and Russia in the reciprocal "Knowledge transfer" - the bilateral collaboration in
research, teaching and technology.

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Gabriele Gorzka, Dr. phil., ist Leiterin des Ost-West-Wissenschaftszentrums der Universität Kassel.

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