The Australia-Germany Research Network (AGRN) is a joint initiative by the Australian Embassy in Berlin and the German Embassy in Canberra, officially launched in November 2018 in Berlin. AGRN provides a bilateral platform for networking and information exchange for all Australian and German researchers, students, entrepreneurs, companies, funding agencies and other stake holders with an interest in bilateral research and development.

The central hub is the LinkedIn group AGRN https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13531832/ with nearly 500 members to date from Australia and Germany. All members can post information about research projects, funding opportunities, bilateral events and job offers, and use the platform to identify new research and industry partners.

The AGRN Newsletter is published every three months, and provides information about conferences, events, research funding and bilateral policy developments in research and innovation. It also showcases successful Australia-Germany research cooperations and profiles Australian researchers in Germany and vice versa.

Events under the AGRN branding are organised in both countries, funded by the respective hosting institutions and organisations. Recent examples include German Science and Innovation Days, DAAD/Humboldt-Alumni-Symposia, Falling Walls Lab, Research Marketing Events, University Gateway Open Days, Australian-German Research Symposia hosted by GOstralia! and Science Circle Receptions hosted by the Embassies in Canberra and Berlin. The official AGRN Logo and Bannercan be provided by the Embassies to institutions in Australia and Germany who would like to host events under the AGRN branding.

In the brief time since its launch AGRN has already proven invaluable for the bilateral research cooperation:

• AGRN is a modern, efficient research marketing tool: Australian and German research landscapes, our bilateral cooperation and research activities can be promoted with high visibility at minimal cost.
• AGRN includes not only alumni, but everyone from the scientific diasporas in both countries, as well as industry partners and other stake holders, such as universities, funding agencies, academies, peak bodies, think tanks, cultural institutes, and chambers of commerce.

For more information and to join, see the AGRN flyer (PDF).