About us

The University of Amsterdam is ambitious, creative and committed: a leader in international science and a partner in innovation, the UvA has been inspiring generations since 1632.

The UvA has close links with the city of Amsterdam. The four UvA campuses form an integral part of the city. The UvA also forms partnerships with companies, social institutions, museums, citizens and the municipality. These collaborations help find solutions to urban challenges. And make education and research more meaningful for scientists and students.
Cooperation and exchange
The UvA and the city of Amsterdam have been working together for hundreds of years. The Municipality of Amsterdam was instrumental in the founding of the University of Amsterdam. And, to this day, the University enhances the quality of life of the city, and there are numerous projects in which the University and the Amsterdam region work together for their mutual benefit. The following are just a few examples of this:

Ben Sajet Centre
In the Ben Sajet Centre, Amsterdam-based knowledge institutions, educators and care institutions combine their strengths in the field of elderly care or disabled care programmes. The key question: how can we translate the needs of the elderly and people with a disability into a new approach to care, and combine this in an innovative way with research and education? 

Amsterdam Law Hub
The Amsterdam Law Hub is a breeding ground for innovation in the field of social legal services. Here, students and staff from the UvA’s Faculty of Law work with social partners, justice entrepreneurs and longstanding partners.

Innovation Exchange Amsterdam
IXA is the knowledge transfer hub of the UvA, the AUAS, the Amsterdam UMC and VU Amsterdam. IXA helps researchers convert their results into concrete applications, and the hub brings researchers and companies or institutions into contact with each other as potential collaboration partners.

Amsterdam Green Campus
Amsterdam Green Campus collaborates with knowledge institutions, authorities and entrepreneurs in the field of sustainability and a circular economy. This takes the form of project research and students in the Sustaina Student Lab also work on projects from companies and public institutions in the field of sustainability. UvA students work on important issues that have real consequences. 

Civic AI Lab
This Civic AI Lab is a collaboration between the UvA and VU Amsterdam for research into the application of Artificial Intelligence in the field of education, welfare, environment, mobility and health. The objectives are to develop AI technology to highlight inequality of opportunities in society, and to use AI to help counter inequality of opportunities. The lab will also help to raise awareness of the opportunities and risks of AI among residents.

Knowledge Hub on Inequality
The Knowledge Hub on Inequality is an Amsterdam-based partnership between the Municipality of Amsterdam, the UvA, VU Amsterdam, the AUAS and Inholland. The Knowledge Hub on Inequality aims to describe and explain forms of inequality in the Metropolitan Region of Amsterdam, and, through research, to contribute to the development of practices that can prevent or counter inequality. 

Amsterdam Humanities Hub
The Humanities Hub is a collaborative initiative between the Municipality of Amsterdam, the KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) and the UvA. The aim is to build a bridge between humanities knowledge and social partners, including the cultural and creative sector. The Hub will stimulate the social debate and put forward solutions to urban problems, using Amsterdam as a laboratory.