International university collaborations were the focus of the visit to McMaster University by Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and her husband Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven on Monday.

Their first duties were overseeing a ceremonial signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between McMaster and Vrije University (VU) of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Faculty members from the universities have worked together on research projects for many years, and the MOU formalizes the arrangement and begins exploration of more opportunities for educational and research cooperation.

“McMaster has had successful collaborations with universities in the Netherlands for many years, and it is highly gratifying to be able to build on these partnerships,” said McMaster President Patrick Deane.

Princess Margriet also met with students of the Master of Global Health Program. Princess Margriet is the honourary chair of the advisory board for the program which is offered in partnership by Maastricht University in the Netherlands and McMaster.

She opened a symposium about antimicrobial resistance with scientists and officials of McMaster and the Public Health Agency of Canada and scientists of Maastricht and the University of Utrecht of the Netherlands, and then toured Centre for Microbial Chemical Biology with Gerry Wright, director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research.

“We regard Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet as a great friend of McMaster, and it is a pleasure to once again welcome her and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven to our campus,” said Deane.

It was Princess Margriet’s second visit to the McMaster campus. She received an honorary degree in 2012 for her lifelong dedication to international humanitarian work. She has many ties to Canada as she was born in Ottawa during the Second World War while her mother and sisters took refuge in the Canadian capital.