Oxford and Princeton universities have announced collaboration involving research projects and student and staff exchanges. It could mean millions in extra funding for Oxford.

Colin Lucas, vice-chancellor of Oxford University, said: "Oxford already has the largest research income of any UK university. This collaboration has come from the ground upwards, from academics wanting to work more closely together. It will allow us to put joint funding proposals to major funding bodies in America."

Harold T. Shapiro, president of Princeton University, said: "Research and learning increasingly are global endeavours, involving collaboration."

The deal will give both universities access to additional sources of funding such as international foundations, multinational corporations and the European Union.

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Mike Smithson, director of the development office at Oxford, said: "The culture of giving is strong at Princeton and this (collaboration) could have a marked impact on attitudes at Oxford."

Princeton has an endowment of more than $8 billion with 60 per cent of alumni donating money.

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Twelve collaborative research projects have been identified already.