Due to its climatic importance as well as high industrial development rates caused by the region´s precious natural resources (gas, oil, lumber, gold, minerals, diamonds), central Siberia and namely the Krasnoyarsk region was and is in the focus of European, Russian and global research projects starting twenty years ago (namely the IGBP Boreal Transect Study). The German and Russian Sib-Lab team partners have since then been continuously involved in various international cooperation projects and can build upon a wealth of available experience as well as from their published literature. However, continuity of these cooperations is dependent on e.g. Framework Programme calls and thus lacks a long-term perspective. The Sib-Lab team partners have recognized that long-term bilateral cooperation can only be strengthened and sustained through jointly used infrastructure and academic education partnerships.