The city used to have two universities, Université d`Auvergne and Université Blaise Pascal, though these merged in 2016 to become Université Clermont-Auvergne, which now has nearly 32,000 students. The University of Regensburg and Université Clermont Auvergne jointly run a binational degree course in "German-French Studies". Since September 2017, as part of a partnership between OTH Regensburg and Grande Ecole SIGMA in Clermont-Ferrand, students have also been able to gain a double degree in mechanical engineering. In September 2017, the twin cities launched the German-French Voluntary Service. New connections were also established in the area of social inclusion. In 2019, both cities celebrated 50 years of friendship and the occasion was marked with numerous joint activities.