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Annual ReportBon. Mexico City. New York. Paris. London. Rio de Janeiro. Brussels. San José Caracas. Santiago de Chile. Toronto. Bogotá. San Francisco. Accra. Tun. Madrid. Ro. Bu. Buenos Aires. São Paulothe.daad.worldwide. North America***

Northern, Southern and Western Eu. North Africa andthe Mi. Latin America: 36nn. Berlin

Nairobi. Cairo. Warsaw. Tokyo. New Delhi. Jakarta. Beijing. Hanoi. MoscowA. Yaoundé. Ho Chi Minh City. Bangkok. Singapore. Sydney. Johannesburg. Hong Kong. Shanghai. Taipei City. Pune. Chennai. Islamabad. Bishkek. Dushanbe. Almaty. Istanbul. East Jerusalem. Amman. nis Erbil Tehran. Tbilisi. Prague. Athens. Riga. d. ome. udapest. Belgrade. Kuala Lumpur. Seoul. Guangzhou. Novosibirsk. Ankara. Abu Dhabi. Baku. Yerevan. Bucharest. St. Petersburg. Kiev. Kabul. Minsk. Addis Ababa. Kazan. Tashkent

Tel Aviv. Beirut. 15 Regional Offices. 56 Information Centres (ICs)

DAAD Head Office and Berlin Office. 487 Lektors AprilCentral and Eastern Europe, CIS:***

urope:***

iddle East***

Sub-Saharan Africa***

Asia-Pacific: 70Annual report. ofthe German Academic. Exchange Service. 2014The.daad.doctoral scholarship. made it possible for my wife and me to live and studyin Germany. Asa. professor atthe Freie Universität. Berlin,

have been able to supervisethe doctoral research of Mexican. scholarship holders. In this sense,my scholarship resultedin acascade. of new PhDs which has benefited. both Mexico and Germany.

cannot. overstatethe impactthe.daad.has. forthe professional development. of junior researchers

Prof. Dr. Raúl Rojas..daad.doctoral scholarship holder (1982-1986) from Mexicoand today Professor of Intelligent Systems and Robotics at theFreie Universität Ber***

He was named “University Professor. ofthe Year” bythe German Association of University Professorsand Lecturers (DHV). In 2014, 52 percent. of.daad.scholarship. holders were women. hIghlIghts. “Kolleg Europa” fosters interdisciplinary exchange 2

II. our goals. Scholarships forthe bes***

Structures for internationalisatio***

Expertise for academic collaboration***

III. the.daad.worldwide. Northern, Southern and Western Europ***

Central and Eastern Europe, CI***

North Americ***

Latin Americ***

North Africa andthe Middle Eas***

Sub-Saharan Afric***

Asia-Pacif***

IV. Facts and figures. Overview of.daad.fundin***

Financial Statement 98..daad.bodies***

Selection.committees 101..daad.regions***

List of abbreviations***

Addressesin Germany and abroad 110..organisational chart 112Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel, President, German Academic Exchange Service (DAA***

F o R e W o R D. Last yearthe world.commemoratedthe outbreak ofthe First World War one hundred years ago. It was atopic that.played acentral rolein public discourse everywhere: numerous forums, both. public and private, discussed new perspectives, interpretations and theories onthe war It was also. a year that clearly demonstrated that aggression, conflict and violenceare still very much part of our world and that today’s military conflicts pose extremely difficult challenges forthe international..communitythe search for workable solutions points, time and again, tothe need for international. cooperation and dialogue Even when political and diplomatic channelsare obstructed, academic. exchange is very often still possible, and can make avaluable contribution to conflict resolutionand international understanding. A casein point:the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) responded last year tothe Ukraine. crisis by intensifying cooperation withthe European Union’s eastern neighbours, while at thesame time sustainingthe longstanding friendships and trusted working relations withthe.russian. academic.community One example of this kind of collaborationinthe face of political crisis wasthe founding ofthe first German-Russian university last September atthe renowned Kazan National. Research Technical Universitythe situation is quite differentin Syria, where terrorism and civil war have destroyedthe educational and research infrastructure and made international academic exchange impossible Against. this backdrop,the.daad.not only continued its standard programmes for Syrian scholars, but. launched aspecial programme for Syrian refugeesthe goal of this new programme, which is funded. bythe German Federal Foreign Ministry, is to prepare potential leaders forthe country’s rebuilding. phase afterthe fighting has ceasedthe programme has generated tremendous interest already.dear Readers,8and has led tothe launch of two additional programmes of this kindinthe states of BadenWürttemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia. Such examples illustrate well howthe DAAD’s programmes and activitiesare conducted withina. framework that is very much defined by adiverse array of factors These include geopolitical developments, but alsothe global.competition between institutions of higher education and national. science systems For institutions of higher education and research,the internationalisation process. takes.place betweenthe “poles” of international cooperation and networking onthe one hand, and..competition for top talent for science and industry onthe other Asthe world’s largest funding..organisation for academic exchange,the.daad.helps drive this internationalisation process forwardinthe reporting year it provided financial support to 121,116 personsin Germany and abroad On. behalf of its membership, which includes 238 higher education institutions and 107 student bodiesin Germany,the.daad.engagesin and contributes to foreign cultural and educational policy,Germany’s national education and research agenda and international development cooperationthe year 2014 marked an extremely successful year forthe internationalisation of German institutions of higher education adouble record was set forthe number of foreign academicsin Germany. First,the number of visiting academics increased significantly, up to 45,000; and second, thepercentage of foreign academics at German institutions of higher education exceeded ten percent. of total academic staff forthe first timein addition,the number of foreign students on German. campuses grew to arecord 300,000, securing third.place for Germany onthe list ofthe world’s most. important academic host countries F 9

o R e W o R D. Our goal is to increasethe total number of foreign studentsin Germany to 350,000 by 2020 - atarget. that is also anchoredinthe German federal government’s coalition agreement This is an ambitious. goal, butthe DAAD’s diverse range of information services, support services and exchange programmes - ranging from “classical” individual scholarships, to regional or discipline-specific programmes, to special programmesin cooperation with foreign partners - ensure that our 2020 goals. remain attainable One such special programme isthe Brazilian scholarship programme “Science. without Borders” which was renewed and expandedin 2014 as aresult of its great success over thelast three years. Last year was also successfulin terms ofthe overall mobility of German students, withthe number. of German students abroad increasing by two percent up to approximately 140,000 Important. drivers of mobility werethe.daad.individual scholarship programmes,the PROMOS programme to enhancethe mobility of German university students, andthe European Union’s highly successful. ERASMUS+ programme, which is administered bythe DAADthe.daad.programme “Strategic. Partnerships and Thematic Networks”, launchedin 2012, also makes an important contribution to greater mobilityin German higher education by heighteningthe international profile of German. universities Due tothe tremendous interestinthe “Strategic Partnerships and Thematic Networks”. programme, anew call for applications was issuedin ***

Againstthe backdrop of adynamic world stage, 2014 was ayear of change withinthe.daad.as well. Our “Strategy 2020”, which we presentedin early 2013, is designed to keep us “on track” moving. forward - to ensure thatthe.daad.responds strategically and successfully to future challenges An important first step - and one that we tookin 2014 - was acomprehensive re-structuring of Prof. Margret Wintermantel. greets.daad.scholarship. holders at agathering inDarmstadt***

our.organisationthe intention here was to achieve an even greater degree of professionalism and. efficiencyin administering our two core responsibilities - awarding individual scholarships to students and researchers, and supporting university partnership programmes and international. study and exchange programmes This new structure, which was implemented on 1 January 2015,ensures thatthe tremendous knowledge generated bythe collaboration between our global. network of 15 regional offices, 56 information centres and foreign partners can be consolidatedand processedin amore targeted, effective mannerinthe end, we want to do even more to share. this knowledge with our member universitiesin Germany, with our partners at home and abroad,and with decision-makersinthe areas of cultural, educational and development policy. This Annual Report will guide you through 2014 based onthe.organisational structure that still. applied forthe reporting yearinthe appendix you will find aguide tothe.organisational structure. ofthe “new DAAD”.

hope you findthe report to be informative and inspiring. Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel. President, German Academic Exchange Service (DA***

Bonn, AprilF o R e W o R DI. Who we are12

I. W h o W e aR e: C h an g e b y e x C h an g ethe.daad.regional officein nairobi celebrated its. 40th anniversaryin ***

towards equal opportunity. Marriage at ayoung age and limited access to educationare everyday realities for many womenin Yemen Even applying for an identification. card might requirethe consent of amale guardian.daad.scholarship holder Suaad Abdo, 34, is. waging acampaign against this gender inequityin her home country “I want to show women. that they have avoice andthe right to fight for it”. Her experience as aDAAD scholarship holder inThuringia, Germany, changed her life “Through. my encounter withthe German culture andthe dialogue with students from all around theworld,

not only became familiar with different. points of view, but also with hands-on tools for. achieving my goals,” says Abdo..daad.scholarship holder Ahed O Abu Tayyem,a native ofthe Palestinian territories, sharesa. similar experience After receiving his bachelor’s.degree atthe Islamic University of Gaza, Tayyem. enrolledin amaster’s degree programme inIndustrial Engineering atthe University of Jordan -in part because so few programmes of that kind existinthe Palestinian territories.committed to making acontribution tothe development of his homeland, Tayyem seesthe DAAD. in-country/in-region scholarship programme as. a big opportunity “Industrial engineers have theskills and know-how that can be applied very. effectively to acountry’s development,” he says. Evenin Germany there is.plenty of room for. improvementinthe area of equal opportunityin Germany one’s social background.playsa. major roleinthe decision to pursue higher. education - more thanin most Western industrialised nations Among familiesin Germanyin which one or both parents have auniversity.degree, roughly 77 percent of children pursue. higher education This figure drops dramatically for familiesin whichthe parents do not. have ahigher education degree Only 23 percent. of their children opt to pursue higher education. themselves One of these is Katja Urbatscha..daad.alumna, Urbatsch initiated “arbeiterkind.de” to help levelthe.playing field “We want to encourage young people to pursue higher education, to inform themselves about scholarshipsand other funding and support opportunities,and to set an example for others,” explains. Urbatsch. These three stories underscore whythe.daad.is..committed to “Equal Opportunityin Educationand Research”, and whythe.daad.made equal. opportunity its central themein 2014 All three. of these young men and women embody its. core mission of “Change by Exchange”. long­standing presencein Africathe DAAD’s presence and engagementin Africa. goes back several decadesin 2014the DAAD. regional officein Nairobi celebrated its 40th. anniversary What began with asmall, one-room. officein Kenya’s capital city has grown to become An important base of international operations. Overthe yearsthe.daad.has provided funding. Change by exchange1

total funding 1950-2014:13and support to more than 25,000 African studentsand researchers, including 4,783 personsin theSub-Saharan Africa regionin 2014 alone Today..daad.alumniin Africa.play apivotal role inthe region as university executives, leaders of academic.organisations, such asthe.commission. for University Educationin Kenya, or as highranking government officialsin Tanzania. germanin demand worldwide. German courses arein great demand at collegesand universities aroundthe world Interest inthe German language is especially high where. thereare close academic ties to Germany, where. Germany is perceived as amajor international. centre for science and research, and where outstanding educational opportunitiesare offeredin connection with Germanythe DAAD’s transnational education projects.play an integral partin this, such asthe Turkish-German University(TDU)in Istanbul which officially openedin 2014 atthe same time,the “customer’s” demandsand requirements have changed considerably inrecent years Young people today want to learn. modern conversational German along with themore technical language specific to their discipline - all within arelatively short period of time This is no easy task forthe 608 Lektorsand 293 language assistantsthe.daad.supports. aroundthe worldin response tothe challenge,the.daad.published aposition paperin ***

outliningthe DAAD’s rolein promoting theGerman language based on current needs and. perspectives. ›table 1: Key figures inthe DAAD’s development

Established posts(Headquarters, Regional Offices, Berlin Office)

4

Fifteen regional officesand 56 information centres. representthe DAAD. throughoutthe world. eXeCUtIVe.comMIttee. Selection.committees. 15 Regional Offices and. 56 Information Centres. President. Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel. Vice President. Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee. University and student. body representatives,guest members. heAD oFFICe. secretary general. Dr. Dorothea Rüland. BoARD oF tRUstees. Representatives fromthe federal. government,the federal states,higher education institutions and. student bodies,the General Assembly and scientific.organisations. general Assembly. 238 member higher education institutions 107 member student bodiesthe DAAD’s. structure***

›in response to political developmentsin 2014the.daad.responded on short notice to anumber of political developments, includingthe civil warin Syria andthe violent clashes inUkraine It reacted by expanding its programmes- funding and other forms of support for academic exchange and cooperation - as away to stabilise higher educationinthe crisis regionsthe new scholarship programme “Leadership. for Syria” broke all previous records with over. 5,000 persons applying for 200 available. scholarships. Driving social change by exchange around theworld requires aglobal network; 15 regional. offices and 56 information centres represent theDAAD throughoutthe worldthe expertise. of.daad.staffin Bonn, Berlin and around theworld guarantees that every.daad.project. benefits from international experience and. multiple points of view. growing international importancethe.daad.isthe world´s largest funding.organisation for academic exchange With its three. strategic action areas “Scholarships forthe Best”,“Structures for Internationalisation” and “Expertise for Academic Collaborations”, it relies not. only on innovative new ideas, but also on experience and continuityin line with its Strategy. 2020,the.daad.introduced anew.organisation al. structurein 2014 Duringthe 2013/14 winter. semester, over 300,000 foreign students were. enrolledin German institutions of higher education This new record of foreign student. enrolmentin Germany confirmedthe success. ofthe DAAD’s work and marked an important. milestone onthe way toward its 2020 target. Forthe first time, over. 300,000 foreign students. were enrolledin german. institutions of higher. education during the2013/14 winter semester6

I. W h o W e aR e: C h an g e b y e x C h an g e. of 350,000the new. Erasmus+ programme was. a major contributor to this successthe.daad.is maintained by its members, which. include German institutions of higher education and student representative bodiesin 2014,member numbers totalled 238 higher education. institutions and 107 student representative. bodiesthe General Assembly electsthe DAAD. Executive.committee, which has been headed by. Prof Dr Margret Wintermantel,the honorary..daad.President, since 2012 Vice President is. Prof Dr Joybrato Mukherjee, President of theUniversity of Giessen Dr Dorothea Rüland has. served asthe.daad.Secretary General since. October 2010the.daad.budget is primarily.comprised of funds from various ministries within Germany,most notablythe Federal Foreign Ministry (AA),the Federal Ministry of Education and Research(BMBF) andthe Federal Ministry for Economic. Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Additional fundsare provided bythe European Union(EU) as well as by various enterprises,.organisations and foreign governments. 90 years of service aroundthe globe. For nine decades now,the.daad.has been working to provide students, researchers and teaching staff access tothe best study and research. opportunitiesthe.daad.is celebrating its 90th. anniversaryin June 2015 with agala event inBerlinthe.daad.success story beganin 1925 inHeidelberg, where student and future Harvard. Professor Carl Joachim Friedrich succeeded insecuring 13 scholarships fromthe Institute of International Educationin New York Beginningin 1933,the international network was increasingly used for National Socialist propagandaandthe.daad.was dissolvedin 1945 after its. headquartersinthe Berlin City Palace were. bombed. Nevertheless,the idea behindthe.organisation. was kept alive andthe.daad.was re-established. just five years later, this time as an associationin 1950 its budget consisted of approximately. 75,000 euros for 400 students;in 2014the total. budget was 441 million euros - agood indication ofthe DAAD’s growing role and importance over time Indeed, for many years now,the.daad.has done much more than grant. scholarships It also promotesthe mobility of undergraduates, graduate students, researchers,scholars and artists, and helps advance internationalisation of Germany’s institutes of higher. educationthe.daad.conducts international. marketing activities to promote Germany’s. higher education and research institutions,supports developing countriesin establishing. efficient and effective higher education institutions of their own, promotesthe study of theGerman language abroad and consults on issues. of cultural, education and development policy. All of these activities.combine to help open up. Germany and strengthen its overall.competitivenessin today’s globalised world. «..daad.Budget ***

AA. eU. others. BMZ. BMBF european Union:eUR 65 million = 15 %. other funding bodies:eUR 55 million = 13 %. Federal Ministry for economic. Cooperation and Development:eUR 41 million = 9 %. Federal Ministry of education and Research:eUR 103 million = 23 %. Federal Foreign office:eUR 177 million = 40 %. total:EUR***

millionIOur goals18

Scholarships forthe best. Scholarships for foreigners. German universities remain attractive for undergraduates, graduate students and doctoral candidates from abroad Afterthe USA and United. Kingdom, Germany isthe third most popular. host country for foreign exchange students inthe winter semester 2013/14,the number of foreign students enrolledin German universities. reachedthe 300,000 mark forthe first time;. approximately one out of ten students enrolled at German universities came from abroad theattractiveness of Germany as acentre of researchand scholarship is reflectedinthe number of applications received bythe.daad.year after. year Forthe 2013/14 application period, theDAAD received some 24,000 applications for its. main study, research and work stay programmes,andthe.daad.selection.committees were able to award over 5,000 scholarships tothe best. applicants Added to thisarethe foreign government scholarship programmes administered. jointly bythe.daad.and foreign partners, which. roughly doublesthe number of.daad.doctoral. scholarships for foreign students from developing and emerging countriesthe demand for scholarships is either steady or. growingin most regions ofthe world thenumber of applications.coming from Eastern. Europe is traditionally very high Forthe 2013***

application period, atotal of 9,587 students and. young researchers submitted applications- anumber which nearly matchedthe previous. year’s figure (9,922) Out of this large pool of Eastern European applicants, atotal of 2***

scholarships were awardedthe demand for.daad.scholarships continues. its steady growthin Western Europe and North. America as wellthe number of applicants. hoping to conduct astudy or research stay inGermany was once again higher thanthe previous year - up from 3,092 to 3,269 Particularly. noteworthy here isthe rapid growthin thenumber of doctoral candidates and experienced. researchers applying for short research stays inGermany, which was up by 26 percent from 802 to 1,011 - yet another confirmation ofthe positive image of German universities internationally and their ability to attract more and more. foreign scholars and researchers Today 10 3

percent of all research and arts staff at German. institutions of higher education.come from. abroad As documented bythe DAAD’s STIBET. study, these international scholarsare attracted to Germany most of all due tothe high quality. of education and researchin Germanythe demand for.daad.scholarships. among foreign students and. researchers is onthe rise, due mainly tothe high quality of educationand research at German institutions. of higher education

I I. o U R g o al s: S C h o l ar S h

p S f o r t h e b e S t9

Certainlythe economic crisesin many countries. aroundthe world have increased interest instudy and research opportunitiesin Germany- acountry not only recognised as an outstanding centre for research and scholarship, but also. for its exceptional economic and social stability. as.compared to other countriesthe current. application period, for example, saw a12 percent. increasein scholarship applications from Greece,and even a25 percent increasein applications. from Italyin Southern Europe (Italy, Greece,Portugal and Spain) there was also a25 percent. increaseinthe number of doctoral candidatesand experienced researchers applying for short. research staysin Germany (up from 373 to 467). ›20

special syria programme provides hopeand directionin atime of crisisin late 2014,the.daad.was forced to respond to An entirely different kind of crisisthe civil warin Syria has caused not only destruction and. unimaginable suffering, but raisesthe sad prospect thatthe country could lose awhole generation of scientists, scholars, professionals and. leaders as aresult ofthe conflictthe DAAD’s. response was to initiatethe new “Leadership for. Syria” programmein close collaboration withthe Federal Foreign Ministrythe programme. is designed to prepare capable and responsibleminded young people forthe challenge of rebuilding their country’s social, economic and. academic institutions and infrastructures afterthe civil war Atthe end of 2014,the DAAD. issued acall for applications for “Leadership for. Syria” and received over 5,000 applicationsa. selection.committee will award some 200 scholarships to Syrian bachelor, master and doctoral. students from all academic disciplines. For justice. Interview with.daad.alumna. suaad Abdo. Suaad Abdo is from Yemen and,as aDAAD scholarship holder,studiedinthe Public Policyand Good Governance (PPGG)

master’s programme atthe Willy. Brandt School of Public Policyin Erfurt. She has apassion for. women’s education and gender. equality, areasin which she has. been involved for many years inher home country

How did you gain from intercultural exchanges during your. scholarship?the timein Thuringia changed. me, both personally and intellectual***

am much more independent and confident than.

was beforethe programme;. German culture andthe ex change. with other international students have very much enriched. my life. Not only have

gained. new perspectives, but also. learned about other ways and. methods to reach my goals

I have also developed myself. academically, and am specialising. nowin conflict management

Your master’s thesis focused. on female refugees from Syria

After you return to Yemen, how. do you intend to engage for therights of Yemeni women?. My studies and experiences inGermany have strengthened. my sense of purpose.

find it. intolerable that girlsare denied. access to education. So my. vision is acontinuing education. centre for girls where they can. learn foreign languages, since. language skills can open doors to foreign cultures and ways. of life. That can be asource of motivationin one’s own life

What’s atthe core of your..commitment?.

view it as my social responsibility to share my knowledge. with others.

myself am lucky,as my parents, especially my. mother, have always supported. my goals

Previous to your studies inGermany you had worked for. Soul for Development, anongovernmental.organisation inSanaa,the Yemeni capital

What were your goals there?. For us it was mainly about. informing women of their rightsand ensuring equality of opportunityin education. To this end,the NGO focuses its support onthe education sector and is. involvedin youth literacy, especially literacy for women. But. none of this can work if it is. againstthe will ofthe men,which makes things difficult

How do you encouragethe women?. Sincethe family isthe smallest. unit of society, change must. start there. Women should partakein their family’s decisionmaking and be able to contribute tothe family’s income. So. we’ve made it clear to both menand womenin workshops:educated women can take bettercare of afamily’s interests, andare therefore an advantage for. everyone

tthe new.daad.programme. “l(fā)eadership for syria“. prepares future syrian. leaders forthe challenge. of rebuilding their country’s. political, social, economicand scientific institutionsand infrastructures

The scholarship includes German language. courses and acompulsory programmein good. governancein addition,the.daad.will continue to offer its regular scholarship programme for. Syrian doctoral candidates. greater diversity atthe doctoral level. Funding for highly qualified doctoral candidates. is acore.daad.activity Overthe last several. years, structured PhD programmes have established themselves alongside more traditional. individual doctoral study With its Graduate. School Scholarship Programme (GSSP), theDAAD wants to increasethe percentage of foreign doctoral candidatesin structured PhD. programmes As part ofthe GSSP, selected universities receive support to establish and develop. collaborative research projects with foreign. partners As part of such international structured. PhD programmes, they can apply for DAADfinanced scholarships for foreign candidatesthe second selection round forthe GSSP took..placein March 2014 atotal of 68 applications. were received, from which 42 were selected to receive fundingin addition, 141 candidates. fromthe GSSP-financed PhD programmes were. nominated for ascholarship, from whic***

were selected to receive funding Sixteen of thesescholarship holdersare doctoral candi dates from. Sub-Saharan Africa - astrong developmentand confirmation thatthe.daad.has succeededin providing applicants from developing and. emerging countries with access to outstanding. German doctoral programmes

«I I. o U R g o al s: S C h o l ar S h

p S f o r t h e b e S t

More and more German university studentsare spending time abroadin 2013, 29 percent. of all bachelor’s and 41 percent of all master’s.degree students had.completed an academic. stay abroad bythe time they.completed their.degree programmes This marked a12 percent. increase among bachelor’s degree studentsand 5 percent increase among master’s degree. students as.compared to 2011the.daad.offers. a broad spectrum of scholarship programmes. for qualified students and young researchers. looking to gain international experience theseprogrammes give future leadersinthe sciences,industry and academiathe chance to prepare. for professional lifein ahighly international. environment at some ofthe most interesting. locations worldwide Individual scholarships arethe DAAD’s main form of financial support. These enable scholarship holders to.plan their. own foreign study visits, research stays, language programmes, or work assignments regardless of field or country Following acareful. selection process,the.daad.provides funding. for both short-term stays as well as longer stays. for entire academic degree programmes, inparticular for master’s degrees. going abroad builds character. Spending time abroad can boost academic andcareer success, but studyingin aforeign country. also has an impact on personal and character.development Long believed to be true, this idea. has now been proven by Dr Julia Zimmermann atthe Friedrich Schiller University Jena As. part of her study,the former.daad.scholarship. holder surveyed some 1,000 students at***

German universities and demonstrated that astay. abroad has apositive impact on character traits. such as openness, conscientiousness, cultural. sensitivity and emotional stability. Whether ayoung person takesthe “plunge” into. foreign waters still depends to some degree on. his or her socio-economic background Thereare several options available to help overcomethe financial hurdle of an academic stay abroad. These includethe.daad.individual scholarship. Scholarships for Germans. ›. University students from. educationally disadvantaged. groups still go abroad less. often than their fellow. students. several sources of funding can help overcomethe financial hurdle - among. themthe.daad.scholarship. programmes***

greater educational. equity..daad.alumna helps open thedoor to higher education. For Katja Urbatsch it’s afull. time job supporting Germany’s. “first generation” university. students. The.daad.alumna,founder and managing director. of Arbeiterkind.deencouragesand helps children from nonacademic, working-class families to pursue higher education

A look atthe statistics quickly. reveals Urbatsch’s motivation

Todayin Germany, aperson’s. level of education is still closely. related to their parents’ level of education. According to thecurrent survey bythe German. National Association for Student. Affairs (DSW), only abou***

percent of young people from. non-academic families will opt to pursue higher education. them selves, although twice as. manyare eligible to do so. incontrast, if one or both parents. have auniversity degree, this. figure climbs dramatically to about 77 percent. “This needs to change,” says Katja Urbatsch

“And this is why we go into theschools and explain to young. people from non-academic familiesthe benefits of auniversity.degree. ” Arbeiterkind.de

also. provides practical tips on studyand financing opportunities,sponsors information booths at. events,.runs atelephone hotline,and even.organises local. informal “Stammtisch” events. where young people can discussand ask questionsin arelaxed. social atmosphere. Urbatsch’s. initiative also provides information on how to study abroad. with limited financial me***

Today Urbatsch and her Arbeiterkind.de

programmeare supported by over 5,000 volunteer. mentorsin 70 local groups - andthe numbersare growing. “We’re. getting bigger allthe time,”. reports Urbatsch, who, thanks to aDAAD scholarship, studied at. Boston Universityin 2002/03 as. part of her master’s programmein North American Studies,Business Administration and. Journalism/Communications

“We gain someone new almost. every day andthe groups are. becoming more and more active,”. reports Urbatsch. “And our mentorsare also active todayin more..rural areas, encouraging schoolage kids from non-aca demic. families to pursue auniversity.degree,” reports Urbatsch

Whenthe built­in support. is not there. So why do young people from. working-class families tend to decide against higher education?. “The problem has many facets,”. says Urbatsch. “Asthe first inmy family to attend university,I speak from experience. ” Lack. of financial resources.playsa. role, but it is also due to alack. of intellectual support and. encouragement onthe part ofthe parents. “What is it like to workin an academic context?. How***

apply for ascholarship? How can

land an internship? My parents were not able to answer any of these questions,” says Urbatsch

Even after obtaining ahigher.degree, “first generation” graduates face tougher conditions. than their peers. “Having theright connections.plays abig rolein career opportunity and. advancement, which is why we. offer mentoring,” says Urbatsch

With her Arbeiterkind.de

initiative, its long list of services and. growing network of mentors, theDAAD alumna isin aposition to make alasting contribution to educational equityin Germany

Katja Urbatsch has found. her calling helping. young people from nonacademic families find. their way to university