DAAD recently announced this exciting opportunity for educators and scientists to visit Germany in December 2010. Having traveled with DAAD before, I cannot recommend the experience enough! They are well organized, very connected and extremely generous with their funding.  Did I mention they’re also a great group of people?  Please read the following information from DAAD and note that the FIRM application deadline is October 6, 2010. 

“In December 2010, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will sponsor an informational visit on current developments in chemistry research and higher education in Germany. The tour is for North American faculty, scientists and administrators and will take place from December 5th to December 11th, 2010. The main focal points are environmentally-friendly synthesis, production and recycling processes with a special focus on catalysis, new polymers and nanomaterials. Participants will visit various institutions to learn about cutting-edge research and its application. There will be visits to renowned universities and research institutions, including Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, RWTH Aachen, Heidelberg University, Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology, and Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Chemistry) as well as BASF, the world’s leading chemical company. With this tour DAAD offers scientists and administrators an opportunity to learn about the present situation in chemistry research and higher education in Germany. We hope to enable them to identify common interests and starting points for cooperation in these areas as well as possible funding opportunities. The program will be in English. All program-related costs in Germany (accommodations, travel, most meals) will be borne by the DAAD. Intercontinental travel is at the participants’ expense. Applicants must be US or Canadian citizens or residents, have a special interest in Germany and transatlantic cooperation, and a relevant professional position. They should not have recently participated in another information trip to Germany. APPLICATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY October 6, 2010. For further information, please go to: www.daad.org/page/sciencetour/ or contact Uta Gaedeke in New York at 212-758-3223 x:209 or via e-mail at gaedeke@daad.org.”

This year’s program will focus on The Bologna Reforms. Applications are due by March 5, 2010.  See details below:

Bologna Turns Ten:  Transatlantic Student Mobility in the German and European Higher Education Context
Bonn – Brussels – Berlin
June 12 – 19, 2010

Since 1979, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has sponsored an annual information visit on current developments in Germany and Europe for high-level North American policy experts and decision makers. This year’s program will focus on the latest efforts and developments in internationalizing higher education in Germany and Europe, and on how your students can benefit from it.

North American participants in this program are typically senior administrators at leading universities in the U.S. and Canada (such as vice-presidents for international affairs or heads of international offices), policy makers in federal and state/provincial governments or associations, and other experts in the higher education field.

The program will be in English. All program-related costs in Europe (accommodation, domestic travel, most meals) will be covered by DAAD. (The program will end on Friday, June 18, in Berlin but accommodation through Saturday morning will be covered by DAAD, as well). Intercontinental travel is at the participant’s expense.

Please visit www.daad.org/?p=germanytoday for further information.

I was able to bring DAAD to my campus at WCSU this past October for the International Education Conference.  Jane Fu, from DAAD (based in NYC), gave an excellent presentation about the wide range of funding opportunities for undergraduates, graduates, PhD candidates and Post Docs, and Faculty/Researchers. DAAD is an incredibly well organized and generous organization.  Funding is available for German language study, internships, research, short term lectureship, and even group study.

As I prepare for my pre-conference workshop presentation, “Fundamentals of Short Term Education Abroad Programming”, I am reminded of the importance of program start-up funding. Short term programs, while increasingly popular, often run at a financial loss in year one.  In my opinion, this is something that should be anticipated and is perhaps necessary in the first year in to develop an audience for a sustainable program.  Once a successful cohort returns from a short course abroad, they inadvertently serve as your course’s marketing team.  Their positive experiences move like wildfire across social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, etc) and the chances of recruiting in year two are significantly heightened.

Through my recent trip to Germany I was quickly able to discern that it is a particularly viable destination for short courses in business, sciences and social sciences/humanities.  DAAD offers financial support for academic information visits to Germany that are organized by faculty members for groups of students.  The group should consist  of 10 – 15 students plus one faculty and the trip abroad should last between 7 and 12 days.   DAAD offers approximately 6,720 Euros to subsidize room and board.  For institutions that struggle with a lack of seed money for program development, this particular funding represents an excellent opportunity to decrease direct costs to students.

For more information and application deadlines, visit www.daad.org/?p=groupvisits. Based on my experience in Germany this past summer with the DAAD, you will not be disappointed.