This past June, I had the honor of participating in the Germany Today Program, sponsored by the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst - The German Academic Exchange Service.) I was part of a delegation of faculty and administrators from various universities in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The DAAD generously provided a comprehensive program with very little direct cost to participants. The program started in Bonn, traveled to Brussels and ended in Berlin. Each day we met with DAAD's local staff, researchers, university faculty and administrators, grants organizations and DAAD funded students and scholars. There was a strong emphasis on the Bologna Process and current policy discussions in the member countries. Dialogue was particularly meaningful because we had nearly a week to continue our discussions with colleagues over lunch, dinner and bus journeys. We were able to not only reflect on our experiences during the week, but to also learn about trends and best practices on their campuses and in their home countries. The added bonus of this program was networking within the structure of a very strong training experience.

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