The Centre for International Academic Cooperation (KIWi) was founded in 2019 on the recommendation of the German Science and Humanities Council. Its purpose is to support German universities in initiating and implementing their international activities.

In so doing, KIWi staff draw on their expertise in KIWi topics as well as the DAAD’s extensive specialist and regional knowledge, including its global network of over 50 office locations worldwide. KIWi also brings together the internationalisation experience and expertise of the DAAD’s member universities and leverages this to further develop its information and advisory services.

 

The demands placed on universities in terms of international cooperation have grown in recent years. Geopolitical shifts, crises and conflicts as well as the divergent approach to fundamental values such as academic freedom and university autonomy have a direct impact on practical cooperation between universities: University management, international offices, university administrations, research institutions and academics therefore require profound expertise to allow them to shape international cooperation in an interest-oriented, risk-reflective and competence-based manner.

Consulting

At KIWi, our approach to consulting and services always starts by systematically and comprehensively leveraging the potential of international relations and creating opportunities for exchange and cooperation, even where the framework conditions are challenging. These processes for assessing the opportunities and risks of cooperation allow us to support internationalisation stakeholders at German universities by delivering comprehensive expertise, individual advice and national and international networking opportunities.

Topics

We provide our expertise in the following thematic areas:

• Risk and security 
• Legal framework conditions 
• Science Diplomacy
• Research, Innovation, Transfer
• Matchmaking and international networks

Our aim is to provide German universities with comprehensive information and advice in the field of international academic cooperation and to support them in:

• Identifying current topics and trends in international academic cooperation and strengthening their expertise and competence in the field of international cooperation.
• Identifying new partner countries and cooperation potential and organising international cooperation in a knowledge-based and strategic manner.
• Developing university cooperation in a manner that reflects the risk and sustainably organising projects, even under challenging conditions.

Events and publications

Various event formats, such as KIWi Connect and KIWi Lab, are utilised to intensify inter-university dialogue and facilitate joint learning and peer-to-peer experience exchanges. Our high-level KIWi Policy Talks bring together stakeholders from the worlds of science and politics and provide impetus for science diplomacy and foreign science policy dialogue.

Up-to-date information and pooled knowledge are incorporated into KIWi’s various publication formats. The DAAD Globus series provides comprehensive regional expertise on higher education systems worldwide, including country reports, education system analyses and infographics. KIWi Kompass and KIWi Impuls set thematic priorities, analyse the opportunities and challenges of academic cooperation in selected contexts and provide practical recommendations in the form of guidelines.