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DAAD supports 20 higher education institutions in attracting international young talent

Global Minds Initiative

Through its “Academic Horizons – Attracting Global Minds” programme, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) supports German universities in attracting and integrating international young talent. Twenty higher education institutions have now been selected for funding until 2029. The programme is part of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space’s “Global Minds Initiative” and is funded with around 15 million euros from federal funds.

Pressefoto Academic Horizons

Funding is provided for measures to recruit, support and train international Master’s and PhD students in strategically relevant fields of research. The aim is to attract excellent international students and PhD candidates to Germany as a centre of science at an early stage and to secure their long-term commitment to the German labour market.

The funded projects are linked to key thematic areas of the German government’s high-tech agenda, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology and climate-neutral mobility. For instance, the University of Münster is strengthening its expertise in battery research, the Technical University of Berlin is expanding its strengths in biotechnology, and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich is focusing on artificial intelligence in the health sciences.

Funding for the selected projects will commence on 1 May 2026 and run until 31 December 2029. 

The following universities have been selected:

  1. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
  2. Christian-Albrechts-University of Kiel
  3. Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences
  4. Humboldt-University of Berlin
  5. Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (LMU)
  6. Regensburg University of Applied Sciences
  7. RWTH Aachen University 
  8. Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences
  9. Chemnitz University of Technology
  10. Technical University of Darmstadt
  11. Technical University of Berlin
  12. Bielefeld University
  13. Saarland University
  14. University of Hamburg
  15. University of Hildesheim
  16. University of Münster
  17. University of Potsdam
  18. University of Siegen
  19. University of Ulm
  20. University of Lübeck