The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is expanding KIWi, its Competence Centre for International Academic Collaborations. The DAAD is responding to increased demand for support from German higher education and academic institutions during a period of greater uncertainty around international academic cooperation. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is providing around one million euros a year in additional funding to support the expansion of the Centre.

‘Internationally, it is more and more common for academic cooperation to take place in an environment shaped by crises, conflicts and uncertainties. Yet at the same time, academic partnerships between different countries are more important than ever in solving the complex challenges facing humanity and our planet. Four years ago we set up KIWi, our Competence Centre, following a recommendation by the Council of Science and Humanities. Our goal was to provide more comprehensive support and advice to higher education and academic institutions for their international academic collaborations. Thanks to the new funding, we are now able to expand the broad range of advice and networking activities we offer. Given the global tensions in the prevailing “world disorder”, this expansion has come at the right time,’ said DAAD President Prof Dr Joybrato Mukherjee. 

Offering more guidance in challenging times

The Competence Centre acts as a ‘pathfinder’, helping German higher education institutions to successfully carry out international collaborative projects. The KIWi team have access to the DAAD’s regional expertise and its global network of around 70 offices, and they can also draw on the knowledge of the DAAD’s member higher education institutions. The demands which higher education institutions face when collaborating with international partners have grown in recent years, as developments in foreign academic policy around the world are having an increasing impact on international cooperation. Higher education leaders, international offices, academics and researchers involved in international projects are faced with having to reassess long-established contacts and relationships and, where necessary, to realign them. By expanding KIWi, DAAD is responding to this need. In addition to providing individual advice, foreign academic policy dialogue and values-based action will be a key issue for the Centre. The Centre is planning to address issues such as research security and academic integrity so that higher education institutions can adopt them as guidelines for their own practice in partnerships. In addition to this, examples of best practice from other countries are to be made accessible to German academic institutions. There are also plans to promote new contacts abroad by holding matchmaking events with foreign partners. The Centre also plans to hold in-house seminars at higher education institutions in partnership with the International DAAD Academy (iDA).
 

KIWi – the background 

The Competence Centre for International Academic Collaborations was established following a recommendation by the Council of Science and Humanities in 2018. The Centre was set up in 2019 with financial support from the Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF). Its role was to provide support to German higher education and academic institutions with initiating, implementing and expanding their international activities. Key areas of advice include issues around risk and security and regulatory environments and frameworks. KIWi also serves as a central point of contact to handle inquiries concerning academic cooperation, preparing information and advice on cooperation in practice and forging links between responsible individuals at German academic institutions.