The German Academic Exchange Service (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst – DAAD) has conducted a positive evaluation of its ‘UAS.International’ programme that promotes the internationalisation of universities of applied sciences (UAS). It will be presenting related figures, initial results and further developments at the programme conference starting tomorrow in Berlin.

‘The universities of applied sciences form an important and vibrant part of our German higher education system, which enjoys high international appreciation. Our UAS.International programme has enabled us to succeed in strengthening and increasing internationalisation at the universities of applied sciences. After three years of funding, they are now even more visible outside Germany and can use their successful education and training model to position themselves as attractive partners in the global higher education market. This is also a great asset in light of Germany's need for skilled workers’, said DAAD President Professor Joybrato Mukherjee. 

Almost 90 projects with partners from 89 countries

The DAAD has recorded high demand from the universities and students since the programme was launched in 2019: in three selection rounds to date it has funded 89 projects involving German UAS whereby they are cooperating with more than 360 partner higher education institutions from 89 countries, and with more than 100 companies. So far, there are also over 1,000 students who have benefited from the programme’s individual scholarship opportunities – around 4,200 applications were received. The countries especially popular up to now for stays abroad by UAS students were the USA, Australia and South Korea. This programme additionally promotes equal opportunity within the higher education system: around 40 per cent of DAAD beneficiaries under the UAS programme were so-called ‘first-time graduates’ of both genders.

Increasing popularity among international exchange students

The attractiveness of German universities of applied sciences has increased significantly in recent years. In the last data collection as part of the DAAD publication ‘Wissenschaft weltoffen 2022’, there were 96,000 international young people studying at a UAS, and 228,000 at a university. This means that the number of international exchange students registered at a UAS has more than doubled in the last ten years (an increase of 127 per cent).

UAS.International

The DAAD uses its UAS.International programme to assist German universities of applied sciences with raising their international profile. Students are readied for the international job market of the future and the educational, research and innovative strength of the UAS is improved by an expansion of their international cooperations. The programme also awards scholarships to students, academics and researchers to enable them to undertake a stay abroad for their studies, research or internships. The DAAD additionally provides funding for exemplary internationalisation projects at German UAS. The programme is rounded off by comprehensive information, advisory and support services.