The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) increases its presence in the Middle East. The new DAAD regional office in Jordan’s capital city Amman officially takes up its activities today.

Over the past few years, the role of the Middle East as a region of origin of international students in Germany has increased significantly. At the same time, various countries in the region have emerged as education hubs and cooperation partners for German higher education institutions. The new DAAD regional office in Jordan is set up in acknowledgement of these developments. In addition to Jordan, the regional office will be regionally responsible for Iraq, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. The opening festivities will be held both virtually and on site, addressing topical issues such as the development of Jordanian-German and regional higher education cooperation.

‘The DAAD has cooperated closely with Jordan for almost fifty years, both in the area of academic exchange and regarding Foreign Academic Policy. Jordan is a regional anchor of stability that plays a key role in establishing international research relations and higher education partnerships both locally and in the surrounding countries. This is why I am very happy about the opportunity to further expand our cooperation via a dedicated regional office,’ said DAAD Professor Joybrato Mukherjee in the context of the opening ceremony.

‘We are strengthening science diplomacy as a central pillar of our international cultural and educational policy. After all, we are seeing every day in the Corona pandemic that international science cooperation is indispensable if we are to tackle the enormous global challenges together. The fact that the DAAD is expanding its presence in this region, which is important for Germany and Europe, with funding from the Federal Foreign Office is the right sign of this,’ said Michelle Müntefering, State Minister for International Culture and Education Policy at the Federal Foreign Office.

Jordan: education and internationalisation at a glance
Jordan has been an important and reliable partner for Germany for decades. With around 2,500 studying or working students and academics from and in Jordan funded every year, it is among the most important DAAD programme partner countries of the region. The German Jordanian University that was established in 2005 is a flagship project of higher education cooperation: around 4,500 students are currently enjoying a top-quality education based on the German model of universities of applied science. The institution is supported by a consortium of German universities.

The starting point of academic relations was the first lectureship funded by the DAAD in 1974 at the ‘University of Jordan’. The DAAD meanwhile provides funding for several long-term lectureships, lecturers and language assistants across the country. Among the central duties of the new DAAD regional office are consultation with and informing of students, researchers and higher education institutions in Jordan and the entire region, as well as marketing activities to promote Germany as a higher education location, and the implementation of scholarship programmes, including third state scholarships for students from Yemen and Syria, and master's and PhD scholarships for visits to Germany.

Global DAAD network
The DAAD operates a global network of regional offices, information centres and so-called ‘Information Points’. The current 18 regional offices are often in charge of academic exchange with several countries in the region, in addition to the country they are based in. The DAAD’s network of regional offices covers around 80 countries on all continents.