The DAAD's SDG Graduate Schools combine academic training with the strengthening of university structures and utilise an innovative monitoring system. A recent evaluation of the programme and its projects clearly shows the potential of evidence-based university funding - and how effectively international scientific cooperation can advance global sustainability goals.

Dust hangs heavily in the air. In the high altitudes of the Andes, machines roar, and excavators dig into the ground to unearth copper, gold, silver and zinc. Mining is booming - but not everyone is benefiting. Polluted water, loss of land and social tensions are putting a strain on local communities. The research project trAndeS (Advanced Studies on Inequalities and Sustainable Development), which the DAAD is funding as part of its SDG Graduate Schools, is getting to the bottom of these inequalities. 

trAndeS is one of seven SDG Graduate Schools that the DAAD has been supporting since 2016 with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The aim of the programme is to establish sustainable education and research programmes in the Global South as part of international university cooperation and thus contribute to the implementation of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. “Together with our partner, the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) in Lima, we are investigating social disparities in the Andean region and their influence on the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),” explains Dr Bettina Schorr, trAndeS project manager at Freie Universität Berlin. “   We take into account not only inequalities in income or wealth, but also between social categories such as ethnicity, gender and age groups.”

Innovative monitoring

In order to be able to map the effectiveness of the Graduate Schools as transparently as possible, the DAAD has introduced a system for measuring success “in real time”: Results oriented Monitoring (RoM). For the DAAD, the procedure provides a basis for analysing its initiatives and also makes the effects of funding clear. “This allows us to create transparency for funders and the public,” says Lars Gerold, Head of the DAAD's Section for Institution Building in Higher Education. “At the same time, it gives us the opportunity to further develop our programmes based on evidence and make well-founded strategic decisions.”

The funding provided by the SDG Graduate Schools includes both individual support in the form of scholarships for students, doctoral candidates and lecturers as well as institutional development in Latin America, Africa and Asia. “The participating universities develop new degree programmes and implement joint research projects,” says Dorothee Schwab, Senior Desk Officer for SDG Graduate Schools at the DAAD. “This creates a lasting network that addresses local challenges and develops innovative solutions.”

200 study programmes, 1,200 international publications

The funded universities themselves play a decisive role in the monitoring process. They are obliged to plan their projects in an results-orientated manner and to report regularly via a platform specially developed for the DAAD. The RoM also serves as a tool for quality assurance and strategic management: when submitting an application, the project partners define their desired goals, such as the sustainable establishment of new study programmes. In order to make progress measurable and objectively evaluate the success of the projects, indicators are defined—concrete key figures such as completion rates, the number of teaching modules developed, participation in specialist conferences and joint publications. “The universities document their results on an ongoing basis, allowing up-to-date data to be collected for interim reports and evaluations,” says Gerold.

The evaluation of the SDG Graduate Schools at the beginning of 2024, which is based on the RoM data, also benefited from the continuous survey. Over 200 study programmes, around 1,200 international publications and significant research results: the evaluation clearly demonstrates the success of the programme and the individual projects. “The goals set were achieved and there is a high degree of consistency between planning and actual results,” says Mareike Fehling, Team Leader at the Statistics, Monitoring and Evaluation Section at the DAAD. 

The topics and projects are as diverse as the United Nations' global sustainability goals: The German-Ethiopian Graduate School CLIFOOD - Climate Change Effects on Food Security is investigating the impact of climate change on food security in East Africa; the Yaoundé-Bielefeld Bilateral Graduate School is focussing on the development of natural remedies for parasitic and bacterial diseases. The Rostock Hanoi DAAD SDG Graduate School focuses on catalysing technologies for sustainable resource use, and Performing Sustainability - Cultures and Development in West Africa looks at how art and culture can be used as a means of conflict resolution and social cohesion in regions affected by violence.

Highly effective support

The approach of combining individual support with sustainable institutional development has proven to be particularly effective. The study programmes are characterised by academic quality, practical relevance and regional adaptation and are tailored to current challenges in an interdisciplinary manner; new regional networks have been established in some regions. “Collaborations with smaller universities in the Andean countries make it possible to strengthen local expertise and enable students and researchers to exchange ideas across national borders,” explains Schorr. This networking has already led to the establishment of new research groups and joint projects, an important step towards sustainable structures in scientific cooperation. The evaluation also confirms that the funding is highly effective: the instruments, length of the funding phases and funds provided are appropriate. Against this background, it is recommended that the SDG Graduate Schools are continued—and further expanded.

The success of trAndeS can also be quantified thanks to the RoM. To date, around 20 young academics from Peru and other countries in the Andean region have completed the doctoral programme at the PUCP. The programme is designed to specifically promote academic skills and integrate graduates into one of the five social science research groups consisting of sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists and economists. The focus of the programme is diverse and ranges from empirical studies on water distribution conflicts in mining and gender aspects in the extractive sector to participatory approaches in environmental protection and the efficiency of environmental laws. 

Useful planning tool

Another result of the monitoring programme is that many of the trAndeS doctoral students are now continuing to work in academia themselves and are driving forward the lines of research initiated in the project. Moreover, numerous publications have been produced that address the complex relationship between resource economies and social inequality in the Andean region. In addition, the PUCP has established its own research centre in Lima with doctoral and postdoctoral scholarships—a first in the Peruvian university system. “In Peru, there are normally no public scholarships for doctoral students in the social sciences,” explains Schorr. “This is unique for the country and very rare for central Andean countries as a whole.”

The project has also created lasting structures at the FU Berlin: The Andean region, previously hardly in focus, is now an integral part of research and teaching. The RoM has served as a useful planning tool for the project partners in recent years. “I use the tool to summarise our goals and indicators in an annual plan, which then forms the basis of our work,” says Bettina Schorr. “It forces us to be systematic, promotes efficiency—and allows adjustments to be made if planning and reality are not congruent.”   

Christina Pfänder (12 June 2025)