DAAD at EAIE 2025

Discover how the EAIE mentorship programme works and the timeline for next year’s popular member-exclusive programme.

Time and place: 9 September 2025, 15:30 – 16:00 CEST, Room: Community Drop-in-Area, Level 1

Speaker

• Peter Kerrigan, Deputy Director of DAAD New York Office and Director of Marketing for DAAD North America, USA

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Cooperation in higher education is a strong pillar of the Joint Africa–EU Strategy. The recently established Youth Mobility for Africa flagship initiative is likely to increase momentum in this area. In this session, speakers from the European Commission and the Association of African Universities will discuss upcoming opportunities for higher education. Participants will learn from an in-depth presentation of an accreditation harmonisation project and we will analyse the achievements so far.

Time and place: 10 September 2025, 09:00 – 10:00 CEST, Room: G1

Speaker

• Michael Hörig, Director of the DAAD Brussels Office, Belgium
• Olusola Oyewole, Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities, Accra, Ghana and Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria
• Claire Herrmann, Policy officer at the European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Belgium

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Wayne State University in Detroit, USA, and Hochschule Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences in Mülheim, Germany, serve large metro areas and underserved students. Developing and promoting international opportunities for a student population that is not mobile presents challenges when internationalisation is a priority for the institution. In this session, we will examine how a strong international partnership can support global learning for all, particularly the underserved student.

Time and place: 10 September 2025, 09:00 – 10:00 CEST, Room: J2

Speaker

• Ahmad Ezzeddine, Vice Provost for Global Affairs at the University of Washington, USA
• Susanne Staude, President of the Ruhr West University of Applied Sciences, Germany
• Peter Kerrigan, Deputy Director of DAAD New York Office and Director of Marketing for DAAD North America, USA

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This session explores the role of European Universities Initiative alliances in supporting Ukrainian universities in their efforts to navigate the challenges of war. It highlights the importance of partnerships during crises and presents successful cooperation measures, showcasing a good practice example in teaching. The discussion will focus on fostering equitable and sustainable partnerships and identifying key collaboration areas, practical challenges and pathways for a common way forward.

Time and place: 11 September 2025, 09:30 – 10:30 CEST, Room: J1

Speaker

• Elisabeth Schulte, University professor at Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
• Iryna Ivanets, Associate Professor in the Department of Corporate Finance and Controlling at Kyiv National Economic University and Associate Professor in the Research Group for Institutional Economics at Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
• Christina Friesen, Team Lead and Senior Desk Officer for accompanying measures in the national accompanying programme “European University Networks (EUN)” of DAAD, Germany

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International cooperation is becoming increasingly complex in terms of security, trust, ethics, competitiveness and value co-creation, all entailed in ‘going international’. This session will provide a critical overview of policy initiatives at EU and national level that address the ‘multiverse’ of internationalisation in higher education and research, and their concrete implications for practitioners engaging in international partnerships.

Time and place: 11 September 2025, 11:30 – 12:30 CEST, Room: A3

Speaker

• Claire Morel, Head of Unit in charge of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for the mobility and training of researchers including the development of excellent doctoral programmes at the European Commission’s Directorate General (DG) for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, Belgium
• Gian Maria Greco, Board Member of the Marie Curie Alumni Association (MCAA) and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Macerata, Italy
• Sakine Weikert, DAAD Head of Section at the Center for International Academica Collaborations (KIWi), Germany
• Marija Mitic, Policy Analyst at the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) unit of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, Belgium

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This session will introduce Transatlantic Mobility in Higher Education and Research: A Cornerstone of Transatlantic Relations, a joint report by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Institute of International Education (IIE). Based on insights from high-level EU-U.S. stakeholder roundtables convened since 2023, the report examines key trends in transatlantic academic mobility. It underscores the vital role of exchange programmes in strengthening economic, cultural, political and social ties between the United States and Europe. Panellists will present highlights and key findings from the report. They will emphasise the urgent need to sustain and expand these programmes to ensure continued transatlantic cooperation in an era of global transformation.

Time and place: 11 September 2025, 14:00 – 15:00 CEST, Room: H2

Speaker

• Jason Czyz, IIE President, Chair of the IIE Odyssey Scholarship selection committee, member of the Fulbright Scholar Advisory Board, member of the Indonesia International Education Foundation and member of the Council on Foreign Relations, USA
• Michael Hörig, Director of the DAAD Brussels Office, Belgium
• Mirka Martel, IIE’s Head of Research, Evaluation & Learning (REL), USA

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This poster visualises the student life cycle of international students, focusing on key stages that impact their academic success and career goals. It highlights unique challenges and identifies targeted support measures such as the German Academic Exchange Service’s Campus Initiative for International Talents. Showcasing collaborative efforts between universities and other stakeholders, it shows how these measures help students complete their studies and pursue careers aligned with their skills.

Time and place: 10 September 2025, 14:30 – 16:00 CEST, Room: Poster Area

Speaker

• Judith Venherm, Team Leader FIT at the DAAD, Germany
• Hannah Zollhöfer, Public Relations Officer and Programme Support Measures at the DAAD, Germany

Link to poster presentation 

The number of international students at German institutions is rapidly increasing, creating challenges in selection, preparation and retention. While support programmes during studies are well established, better guidance is needed before and during the application phase. As this poster shows, the German Academic Exchange Service is developing a digital platform to guide prospective students and ease the burden on institutions’ advisory structures.

Time and place: 11 September 2025, 10:30 – 12:00 CEST, Room: Poster Area

Speaker

• Frederike Ahlf, Advisor, Division S01-Digitalisation, DAAD, Germany
• Ilka Bentzen, Project Administrator Strategy Department, Division Digitalization, Project: Digital Campus, DAAD, Germany

Link to poster presentation

This poster session will explore the German programme complementing the EU’s European Universities Initiative in the years 2024 to 2028. It will outline the components of the national funding programme and how it supports German higher education institutions and their EUI alliances. Emphasising measures that promote exchange and knowledge sharing, the poster will highlight the programme’s contribution to ensuring that all German institutions can benefit from the alliances.

Time and place: 11 September 2025, 14:30 – 16:00 CEST, Room: Poster Area

Speaker

• Christina Friesen, Team Lead and Senior Desk Officer for accompanying measures in the national accompanying programme “European University Networks (EUN)” of the DAAD, Germany

Link to poster presentation