The importance of the Middle East as a region of origin for international students in Germany has grown considerably in recent years. At the same time, various countries in the region have established themselves as educational locations and cooperation partners for German universities. The DAAD is taking these developments into account with its new branch office in Amman. In addition to Jordan, the branch office assumes regional responsibility for Iraq, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. The opening ceremony will take place both virtually and on site and will address current topics such as the development of Jordanian-German and regional university cooperation.
DAAD President Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee said during the opening ceremony:
"The DAAD is linked to Jordan by almost fifty years of close cooperation in academic exchange and foreign science policy. As an anchor of stability in the region, Jordan is of central importance for the development of international academic relations and university partnerships locally and in the surrounding countries. I am therefore very pleased that we can now further expand cooperation with our own field office."
Michelle Müntefering, Minister of State for International Cultural Policy at the Federal Foreign Office, added:
"We are strengthening science diplomacy as a central pillar of our international cultural and education 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."
Jordan has been an important and reliable partner for Germany for decades. With around 2,500 students, scientists and scholars sponsored to and from Jordan each year, it is one of the most important partner countries in the region for DAAD program work. The flagship of university cooperation is the German-Jordanian University of Applied Sciences, which was founded in 2005. Currently, around 4,500 students receive a high-quality education here based on the German model of universities of applied sciences (HAW model) supported by a consortium of German universities.
In addition to providing advice and information for students, researchers and universities in Jordan and the region, the central tasks of the new DAAD office include marketing activities for Germany as a higher education location and the implementation of scholarship programs, including third-country scholarships for students from Yemen and Syria as well as scholarships for Master's and PhD stays in Germany.
Worldwide DAAD network
The DAAD operates a worldwide network of field offices, information centers and so-called "Information Points". The currently 18 field offices are often responsible for academic exchange with other countries in a region in addition to their country of residence. In total, the DAAD covers around 80 countries on all continents with its network of field offices.
