Assisted by the president of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Prof. Margret Wintermantel, and the president of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH), Prof. Helmut Schwarz, German Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle inaugurated the German House of Science and Innovation (DWIH) on 14 February in São Paulo, Brazil.

Together with New York, Moscow, New Delhi and Tokyo, São Paulo represents one of the globally strategic destinations for the activities of a network of German Houses of Science and Innovation. These newly established umbrella organisations bring together Germany’s premiere academic mobility organisation (DAAD) and scientific institutions (AvH, German Research Foundation - DFG), as well as various universities across Germany (Berlin, Bochum, Duisburg-Essen, Münster, Munich, Dortmund, etc.). They rely on the support of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education and Science, and their mission is to deepen the scientific and technological cooperation with partner countries. They also aim to evoke in these countries deeper interest in Germany as an advanced scientific, research and innovation hub.

The establishment of the German House of Science and Innovation in Brazil was decided in 2008. DAAD has been part of this initiative since 2010, being particularly responsible for the DWIH’s kick-off phase in 2012. On the occasion of the inauguration ceremony, the German and Brazilian partners discussed more specifically the opportunities of academic exchange arising from the Brazilian programme “Science without Borders”. Under the earlier agreement (see ACA Newsletter – Education Europe, September 2011, January 2012), 10 000 Brazilian students and young researchers will pursue short-term or full-cycle study programmes at the graduate, doctoral or post-doctoral levels in Germany.

DAAD