With the national accompanying programme "European University Networks (EUN)–National Initiative", ACA member, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) supports German universities participating in the EU initiative “European Universities”. The third funding round of the program, which started in January 2023 will support 22 German higher education institutions with a total of EUR 14 million from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The amount comes as an addition to the EU funding until 2026.

The DAAD also promotes networking among these universities, helps to reduce bureaucratic hurdles and makes efforts to ensure that German universities are visible in European networks. Since 2020, 42 German higher education institutions have been supported by the accompanying programme.

Further to this, the number of international students at German universities continues to steadily rise. DAAD recently conducted a survey on the topic, gathering feedback from 180 universities from all over Germany. Based on the feedback from the universities, DAAD is forecasting between 355 000 and 365 000 international students for the current winter semester, a new high in the post Covid era. Compared to the previous winter semester, this is an increase of two to four per cent with last year's growth being around eight per cent. 

For more information, see the respective DAAD press releases here (in German) and here.