It is with great dismay and concern that we view the massive cuts planned by the Federal Government for the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
The consequences of the cuts would affect several thousand students and young academics in terms of DAAD funding from the Federal Foreign Office alone, for example through the loss of around 6,000 scholarships. As a result, they will lose the opportunity to gain valuable international experience, get to know other countries and academic systems and establish important networks, for example for teaching, research, politics and business. They will be deprived of the opportunity to broaden their horizons significantly and globally and gain important knowledge and skills, which in turn will be lost to our country and lead to a lack of innovation. Scholarships often make it possible to study abroad in the first place and therefore make an important contribution to equal opportunities and diversity at universities. The many contributions under #IgotfundedbyDAAD show impressively how important these grants are. The planned cuts will not only have a massive impact on these positive developments, but will also run counter to the goal of attracting urgently needed international specialists. The global North-South divide will also be exacerbated by the cuts: important support for the development of efficient universities in countries of the Global South will not be provided, with the result that students and academics who are particularly dependent on international funding will be left in the lurch and even forced to emigrate.
With its scholarships, the DAAD not only supports university cooperation around the world, but also offers student bodies and universities an indispensable knowledge resource in the field of international academic cooperation. The cuts would lead to serious cutbacks in the DAAD's global representation and regional expertise, for example by causing a significant reduction in the activities of the German Centres for Research and Innovation (DWIH) or by making it impossible to fill lectureships at foreign universities.
In summary, these and other cuts would lead to serious disadvantages for many people, for knowledge and training institutions and thus for university locations and countries. The cuts would therefore have a negative impact on the German academic system as a whole, for example through the aforementioned savings in the DWIH, in lecturing positions, through reduced networks and cooperation and less internationalization overall. This would greatly reduce the competitiveness of German UASs and universities and make Germany less attractive as an educational location. The cuts would also have serious disadvantages for German foreign science policy, the economy and society. There will be a lack of individual scholarships and therefore also a lack of urgently needed international specialists.
As representatives of German student bodies, we are aware of the current difficult budget situation. However, we see it as our duty, especially in the interests of students, who should all have an equal right to the internationalization of their education, to draw attention to the grievances that these austerity measures would lead to. In view of the DAAD's contribution to the future of students and early career researchers, the future of science and the contribution to combating crises such as the climate crisis, we are strongly committed to ensuring that the planned unprecedented cuts and their dramatic consequences for German universities and student bodies do not take place.
We cordially invite everyone who cares about a prosperous future for science and the sustainability of our society to show solidarity with our cause and take action against the planned cuts.
Sources:
[1]: https:// www.fzs.de/2022/07/15/6000-chancen-weniger/