€ 13M budget cut to the German Academic Exchange Service could "weaken academic cooperation" (Daad)

"Academic cooperation with our international partners would be noticeably weakened by the planned cuts", says Joybrato Mukherjee, President of the German Academic Exchange Service (Daad), on 17/07/2024, reacting to the Federal Government's draft budget for 2025, which plans a budget cut of €13 M in the organisation's basic funding.

"In its coalition agreement, the Federal Government set out a strategic prioritisation and promised Daad an annual increase in its basic funding of three per cent. With the current draft, it is not honouring its own target. However, in view of the 'Zeitenwende', foreign cultural, educational and scientific policy is of fundamental importance for our country", adds the President.

The Federal Government's current draft budget for 2025 provides Daad with €205 M in basic funding from the Federal Foreign Office, against €218 M in 2024, a decrease of 6 %.

The basic funding allows the Daad to award scholarships to international students, fund German academics and cooperation between German universities and international partners.

"We assume that the planned cuts…