Service Point Higher Education for Development

Context

Higher education and academia play an important role in economic, social and technological development. They train skilled professionals and researchers who are drivers of social change and generate valuable knowledge for solving local and global challenges.

Objective

The activities of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in the field of higher education enhance the impact of development cooperation as a whole.

Approach

The Service Point Higher Education for Development works in partnership with relevant stakeholders. With funding from BMZ, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) establish university cooperation arrangements and implement scholarship programmes that are relevant to development. BMZ also implements technical and financial development measures with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).

The lessons learned in BMZ-financed measures in higher education are also relevant to other areas of development cooperation. The service point’s job is to build bridges between the different stakeholders to foster sustainable knowledge exchange.

The service point is a one-stop shop for dealing with the entire process of setting up cooperation arrangements with universities and academic institutions. It operates in two areas:

• Advisory services: The service point informs German and international universities and academic institutions about BMZ-financed support programmes and other opportunities for participating in development cooperation.
• Networking: The service point brings together German and international universities, academic institutions, actors in development cooperation and beneficiaries of programmes financed by BMZ. Its series of events entitled ‘Higher education and science meet practice’ promotes exchange between the groups involved on key topics relevant to development.

Last update: July 2023