University cooperation as the key to partnerships with the Global South

In recent years, German universities have become important players in international scientific cooperation with countries in the Global South. These partnerships are part of an active foreign science policy and contribute to Germany’s positioning in a changing world order. On 3 and 4 December, around 120 international participants will therefore discuss the future of university cooperation between development aid and equal partnership at a conference organised by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Berlin.

“Academic exchange with university partners in the Global South is a win-win situation: it contributes to the strategic strengthening of Germany and to the development of local institutions,” explained DAAD President Prof. Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee in the run-up to the conference. International university cooperation is now a reliable component of German foreign science policy. “It builds trust, opens up new geopolitical opportunities, promotes innovation and contributes to international competitiveness, combats the shortage of skilled workers and helps to overcome global challenges,” Mukherjee continued.

International university partnerships as a strategic factor

The HSI Monitor – a joint project of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the DAAD, the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) – illustrates the scope and strategic importance of these university partnerships: in 2024, German universities maintained 7,441 collaborations with partner institutions in the Global South worldwide. More than 110,000 researchers from these countries published specialist publications together with German scientists and researchers. More than 20,000 doctoral students from these regions conducted research at German universities – that is around two-thirds of all international doctoral students in Germany. A total of around 260,000 students from these countries were enrolled at German universities last year.

Ghana: Scientific partner in a dynamic region of the world

Ghana is one example of the importance of international university partnerships. The country has developed into an important centre of science in West Africa and is one of Germany’s closest academic partners in the region. The number of collaborations between universities in both countries has tripled to 65 in recent years. In 2024, scientists from Germany and Ghana published around 720 joint publications, mainly in the health sciences and climate research.

With its new branch office in Accra, the DAAD is further expanding its commitment in West Africa. During his visit to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in November, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier also highlighted the good prospects for bilateral cooperation in science.