(05/10/13) The second "Research in Germany" event was held on 10 May in Bogotá. It was supported jointly by the DAAD (the organisers), the DFG and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The purpose of the event was provide Columbian researchers with information about opportunities for research and funding in Germany or with German partners. It took the form of presentations and a number of stands at which the researchers could obtain advice and was attended by 700 participants. A distinguished visitor at the event was President Joachim Gauck who had come from speaking to students and researchers at the Universidad de los Andes about Germany’s experience of addressing its history and pursuing reconciliation.

Attendees at the seminar consulted representatives manning the stands of the participating institutions about funding opportunities in exchange programmes with Germany. At the DFG stand, Laura Redondo advised numerous Columbian students, researchers and professors about the DFG's programmes. Many of them had already had contact and even worked with partners in Germany.

The main item on the agenda was a discussion about international research cooperation and the challenges it presents. On the panel were Dr. Carlos Fonseca Zárate (Director of COLCIENCIAS), Dr. Patricia Martínez Barrios (Deputy Minister of Education in Columbia), Prof. Dr. Helmut Schwarz (President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation - AvH), Dr. Dietrich Halm (Director, DFG Office Latin America), Dr. Hanns Sylvester (Director DAAD Mexico Office). The discussion was chaired by Dr. Carlos Nupia (Colombian Observatory of Science and Technology).
The first part of the event consisted of presentations about the DFG, the AvH and the DAAD.

In conclusion, President Gauck praised the high quality of the cooperation between German and Columbian universities, remarking on the impressively high number of examples of close collaboration between partner organisations in Germany and Columbia and between researchers and students from both countries.