Dr. Debra Stewart, President Council of Graduate Schools
The DFG North America office and the German embassy hosted the first German Science Evening on May 26, 2011. More than 40 guests from universities, partner organizations like the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health or from the science or culture departments of various embassies congregated at the DFG office to learn about 'The Excellence Initiative – Making German Universities Competitive in a Global Knowledge Society'.
Christian Joergens, Science Counselor in the German embassy, welcomed the guests and introduced the speakers. Max Voegler, director of DFG's North America office, talked about the development of the Excellence Initiative, the process and results of the first two rounds and the current intermediate results of the third round. He discussed the three funding lines and elaborated on the opportunities for collaboration with German universities that the Excellence Initiative encourages. He presented examples of international cooperation with North American research institutions in graduate schools, clusters of excellence and institutional strategies.
Debra Stewart, President of the Council of Graduate Schools, provided an American view of the Excellence Initiative. As a member of the science board of the Free University in Berlin Dr. Stewart has first-hand knowledge of the German university system. She drew a vivid picture of how the Excellence Initiative reinvigorated the German university landscape. She discussed her experiences during last year's study tour with a group of American deans to a number of German graduate schools. The members of the group were impressed by the various institutions and the impulses they got for their own work back in North America. Dr. Stewart made a point of also addressing some risks and problems she saw in the Excellence Initiative without letting that cloud the positive overall impression. After the talks a very lively Q & A broadened the evening's topic to include i.e. the Bologna Process, something which interested in particular the European attendees.
