(24.05.19) On 9 May, a workshop was held in Bogotá to enable Colombian researchers to learn about opportunities for doctoral and postdoctoral research in Germany. The workshop, which was the first such event to be held in Colombia and was organised by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin), took place at Universidad de los Andes (Uniandes) and was supported by the DFG.

Approximately 85 attendees listened with great interest to the presentations by the DFG, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, which each presented their funding programmes. The head of the DFG’s Latin America office, Dr. Kathrin Winkler, explained the DFG’s funding portfolio, detailing the opportunities for bilateral projects established jointly with Colombian partner institutions.

One example is the agreement between the DFG and Uniandes, which was renewed in November 2018 after five years of successful cooperation. Under the agreement, researchers from all faculties at the Colombian university can submit joint project proposals. Projects approved in 2017 are currently being funded in electrical and information engineering, computer science and zoology. The high success rate of funding proposals not only reflects the high scientific quality of the proposals but also demonstrates the mutual interest in the internationalisation of research.

FU Berlin and TUM also presented their research profiles, after which Colombian researchers spoke about their experiences and the challenges of their research visits to Germany. After the presentations there was time for individual discussions and questions.

The workshop was held just prior to the regional DAAD alumni meeting, which took place on 10 - 12 May and brought together a large number of researchers from Colombia, Ecuador, Cuba, Peru, Mexico and Venezuela in Bogotá.

The extensive programme was based on the theme “250 Years of Alexander von Humboldt: Cosmos or Chaos? Scientific Cosmography Today”. A panel discussion addressed the question “What would Humboldt research today?” and underlined the importance of the renowned German polymath’s work. In various workshops, participants also discussed interdisciplinary topics such as peace research and conflict mediation, the opportunities and challenges resulting from digitisation, as well as conservation and sustainability. The DAAD, which organised the meeting, believes that international cooperation and the maintenance of scientific networks between Germany and Latin America are essential to finding solutions to these and other urgent problems facing today’s world.

To make this possible, on the third day of the event the DFG and other funding organisations informed the audience about some of the funding options available. Kathrin Winkler presented the funding programmes of the DFG and opportunities for cooperation with partner organisations in the region. All in all, the meeting offered the researchers who attended a good platform for in-depth discussion and networking, as well as ideas for expanding scientific cooperation.