Out of Africa? African-German Research Collaboration. A review of issues
Carmen De Michele - Academic assistant at Ludwig-Maximilians University (LMU) Munich
Institute of Applied Economic Research
Permanent address:
Josephsplatz 2 - 80798 München - Germany
Tel. / Fax: ++49 89 2711755
Email: alrojovivo01@yahoo.es
Since 2004, the German coalition government implemented a new policy towards higher education. The so called „Excellence-Initiative“ targets certain high performing universities. The first four universities got up to 100 million Euros each in order to increase their research activities. Alumni clubs, research networks, welcome centers etc. are planned. But so far, African universities and researchers do not play a substantial part in the expanding research collaborations.
My current research addresses this shortcoming. The number of African students at German universities is decreasing. Even more, some of the former universities contacts between German and African universities and research institutes were canceled due to the lack of interest.
In my paper I will point out some of the reasons that deter Africans from coming to German universities and research institutions (financial problems, immigration policies, social factors, gender issues etc. ). At the same time, the mentioned policy change in Germany poses an unique opportunity for high-skilled Africans to work and research in Germany and Europe.
In my research, I will propose some solutions and targets that could help to improve the situation. Furthermore, I will present some of the programs developed by German institutions to increase the number of African scholars at German universities and research institutions.
Several foundations, such as the DAAD, the Humbold Foundation and the DFG try to support the collaborative research between Germans and Africans. This does not only mean bringing Africans to Germany, but also to encourage Germans to come to Africa, in order to get a deeper understanding of Africa's challenges and opportunities. Research co-operations in the field of natural sciences get special support, but also the role of social sciences and humanities becomes more prominent.
Also at the level of the European Union, policy makers got aware of the importance of research collaborations. But at the same time, the problem of „brain-drain versus brain-gain“ dominates the discussion. My paper also discussed this problem briefly.
I would like to use the conference as a forum to get in touch with interested African researchers, who are aiming to research in and on Europe, specially Germany. My research is based on my work at „International Relations“ of Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich (one of the four universities chosen for the „Excellence-Initiative“ and the research at German and European foundations.
