German Hub Intro: Meet the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

The German Hub is an office community between eight German organizations in the heart of San Francisco’s Financial District. In this series, we want to introduce the organizations and their valuable services to our transatlantic community.

_{Interview with Hanni Geist}

Bridging Transatlantic Higher Education

The U.S. hosts over 1 million international students per academic year. 55% of all international students come from Europe. International students don’t only bring diverse perspectives to classrooms, they also contribute to the economy and support jobs in the U.S. In fact, over 50% of all H-1B Visa holders have a degree from a U.S. college or university and many companies rely on employing highly skilled graduates from abroad. On top of that researchers and academic projects depend on international knowledge exchange and the possibility to collaborate across country borders.

The German Academic Exchange Service (Deutsch Akademischer Austauschdienst) is one of the world’s biggest organizations that facilitates exchange programs within the field of higher education. We are very happy that the DAAD has joined the German Hub in spring 2021 to provide its vital services to our transatlantic community. We spoke to Hanni Geist who runs the DAAD’s San Francisco office about the programs and benefits of their extensive network.

GACC West: What exactly is the DAAD and its mission?

Hanni Geist: DAAD is the world’s largest funding organization for the international exchange of students and researchers. Since it was founded in 1925, more than 1.9 million scholars in Germany and abroad have received DAAD funding. It is a registered association and its members are German institutions of higher education and student bodies. Its activities go far beyond simply awarding grants and scholarships. DAAD supports the internationalization of German universities, promotes German studies and the German language abroad, assists developing countries in establishing effective universities and advises decision-makers on matters of cultural, education and development policy.

What is your role?

Hanni Geist: As the Senior Manager, University Relations, I’ve been representing DAAD in the western region since 2013. My tasks include event organization, advising, representing DAAD under the Research in Germany and Study in Germany campaign and alumni engagement.

---

---

What prompted the decision to open up a presence in San Francisco?

Hanni Geist: The DAAD San Francisco Information Point was established in 2002 to better serve the needs of students, faculty, and institutions of higher education in the western half of the U.S. who are interested in international exchange. The primary goal of the Information Point is to build and strengthen ties between German and North American universities, and to promote study and research in Germany.

How can the transatlantic community benefit from the services of DAAD?

Hanni Geist: Since 1925, DAAD has supported over 1 million individuals to study and research abroad. It was a student initiative that enabled the first exchange between Heidelberg and New York. Since then, DAAD has grown into an organization with a worldwide network of 68 offices. DAAD’s motto is Change by Exchange, a concept that applies to more than the students and researchers we support.

Exchange promotes understanding between countries and individuals and helps secure peace. New scientific findings enable us to meet global challenges. Cooperation contributes to political and social progress.

You’ve been a part of the German Hub since this spring. What excited you about joining our office community?

Hanni Geist: DAAD was housed at the Goethe-Institut in San Francisco for many years. The shared office resulted in collaborations and joint events. Pre-pandemic, the daily interactions were enriching professionally and personally. I’m now excited to join the German Hub to expand my network even further. As a one-person office with colleagues mostly in New York and Bonn, I often miss out on holiday celebrations and other office events. I’m looking forward to in-person office culture.

What is the outlook for transatlantic higher education and research cooperation in post-COVID times?

Hanni Geist: The most important responsibilities of DAAD include granting scholarships, promoting the internationalization activities of German universities and research organizations, strengthening German cultural and language studies abroad. While a lot of exchanges had to be canceled during the pandemic, new opportunities emerged, which DAAD was able to support for example via the IVAC program. The funding through the International Virtual Academic Collaboration provides practical support to instructors and strategic support to universities with the aim of developing and expanding international higher education partnerships and worldwide mobility by tapping digital possibilities.

What are your most important upcoming projects or programs?

Hanni Geist: For DAAD globally, the “Strategy 2025” defines three overarching goals that will shape the activities of DAAD in the coming years:

1. By furthering international exchange, we aim to strengthen higher education and academic excellence, expand the perspectives of science, and tap individual potentials.
2. By means of internationalization, we wish to do our part to benefit science, industry, and society.
3. With the “Strategy 2025” we recognize our obligation to assume global responsibility and contribute to the productive and peaceful development of our planet.

Locally, DAAD has co-organized the New Year’s reception at the German Consulate since 2017. Each year, the events brought together more than 250 attendees from the Bay Area, who have ties to German universities, innovation centers and funding organizations and businesses. I hope to continue this tradition in early 2022. 

For the past years, we increased our marketing efforts to reach more underrepresented students and researchers by strategic university collaboration and participation at conferences via these programs among others:

• Diversity Abroad
• the Society for Women Engineers
• the National Society for Black Engineers
• the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers
• the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
• the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science 

These programs sound amazing and it seems like diversity & inclusion is an important part of DAAD’s work?

Hanni Geist: It is but also personally, I care deeply about diversity and inclusion in and outside of my work. I co-founded Bay Area Young Professionals in International Education (BAYPIE) and we aim to increase opportunities for engagement and collaboration among IE professionals in the Bay Area and beyond. Our mission is to provide opportunities to connect and collaborate across professional sectors and pathways in international education, discuss emerging trends and issues, network, and develop leadership skills. I am also an active member of this year’s Diversity Abroad Task Force “Career Advancement and Belonging” with a special focus on mental health advocacy and support.

---