German Academic Exchange Service
Professional services
UnclaimedGermany's publicly funded international academic exchange and higher-education cooperation organization.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The German Academic Exchange Service, commonly known as DAAD, is a German nonprofit association that supports international academic mobility, university cooperation and the global internationalization of higher education. Its statutory German name is Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst e. V. The organization is a joint body of German universities and student organizations rather than a commercial education company, and its work is financed primarily through public funds from German federal ministries, the European Union and other institutional partners, supplemented by private support. DAAD originated in Heidelberg on 13 January 1925, when students established the Akademischer Austauschdienst to facilitate international academic exchange. Its headquarters moved to Berlin later that year, and the organization adopted the name Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst in 1931. During the Nazi period, DAAD aligned its activities with the regime's ideology and was led by Ewald von Massow, an NSDAP member. Its Berlin office was destroyed by bombing in 1943, and the organization was dissolved in 1945. DAAD was re-established in Bonn on 5 August 1950, where its principal headquarters remain. It also maintains a capital-city office in Berlin. DAAD's best-known activity is scholarship funding. It supports German students, graduates, doctoral researchers, academics, artists and university staff going abroad, while also bringing international students, researchers and artists to Germany. Opportunities range from short study visits, internships and language programs to master's and doctoral study, research stays, guest professorships and institutional partnership projects. The DAAD scholarship database is a central public information channel, and applications and advice are delivered through universities, embassies, regional offices, information centres, DAAD lecturers and partner institutions. The organization operates beyond individual grants. It advises German universities on international strategy, recruitment and international marketing; promotes German studies, the German language and German higher education abroad; helps establish and strengthen university partnerships; supports higher-education development in countries of the Global South; and provides expertise to policymakers working in education, culture, development and foreign science policy. DAAD is also Germany's national agency for the higher-education elements of the European Union's Erasmus+ program, coordinating mobility for students, trainees, lecturers and university administration personnel. Its international network includes regional offices, information centres and German Centres for Research and Innovation in more than 50 countries. The organization also administers or supports programs such as the Artists-in-Berlin Program, the Hilde Domin Programme for people denied educational or basic rights in their home countries, academic prizes, refugee-integration initiatives and alumni networks. DAAD-supported alumni include internationally recognized writers, artists, scientists, politicians and Nobel Prize recipients, although alumni status covers a wide range of programs and does not imply that DAAD selected or employed those individuals. DAAD describes its mission through the motto “Change by exchange.” Its Strategy 2030, published in January 2025, places international academic cooperation within the wider context of science diplomacy and global challenges. The strategy identifies four priorities: strengthening Germany as a location for science, innovation and business; contributing to solutions for global challenges; advancing science diplomacy in a multipolar world; and promoting democracy and social cohesion. These priorities are implemented through funding, networking and advising, with sustainability, diversity and digitization as cross-cutting themes. DAAD marked its centenary in 2025.
History
DAAD was created in Heidelberg on 13 January 1925 as the Akademischer Austauschdienst, following a student initiative to organize international academic exchange. The headquarters moved to Berlin during the same year. In 1931 the association adopted the name Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst, from which the acronym DAAD derives. After the National Socialists took power in 1933, the organization adapted its purpose and institutional conduct to Nazi ideology in an effort to secure its future financing and position. Ewald von Massow, an NSDAP member, became president. The DAAD office in Berlin's City Palace was destroyed by bombing in 1943, and the organization was dissolved in 1945 at the end of the Second World War. The association was re-established in Bonn on 5 August 1950. In the postwar period it developed into a major instrument of Germany's international educational and cultural relations. Its work expanded from conventional student exchange to scholarships for international students and researchers, support for German students abroad, institutional partnerships, German studies, international university marketing, development cooperation and policy advice. Until early 2015, DAAD publications sometimes used forms such as “Austausch-Dienst” or “Austausch Dienst” to make the acronym more transparent; the standard statutory name remains Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst e. V. DAAD gradually built a global operating network. Its first overseas regional office was established in London in 1927 and reopened there in 1952 after the war. Other regional offices followed in Cairo and New Delhi in 1960, Paris in 1963, New York in 1971, Rio de Janeiro and Nairobi in 1972–1973, and Tokyo in 1978. During later decades the network expanded across Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas, complemented by information centres, DAAD lecturers and German Centres for Research and Innovation. Recent network development included offices or regional structures in Accra and Central Asia, based in Bishkek. The organization became increasingly involved in European mobility policy. Within Germany, its National Agency for EU Higher Education Cooperation coordinates the higher-education dimension of Erasmus+, including study and training mobility, internships, teaching assignments and exchanges involving university staff. DAAD also supports international university-building projects and higher-education cooperation in developing and emerging countries. DAAD's program portfolio has broadened to include cultural and artistic exchange, refugee and at-risk scholar support, alumni relations and awards for academic achievement and international student integration. The Artists-in-Berlin Program connects the organization with international visual artists, writers and musicians. The Hilde Domin Programme, launched in 2021, addresses people who cannot freely pursue education or basic rights in their countries of origin. The DAAD-Freundeskreis, founded in 1981, links former scholarship holders who help international DAAD scholars settle into German university communities. The organization's geopolitical role became more visible in the 2020s. DAAD suspended activities in Belarus in 2021 at the request of the Belarusian authorities. Reference material states that Russia designated it an undesirable organization in 2026. In January 2025 DAAD published Strategy 2030, presenting academic exchange as part of science diplomacy and identifying four strategic priorities: strengthening Germany's science, innovation and business environment; addressing global challenges; advancing science diplomacy in a multipolar world; and promoting democracy and social cohesion. DAAD celebrated its hundredth anniversary in 2025.
- 2025
Strategy 2030 published
[1]DAAD published a strategic framework focused on science, global challenges, diplomacy, democracy, sustainability, diversity and digitization.
- 2025
DAAD celebrates 100 years
[1]The organization commemorated its centenary.
- 2021
Belarus activities suspended
[1]DAAD suspended its activities in Belarus at the request of the country's authorities.
- 2021
Hilde Domin Programme introduced
[1]The program began supporting people prevented from pursuing education or exercising basic rights in their home countries.
- 2020
Joybrato Mukherjee becomes president
[1]Joybrato Mukherjee took office as DAAD president on 1 January.
- 1981
DAAD-Freundeskreis founded
[1]A national circle of former scholarship holders was established to support international DAAD scholars in Germany.
- 1950
DAAD re-established in Bonn
[1]The association was formally re-established on 5 August in Bonn.
- 1945
DAAD dissolved after the Second World War
[1]Following wartime destruction and the end of the Nazi period, the organization ceased to exist.
- 1931
Organization renamed DAAD
[1]The association adopted the name Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst.
- 1925
Academic exchange service founded in Heidelberg
[1]A student initiative established the Akademischer Austauschdienst on 13 January.
Products and positioning
A public-interest intermediary for international academic mobility, German higher-education internationalization and science diplomacy. DAAD combines scholarship administration with institutional advice, policy expertise, university networking and overseas representation.
Scholarships
DAAD scholarships and fellowships
A broad portfolio of grants supports international students, graduates, doctoral researchers, academics, artists and university staff. Programs cover study, research, internships, teaching and short-term academic visits in Germany and abroad. Awards vary by applicant group and program, and the DAAD scholarship database serves as a principal discovery and information channel.
Mobility administration
Erasmus+ higher-education coordination
DAAD acts as Germany's national agency for the higher-education sector of Erasmus+. It coordinates and implements European mobility and cooperation activities involving students, trainees, lecturers and university administration staff, including study periods, internships and teaching or training exchanges.
Institutional services
University internationalization programs
DAAD supports German universities with international strategy, partnership development, overseas recruitment, international marketing, publications, events and training. It also funds special projects designed to create or deepen international university partnerships and advises institutional and public-sector decision-makers.
At-risk student support · 2021
Hilde Domin Programme
Introduced in 2021, this program supports students and prospective students who are formally or effectively denied educational opportunities or other basic rights in their countries of origin. It reflects DAAD's role in connecting academic mobility with protection and access to education.
Arts and cultural exchange
Artists-in-Berlin Program
Affiliated with DAAD's Berlin office, the program provides an international residency and exchange platform for visual artists, writers and musicians. It extends DAAD's remit beyond conventional student and researcher mobility into contemporary cultural production and cross-border intellectual exchange.
International network · 1927
DAAD regional offices and information centres
DAAD's overseas offices, information centres, lecturers and partner networks provide local advice on German study, scholarships, research collaboration and institutional cooperation. The network also helps German universities maintain relationships with academic communities and policy environments abroad.
Recognition and inclusion · 1998
Academic awards and integration initiatives
DAAD administers or co-administers awards including the Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm Prize, the Federal Foreign Office Prize for support of international students and the University Integration Prize for refugee-related higher-education initiatives.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 2025DAAD centenary
Germany · Global
DAAD marked 100 years of organized academic exchange, using the anniversary to highlight its historical development and continuing international role.
Outcome. Centenary commemoration
- Change by exchange
Global
DAAD's mission statement uses “Change by exchange” to express the belief that international academic mobility supports individual development, qualification and wider social transformation.
Outcome. Core organizational motto and positioning
Brand decisions
2025
Adopt Strategy 2030StrategyBackground
DAAD assessed international academic cooperation against global challenges, changing university environments and the growing importance of science diplomacy.
Action taken
DAAD set four priorities: Germany's science and innovation location, solutions to global challenges, science diplomacy in a multipolar world, and democracy and social cohesion.
Aftermath
The strategy became the stated framework for DAAD funding, networking and advisory work through 2030.
2021
Suspend activities in BelarusStrategyBackground
Belarusian authorities requested that DAAD stop its activities in the country.
Action taken
DAAD suspended its Belarus activities.
Aftermath
The suspension limited DAAD's direct academic-exchange operations in Belarus.
2021
Create the Hilde Domin ProgrammeStrategyBackground
Some students and prospective students were unable to exercise educational or other basic rights in their home countries.
Action taken
DAAD established a support program for people facing such restrictions.
Aftermath
The program broadened DAAD's protection-oriented and inclusion-related work.
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