Committees

Executive Committee

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The Executive Committee deliberates and decides on all matters of fundamental importance to the organisation in accordance and compliance with the rights of the other bodies and funding authorities.

The Executive Committee is responsible for determining the strategic orientation of the DAAD programmes, setting up selection committees and appointing their members. Furthermore, the Executive Committee is obliged to present an annual budget, confirm the annual financial statement and annual report, approve the use of the association’s assets which exceed a marginal amount, and appoint the Secretary General upon the President’s recommendation.

The Executive Committee is comprised of fifteen elected and five appointed members, and the Secretary General. The Executive Committee may also invite permanent guests to attend its sessions.

The following members currently serve on the Executive Committee until 2027:

President
Professor Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee

Vice President
Dr. Muriel Kim Helbig

Other elected members

  • Dr. Birgit Barden-Läufer, U Hannover
  • Dr. Mandy Boehnke, U Bremen
  • Prof. Dr. Hiltraud Casper-Hehne, U Göttingen
  • Dr. Jens Ewen, HfM Weimar
  • Dr. Herbert Grieshop, FU Berlin
  • Prof. Dr. Karim Khakzar, HS Fulda
  • Dr. Yoan Vilain, HU Berlin
  • Professor Dr. Andreas Zaby, Berlin School of Economics and Law

Representing the student bodies (2024-2025)

  • Kumar Ashish, U Oldenburg
  • Sandra Paßreiter, TU München
  • Diana Zhunussova, U Heidelberg

Appointed delegates

  • Ralf Beste, head of the “Culture and Society” department, Federal Foreign Office (AA)
  • Dr. Jochen Zachgo, head of the “Academic Systems” department, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
  • Dr. Tania Rödiger-Vorwerk, Head of the Directorate "Global Health, Resilience; Equal Opportunities", Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
  • Dr. Volker Meyer-Guckel, Secretary General of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft
  • Katharina Heil, Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the German Länder

Permanent guests

  • Professor Dr. Robert Schlögl, President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
  • Professor Dr. Carola Lentz, President of the Goethe-Institut
  • Professor Dr. Walter Rosenthal, President of the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK)

View the list of members on the DAAD Executive Committee (in German).

Members

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The DAAD is an association of German institution of higher education and their student bodies.

As of January 2024, the DAAD was comprised of the following full members:

  • 244 institutions of higher education
  • 104 student bodies

As a rule, the members meet in a General Assembly in Bonn once a year. They decide on all matters of the association. New members may join the association upon request of the Executive Committee. The prerequisite for membership is the university’s membership in the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK).

View the list of full members in the General Assembly of the DAAD (in German).

Board of Trustees

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The Board of Trustees supports the Executive Committee in matters of fundamental importance to the organisation and is entitled to file motions with the General Assembly.

The Board of Trustees is responsible for auditing the annual financial statement, approving the annual budget, and proposing electoral nominations for the office of President, Vice President and the elected, non-student members of the Executive Committee. The Board of Trustees is also responsible for making amendments to the charter of association and deciding on the dissolution of the association.

The Board of Trustees is comprised of 23 appointed and five elected members.

The following members currently serve on the Board of Trustees until 2027:

President
Professor Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee

Vice President
Dr. Muriel Kim Helbig

Appointed members (in accordance with § 14 of the DAAD charter) – with reservations:
a) Federal departments

  • Ralf Beste, Federal Foreign Office
  • Dr. Jochen Zachgo, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
  • Dr. Tania Rödiger-Vorwerk, Head of the Directorate "Global Health, Resilience; Equal Opportunities", Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
  • Dr. Gunilla Fincke, Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
  • Dr. Kathrin Isele, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection
  • Dr. Kathrin Hahne, The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media

b) Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the German Länder (KMK) – with reservations

  • Katharina Heil, Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the German Länder
  • Dr. Matthias Hadesbeck
  • Frau Dr. Vera Ziegeldorf

c) German Rectors’ Conference (HRK)

  • Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal, President of the HRK
  • Prof. Dr. Frank Dellmann, President of the University of Applied Science Münster
  • Dr. Ute Fries, Vice Rector for Teaching, Studies and International Affairs at the University of Music and Theatre
    • Prof. Dr. Ute Habel, Vice Rector for International Affairs at RWTH Aachen University
    • Prof. Dr. Angela Ittel, President of the TU Braunschweig

d) Institutions

  • Dr. Enno Aufderheide, Secretary General of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH)
  • Dr. Heide Ahrens, German Research Foundation (DFG)
  • Matthias Anbuhl, Secretary General of the Deutsches Studentenwerk
  • Dr. Roman Luckscheiter, Secretary-General of the German Commission for UNESCO
  • Johannes Ebert, Secretary General of the Goethe-Institut
  • Dr. Yvonne Dorf, managing director of the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV)
  • Andrea Frank, Deputy Secretary General of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft
  • Dr. Annette Julius, Secretary General of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes
  • Dr. Thomas Kiefer, German Association of Technical Scientific Organisations (DVT)

Elected members (term of office 2024-2027)

  • Prof. Dr. Kerstin Mey, President of the University of Limerick
  • Dr. Volker Treier, Member of the General Management of the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce

Representatives of the student bodies (term of office 2024-2025)

  • Muhammad Abdullah, Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences
  • Janes Behr, University of Leipzig
  • Daniel Janke, University of Würzburg

View the list of members on the Board of Trustees (in German).

DAAD - Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst - German Academic Exchange Service