DAAD, in particular, helps young foreign specialists, as well as university and postgraduate students, to get a place for an internship or training in Germany. Since many foreigners are often unable to pay for their stay at a German university, they are paid a small scholarship that covers basic expenses. If necessary, additional allowances are provided, for example for transport and housing.
Funding for DAAD programs is provided by the German government, foundations, large German companies and corporations. In particular, a number of programs are supported by the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, corporations DaimlerChrysler, Siemens and many others.
It has become known that DAAD will expand its activities. The head of the university marketing department, Rolf Hofmann, in an interview with Deutsche Welle, emphasized that until now DAAD had not conducted any serious advertising campaigns abroad to show the possibilities of excellent education in Germany, as well as the wonderful conditions for conducting scientific research. “We have now launched promotional campaigns, giving German universities the chance to present themselves in a number of countries and conduct so-called graduate tours,” said the DAAD representative.
To attract more foreign students to Germany, German universities will, in particular, offer more courses in English. “Our main competitors (the USA, Australia and Great Britain) continue to hold leading positions. Germany is now only trying to catch up with their indicators,” emphasized Rolf Hofmann. At the moment, Germany is primarily interested in foreigners with higher education, specialists in engineering and natural sciences. They could in the future work in German companies, become a kind of connecting link between science and the economy of their homeland and Germany.
Students from Eastern Europe make up a high percentage of foreigners at German universities. Their interest in Germany is not waning, believes a representative of one of DAAD's Eastern European offices, Hans Golombek. According to him, people come to Germany not only for high-quality higher education. Students also want to perfectly master the German language and hope to significantly improve their chances on the labor market.