DAAD Science Tour 2009
“Regenerative Energies in Germany: State of the Art and Opportunities for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education”
December 6 to December 12, 2009

In December 2009, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will sponsor an informational visit on current developments in engineering in Germany, addressing various aspects of higher education, research funding, interdisciplinary cooperation and industrial application. Special attention will be given to the development of the use of regenerative energies, mainly wind and solar energy. Participants will learn about current research at the various institutions visited, and will meet with possible future partners in research and student exchange.

As part of the program, visits have been planned to universities, research institutions and companies. Thus the participants can follow the whole sequence of education, research and production. At universities, the focus will be on examples of best practice in graduate education and initiating cooperation and the development of new programs. Opportunities for discussions with representatives from government, funding organizations and the Association of German Engineers will complete the program. The objective of the tour is not only to provide an overview of the present state of engineering in Germany, but also to develop new initiatives in academic exchange and research cooperation.

The tour will include a broad range of institutions, providing various models on which to base future cooperation. The institutions are located in five different Federal States, in the North West, in the Ruhr area and in the Rhine-Main area, thus providing the participants with an impression of the geographical, cultural and economic diversity Germany offers.

Planned site visits are as follows (ordered by type of institution):

Universities

University of Oldenburg
Postgraduate Program for Renewable Energy
(http://www.ppre.uni-oldenburg.de/ )
Institute of Physics, Turbulence - Windenergy - Stochastics (TWIST)
(http://twist.physik.uni-oldenburg.de/)
ForWind - Center for Wind Energy Research
(http://www.forwind.de/forwind/index.php?article_id=1&clang=1 )

University of Duisburg-Essen
Faculty of Engineering
(http://www.uni-due.de/iw/en/index.shtml )
Center for Fuel Cell Technology (ZBT GmbH)
(http://www.zbt-duisburg.de/en/ )
Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CeNIDE)
(http://www.uni-due.de/cenide/goal.shtml)

University of Mainz
International Research Training Group - Self-Organized Materials for Optoelectronics
(http://www.optoelectronics.chemie.uni-mainz.de/ )


Research Institutes

Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES
(http://www.iwes.fraunhofer.de/english.html )

Forschungszentrum Jülich - Institute of Energy Research (IEF)
(http://www.fz-juelich.de/portal/index.php?index=1120 )

Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
(http://www.mpip-mainz.mpg.de/www/?lang=en )


Business

Wind Energy Agency Bremerhaven/Bremen (WAB)
(http://www.windenergie-agentur.de/english/ )

RWE Innogy Essen
(http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/en/86134/rwe-innogy/ )

Schott Solar
(http://www.schottsolar.com/us/ )

North American participants in this program are typically senior faculty, researchers and administrators from leading universities in the US and Canada, policy makers in national agencies, and other experts in the fields of science and higher education. Although the program will focus on engineering topics, all institutes and initiatives in the program represent the current state of science in general in Germany.

The program will be in English. All program-related costs in Germany (accommodations, travel, most meals) will be borne by the DAAD. Intercontinental travel is at the participants’ expense.

Applicants must have US or Canadian citizenship or be permanent residents of one of these countries, a special interest in Germany and transatlantic cooperation, and a relevant professional position. They should not have recently participated in another information trip to Germany. Please note that due to the ongoing planning process modifications of the schedule might still be possible.