Germany Aims To Boost Iran University Exchange Program

Berlin, Sept 13, IRNA - A German delegation will head to Iran later in the day for talks with Iranian officials aimed at deepening bilateral academic ties. The head of the Bonn-based German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Margret Wintermantel said in an exclusive interview with IRNA that as part of her visit, DAAD will open an official bureau in Tehran. The largest of its kind in the world, DAAD is the German national agency for supporting international academic cooperation by offering scholarships and grants to qualified foreign students. According to Wintermantel, the visit is aimed at "initiating new contacts between German and Iranian universities and deepening existing (academic) contacts." The German delegation, comprised also of several German university presidents, will tour universities and research centers in the Tehran and Isfahan area. The delegation will also donate a substantial amount of German literature books to Shahid Beheshti University, said Wintermantel. Germany is a top academic destination for Iranian students, ranked fourth after the US, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. There are currently some 6,118 Iranians studying in Germany, based on official statistics, including 2833 female and 3248 male students. Five German universities preferred mainly by Iranian students are Aachen Institute of Technology, Berlin Technical University, Darmstadt Technical University, University of Stuttgart and University of Bochum. Some 36 percent of Iranian students choose to study in the field of engineering, followed by 28.8 percent in mathematics and natural science and 11.7 percent in economics and social science. The first-year enrollment of Iranian students at German universities has surged from around 400 students in 2002 to over 1400 in 2012. DAAD is presently providing schalorships and grants to 551 Iranian students. Meanwhile, Wintermantel urged Iranian officials to facilitate the academic transfer of those German students who wish to study in Iran, by helping with their enrollment at Iranian universities, offering scholarships and grants as well as Farsi language courses and speeding up the bureaucratic process of granting visa to them./end