German Academic Foundation and University of St Andrews Launch New Academic Partnership

The beginning of this year marked the start of a momentous collaboration between the University of St Andrews and Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, the German Academic Scholarship Foundation. In the next three years, a select five full scholarship-holding students will have the opportunity to study at St Andrews for a year,  following the agreement between the two institutions. This cooperation is especially significant since the United Kingdom left the European Union student exchange programme Erasmus+ post-Brexit.

Studienstiftung was founded in 1925, making it the oldest organisation of its kind in Germany. It is also the largest and most prestigious in the country, with its patron being the German Federal President. The foundation already has a number of cooperation agreements with other universities around the UK, including Scotland, and now St Andrews counts among them.

A formal dinner hosted earlier this semester welcomed the scholarship holders and was attended by the German Consul General Christiane Hullmann, Principal Sally Mapstone, President of Studienstiftung Professor Michael Hoch, as well as other faculty members from different Schools across the University. St Andrews Professor Franz Lorenz Müller, who is a Studienstiftung alumnus and the foundation’s spokesperson Tanja Döller organised the event.

“As Consul General here in Scotland, it is one of my priorities to support the deepening connections between Germany and Scotland, especially regarding young people. Therefore, it was important for me to take part [in] the events at St Andrews,” Hullmann added. She expressed that it was a pleasure to meet both representatives from the University, as well as the “brilliant” students, who, she said, “feel privileged to have been given the opportunity to study at St Andrews, and are very much enjoying life in Scotland.”

She added: “The atmosphere throughout the whole time was very warm and the strong wish on all sides to collaborate actively palpable. It was a great day and I would like to wholeheartedly thank everyone involved in it, especially the Principal of St Andrews,” Hullmann continued.

Döller elaborated that “In particular, the strength of teaching in the humanities and political sciences [at St Andrews] attracts the interest of our scholarship holders.” The School of Earth and Environmental Sciences also drew the students to St Andrews, who have found the tutorial system appealing. 

As an organiser of the welcome dinner, Döller commented on the importance of hosting such an event: “[The scholarship holders] form a buddy scheme with each other and come into personal contact with scientists in their disciplines right at the beginning of their studies.” They also had the opportunity to interact directly with Hullmann, which was a valuable networking experience.

Hullmann emphasised the positive impact of St Andrews and Studienstiftung creating a lasting legacy together. “I hope that this collaboration will further strengthen the academic ties between St Andrews and Germany and will become permanent after the initial three years.”

Beyond academics, the underlying importance of the collaboration is political, as “in the end it feeds into the general relations between Germany and the UK.” These connections “are based on the connections between people and institutions,” in Hullmann’s view. “It is so important that new ways are found to give more students the opportunity to come to the UK or Germany for a year, regardless of their financial background,” she concluded. Both institutions are committed to cultivating this new relationship, and optimistic for the years to come.

Image from WikiCommons