The Federal Foreign Office Prize for excellent international student support services at German universities (FFO Prize)

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The Federal Foreign Office Prize for excellent international student support services at German universities – 2017 call for applications

The Federal Foreign Office Prize for excellent support services for international students in Germany has been awarded annually since 1998. The amount of prize money was increased to €20,000 in 2013.

The prize is awarded in recognition of outstanding achievements and for particularly effective – and thus exemplary – models of support and advice provision for international students during their academic studies or work placement in Germany. These may include activities relating to academic supervision, as well as measures to promote social integration and provide assistance in dealing with practical matters in everyday life. Projects that have effectively improved communication between foreign and German students can be recommended for the prize, as can programmes that enable foreign students to contribute their specific qualifications to the university, industry and society and help to create a welcoming culture in Germany.

Public and private institutions (e.g. student initiatives) inside and outside the university are primarily considered as prize winners. Individuals and commercial or profit-making organisations cannot be funded. In all cases, the prize is awarded in recognition of exceptional commitment.

21/11/2017 – BISK support and integration initiative of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences wins the 2017 Federal Foreign Office Prize

Sciences wins the 2017 Federal Foreign Office Prize At a ceremony in Bonn, the Federal Foreign Office (AA) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) presented the prize for excellent international student support services for the 19th time.

The winner of the 2017 prize was the Betreuungs- und Integrationsinitiative Sport und Kultur at the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. 7,292 young people are currently studying at the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, 1,876 of whom are foreign students from 108 countries.

The support and integration initiative of the Landesstudienkolleg has existed since 2001. The preparatory college’s currently 685 students enrich the cultural life of the city of Köthen and its environs, and many remain at the higher education institution after their preparatory course to embark on a degree programme.

Supporting integration by conveying knowledge

The initiative contributes significantly to helping in particular recently arrived international students find opportunities for encounter and exchange, enabling them to quickly form social contacts. Through these connections, the international students bring knowledge from their home countries to their new immediate and wider surroundings. They can act as bridge builders and carry this knowledge into the region in the form of theme or country evenings, presentations in schools or lecture series. Students are primarily taught how to prepare events for small and medium-sized groups; the initiative provides support for these endeavours.

The prize money of €20,000 will be used to expand the initiative.

To learn more about this initiative and its individual projects, please see:

https://youtu.be/4iJSrTat5MI

sponsored by:

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Related Topics

DAAD - Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst - German Academic Exchange Service