David Mogetta had plans. In March, the native Italian applied to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for a scholarship in Munich. Mogetta is doing his doctorate in philosophy at the Universities of Florence and Pisa, and he wanted to do research in Germany in the winter semester. The application was difficult. He asked his professors for reports, wrote a letter of motivation, no more than five pages, a CV, no more than three pages, and a description of his research project – no matter the length. Mogetta provided all the evidence required by the DAAD, the largest funding organization for the international exchange of students and scientists in the world. And yes, there are many.
He had to take a good three weeks to apply. But he knew it would be worth it. “As a rule, you only apply for a grant like this if you are sure you will get it.” The grant supports doctoral students with 1,200 euros a month. An amount that is rarely awarded in this amount by funding programs.
Today Mogetta knows that nothing will come of his plans. Because he will not travel to Germany with a DAAD scholarship.
On April 25, he received an e-mail from the DAAD that said: “Due to budget cuts, the funds required to carry out the program are unfortunately not available this year at short notice.” The funding program for doctoral students was cancelled. In an e-mail, Mogetta describes what sounds sober as something that destroyed his dreams and plans. Not just his – but from various students who have applied for the program.
Worried about grants and scholarships
Many scientists who want to do research in Germany are currently in the same situation as Mogetta. They worry about funding, scholarships or even their future in the scientific community. Young scientists are particularly affected. Because the federal cabinet has decided to cut budgets for funding programs from internationally active scientific organizations such as the Goethe Institute or the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
The fact that this hits a sensitive spot is also due to the fact that organizations like the DAAD are mainly financed by public funds. The Federal Foreign Office is one of the largest donors to the DAAD, providing 33.5 percent of the funds last year. Last year, these amounted to 204 million euros. The federal cabinet has now decided to cut the funds to 195 million euros this year. In 2023, the funding amount should even drop to 191 million.
It happens again and again that organizations like the DAAD have to expect cuts, but the current cuts are considered to be particularly severe – and they come unexpectedly. Last but not least, students like Mogetta criticize the short-term nature of the decision. According to the press office, there is no leeway for the DAAD: “The DAAD cannot therefore make the cuts in the current year through stricter selections alone, but must also take countermeasures,” says a spokesman. “Accordingly, we had to suspend the allocation of some short-term programs at short notice.”
In the long term, however, the consequences are even greater: According to the DAAD, around 6,000 scholarships for researchers are threatened. Vacancies in the area of lectureships at foreign universities can no longer be filled. These usually teach German as a foreign language. Sooner or later, around 100 of the 450 locations will be eliminated. In a press release, the DAAD therefore finds unusually harsh words for the cuts: they are “painful cuts”, which counteract “the conceptually correct specifications and financial commitments in the federal government’s coalition agreement”.
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