(04/01/20) This year, the now traditional New Year reception for fellows and alumni of German universities and funding organisations in the Bay Area was held at the end of February, during the visit of Federal Minister Anja Karliczek to Silicon Valley. But once again, the German Consulate General in San Francisco as the host venue found itself filled to capacity. The tickets were all allocated shortly after they became available – an indicator of the enormous interest among German researchers in the Bay Area in networking with Germany and German research institutions.

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Together with the Consulate General, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the liaison office of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) invited its alumni and funding recipients from German universities and research organisations to the event on the evening of 23 February. Other participants included the American Friends of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Free University of Berlin, LMU Munich, University Alliance Ruhr, the University of Cologne and Heidelberg University.

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Consul General Hans-Ulrich Südbeck was delighted to welcome not only the Federal Minister as guest of honour and her delegation, but also more than 200 guests from the world's most dynamic research regions – including prominent names from Silicon Valley such as the former Chief Scientist of Amazon.com, Andreas Weigend. In her welcome speech, Federal Minister Anja Karliczek stressed the value of German-American cooperation in science and research, and the quality of the relationship between the two countries and research regions.

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In his address, the director of the DFG's North America office, Dr. Rainer Gruhlich, particularly welcomed the two dozen DFG research fellows who attended the event, noting that a stay in the USA was an important career step for them. He added that for the DFG – which this year looks back on 100 years of knowledge-driven research funding in Germany with the motto "Because Knowledge Matters" (for more information see https://www.dfg2020.de/en) – international cooperation in science and research is a value in itself, as it serves both research as an endeavour and excellence in that endeavour. He encouraged participants, in light of the various challenges of our times – from science scepticism among political elites to the fight against pandemics – to be ambassadors for internationalisation for the benefit of international research.

Further Information

• DFG 2020