DFG Participates in DWIH Information Visit to Kaliningrad
(01.07.14) In late May, the German House for Science and Innovation (DWIH) in Moscow, represented by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), the Helmholtz Association (HGF) and the Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin), visited the region around Kaliningrad. The goal of the trip was to exchange information with rectors and researchers at the new Baltic Federal University (BFU) and the Technical University of Kaliningrad (KSTU), as well as the German Consul General.
DFG Participates in DWIH Information Visit to Kaliningrad
Since 2010 BFU has belonged to the select circle of Russia's nine Federal Universities, which are designed to contribute to the development of their regions as a new university paradigm. Impressive results are already visible, commented Timur Gareyev, the university's Vice Rector for Development and Innovations, in conversation with the German delegation. The BFU, he said, is a nationwide leader in terms of appointments, new laboratories and equipment, and the university's publication output has substantially increased. The university sees itself as a successor to the centuries-old University of Königsberg, now named after Immanuel Kant, who researched and taught here for over 40 years. With 11 faculties and 16000 students, the university has active partnerships with Germany, Poland, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania and the USA. Its German partners are based in Berlin, Bremen, Göttingen, Marburg and Munich and joint research is undertaken in fields such as medicine and the humanities.
The second major higher education institution in Kaliningrad is the Technical University, which was founded in 1994 on the basis of an agricultural academy. The Technical University has 7500 students and 42 institutes. It collaborates with universities in Germany, Poland, Denmark, Finland and Sweden. In partnership with the Institute of Political Science at RWTH Aachen University, it has also set up a degree course unique in Russia. Since 2005, the Klaus Mehnert European Institute (EIKM) has offered a German-language postgraduate course devoted to European-Russian cooperation and designed for graduates in all subject areas.