(06.05.19) The DFG office in Moscow participated in the roundtable discussion 'Der fremde Osten?' ('The unknown East?') during the 16th German Week in St. Petersburg, which took place under the umbrella of the German-Russian Year of University Cooperation and Research 2018–2020 along with a host of other events being held this year.

The event organised by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in St. Petersburg, the Higher School of Economics, the German House for Research and Innovation (DWIH) in Moscow and the liaison office of the Free University of Berlin examined trends in academic exchange and focused on effective tools and marketing strategies to get students interested in Russia. Around 50 representatives of German and Russian universities discussed how cooperation can be managed sustainably and geared towards the two countries with exchange students and alumni. The event also gave the participating institutions the opportunity to provide information on their own funding programmes. The activities of the DFG are predominantly centred on bilateral annual announcements for the funding of joint research projects, which are co-financed by Russian partner organisations of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) to a considerable degree.

German-Russian flagship projects in top-level research include two German-Russian coordinated programmes funded by the DFG: the Transregio Collaborative Research Centre (TRR 160) and the International Research Training Group (IRTG 1956). The international research team at TRR 160 (spokesperson Prof. Manfred Bayer, TU Dortmund) researches the spin of electrons in collaboration with the Russian Ioffe Institute, which is part of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as with St. Petersburg State University. In 2018, the funding of the project was approved by the DFG in the second phase, with the Russian side supported by the RFBR. IRTG 1956, established in 2014 between the University of Freiburg and Russian State University for the Humanities in Moscow, is the first German-Russian Research Training Group in the humanities. The group, entitled "Cultural Transfer and 'Cultural Identity' – German-Russian Contacts in the European Context", explores the long tradition of national, bilateral and international research on German-Russian cultural contacts and the European dimension of these contacts.

The German Week in St. Petersburg is an annual event hosted by the Goethe-Institut, the German-Russian Chamber of International Commerce and the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in St. Petersburg. For the 16th time, around 60 events from the sectors of business, politics, education and culture, held between 3 and 10 April, contributed towards strengthening German-Russian relations and providing fresh impetus. These events included a university fair, conferences, talks and discussion groups as well as concerts, photo exhibitions and the anniversary celebration of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation marking the 250th birthday of Alexander von Humboldt, who travelled through Russia in 1829. North Rhine-Westphalia was the host state for this year's German Week.

Further Information

• German Week in St. Petersburg (only in german and russian)
• DWIH Moscow (only in german and russian)
• Program of the German Week