Your Network in Germany
© iStockphoto The work of the DWIH is supported by a broad-based alliance of institutions and actors from politics, science and research-based companies. Leveraging the best-possible synergetic effects is the key objective of the activities of the DWIH.
The membership structure of the DWIH Board of Trustees, the central body responsible for the strategic control of the DWIH, reflects the diversity of their activities.
Political support
The DWIH are an integral part of the German government’s research and academic relations policy and its science diplomacy activities. When the research and academic relations policy initiative was launched in 2009, the Federal Foreign Office, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), initiated the establishment of the German Centres for Research and Innovation (DWIH). The Federal Foreign Office chairs the DWIH Board of Trustees. The BMBF is represented on the Board of Trustees, as is the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi).
Firmly anchored in science
The members of the Alliance of Science Organisations in Germany contributed a major part of the conceptual work involved in creating the global network of German Centres for Research and Innovation. They are likewise represented on the DWIH Board of Trustees and reflect the extraordinary diversity of the German science and research landscape. One of the members of the alliance, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), has assumed responsibility for managing the centres. The DWIH management office is based at the DAAD’s headquarters in Bonn. It is responsible for overall operational and administrative control of the DWIH. As a rule, the directors of the DAAD regional offices in Brazil, India, Japan, Russia and the USA are also the managing directors of the DWIH in São Paulo, New Delhi, Tokyo, Moscow and New York. Through their international branches, the alliance members and universities influence the work of the DWIH at their individual locations.
Cooperation with industry
In the interests of leveraging the best-possible synergetic effects, the activities of the DWIH are closely interlinked with the existing activities of the science organisations and of the representatives of German industry. The commitment of research-based companies to the work of the DWIH is highlighted by the fact that the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK) are represented on the DWIH Board of Trustees. There are also numerous examples of successful collaboration between science and business at the local level.