The modernisation of teaching, the employability of graduates and the strengthening of universities’ role in society are the focus of the funding programme ‘Projects to initiate university cooperation with Syria’ run by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). New partnerships could also emerge at TUBAF in the coming year. As a first step, a hybrid workshop at TU Bergakademie Freiberg is set to develop concrete opportunities for joint research and educational projects.
“Academic contacts between Syrian researchers and their counterparts in Western countries have, for the most part, been put on hold since 2011. Following the fall of the regime, the Syrian diaspora in Germany – and elsewhere – is now all the more committed to re-establishing these contacts. The funding programme offers the opportunity to raise these contacts from a personal level to that of professorships and institutes,” explains Khaled Al Hamdan, research assistant at the Institute of Glass Science and Technology at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg. He himself came to Freiberg from the Syrian city of Homs in 1986 and did not lose contact with former fellow students in Syria during the civil war.
Together with Mohamad Al Zoabi from the International University Centre, Al Hamdan travelled to Syria in the summer of 2026. “There, we spoke, amongst others, with representatives from the universities of Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo. Despite scarce resources and infrastructure that had been partially destroyed, the universities showed great interest in long-term cooperation.” In the first week of November 2026, a workshop will take place. The aim of the workshop is to identify suitable partners on both sides for future collaboration in research and teaching and to develop joint opportunities for cooperation.
Implementation of the measures depends on the current situation in Syria
On the latest DAAD policy paper, DAAD President Professor Joybrato is quoted saying that, despite the security situation in the country remaining fragile, it is important to “outline prospects for the reconstruction of a country severely scarred by civil war that are feasible even under the current conditions. “The re-establishment of an effective higher education system capable of international engagement can create an important prerequisite for further reconstruction.” It is in Germany’s interest to support the development of an effective higher education system in Syria in order to contribute to the long-term stabilisation of the country and the development of the region.
Aim of the programme is to lay the groundwork for long-term cooperation at faculty or departmental level, with a focus on improving the structural framework at the Syrian partner universities. Ideally, this will lead to successful joint funding applications.
