Day 1

The ERA Fellows and host institutions were welcomed by Erik Hansalek, Head of Unit "EU Research Policy and Programmes" of the Federal Ministry of Research and Education. Mr. Hansalek then presented the current state and the future of the European Research Area as well as a brief outlook on the coming German EU Council Presidency.

Next, the ERA Fellows and hosts who had managed to make it in time to the Campus Week Bonn despite the storm introduced themselves. It was obvious from the start that the group was impressively diverse and highly motivated. The Fellows' stay in Germany had been carefully prepared with a view to improving their daily work as a science or project manager, and regarding how to approach internationalisation or develop guidelines. Some hosts are using the opportunity of their Fellow's stay to not only introduce the ERA Fellow to their own institution but to offer unique networking opportunties with other local institutions in Germany. This is an example of how useful networking and exchange on-site can be.

The ERA Fellows were excited about the Campus Week Bonn and curious about what the Campus week and the ERA Fellowships action as a whole had to offer. This excitement carried over to their hosts and colleagues, thus triggering multiplier effects for both hosts and Fellows.

Get-together in the evening

In the evening, the particpants enjoyed a unique get-together at the August-Macke-Haus in Bonn. Following a short welcome by Sandra Gundlach from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Dr. Klara Drenker-Nagels, director of the August-Macke-Haus gave an insight into the life and work of August Macke. After a buffet-dinner the participants had the opportunity to visit the exhibition.

Outlook Day 2:

Day 2 is all about internationalisation. We will learn how the participants' institutions approach this subject matter.

All photos: © Bjanka Bethke / DLR Projektträger