Prof. Dr. Sven Michel, professor at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, has assumed the honorary presidency of the German-Arab University Conference (DAH) based in Berlin. Representatives from 22 Arab embassies elected him for a four-year term of office until June 2029. The aim of the DAH is to intensify academic exchange between Germany and the Arab world through cooperation in research, degree courses and exchange programs.

Michel’s tasks include representing the DAH, helping to shape its strategic direction, initiating partnerships and promoting intercultural understanding. For years, he has been committed to improving the educational prospects of Arab students, particularly those from crisis regions in the Middle East and North Africa, where more than 500 universities have around nine million students.

Michel visited the Iraqi embassy in Berlin right at the beginning of his term of office, where he was warmly welcomed by Ambassador Abdulraheem Al Faily. The collaboration ties in with a cooperation agreement between the BTU and Al Zahrawi University in Kerbala, which promotes women in science and is part of the Oberlausitz-Kliniken 2030 medical strategy. The DAH provided further impetus with a visit to the Syrian embassy to discuss the situation at universities there.

The DAH emerged from the dialog between Arab science representatives in Germany and the Ghorfa network, a platform for economic cooperation. Michel emphasizes the need for an independent institution for the education sector. A closer partnership was agreed in collaboration with Ghorfa Secretary General Abdulaziz Al Mikhlafi. Concrete steps will follow in July 2025 with a kick-off meeting at the Oberlausitz clinics on educational cooperation with Syrian and Iraqi universities and a specialist symposium for medical professionals working in Germany.

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