“Global Problems Can Only Be Solved in Global Networks”

Interview with RWTH alumnus Professor Joybrato Mukherjee, the new president of the German Academic Exchange Service DAAD.

 

In June 2019, Professor Dr. Joybrato Mukherjee, then president of Gießen University, was elected as the new president of the German Academic Exchange Service, DAAD for short. Since the beginning of 2020, he has been at the helm of the world's largest funding organization, which supports around 145,000 students and academics and operates 70 offices abroad. The RWTH alumnus has already gained experience as vice-president of the DAAD since 2012.

In his new role, he is now facing the complex challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic. In the interview featured in the latest issue of RWTH’s “keep in touch” alumni magazine, Mukherjee emphasizes the importance of international relations: "Global problems can only be solved in global networks.” The native Rhinelander, a son of Indian immigrants, talks about his experience of the coronavirus pandemic, his transition into university management, and his time as a student at RWTH, among other topics.

The fight against the coronavirus is a key topic of other articles in the new issue of the alumni magazine. As COVID-19 has hit the world, researchers across RWTH are leading numerous research projects to help overcome the pandemic.

As Rector Ulrich Rüdiger explains in his foreword, the pandemic hit the University in the year of its 150th anniversary. But even though many celebrations and events had to be cancelled or postponed, the issue looks back at various anniversary-related highlights. The combined summer and winter edition of keep in touch is available online.