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On the one hand, many foreign students and scientists who would otherwise study or work in the USA register with German institutions. On the other hand, the repression also affects German scientists in the USA. An upcoming meeting of the German Academic International Network (GAIN) in Boston will focus on the current situation for three days.

“We are following this development with horror,” says the President of the German Research Foundation (DFG), Katja Becker, in a statement ahead of the meeting. “We are appalled at the extent to which academic freedom and academic independence are being curtailed in the country, which was previously regarded as the gold standard for free thinking and scientific excellence. ”

The DFG director points out that since the beginning of the year, science in the USA has been subjected to ever-increasing repression, emphasising how institutions are being closed, projects cancelled, data sets damaged, countless scientists losing their jobs and foreign researchers and students losing their residence permits.

The President of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Joybrato Mukherjee, says: “With around 75,000 researchers at universities and public research institutions, Germany is now the second most important host country for international scientists after the USA.” Because of the current challenges faced by American universities and research institutions, it is important right now “to support our partners in the USA, to show our solidarity and to maintain German-American university cooperation.”

Also the President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Robert Schlögl, warns: “For several years now, we have been experiencing strong trends towards renationalisation worldwide.” It is a fallacy to believe that you can solve the needs of individual nations alone within your own borders. Progress is achieved through exchange and a variety of perspectives. “Anyone who impedes global exchange in science, who restricts scientific freedom through national regulations and regulations, is jeopardizing not only democracy, but the prosperity and future viability of humanity. ”

The GAIN meeting in Boston will take place from 29 to 31 August. The focus is on international scientific careers between Germany and the USA. Representatives from science, politics and business will discuss the consequences of the considerable pressure that science in the USA is under, under President Donald Trump.

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