Coffee Connections

Today’s Coffee Connection is my DAAD colleague John Paul Kleiner who is responsible for our Canada office in Toronto and who is also a historian with a special interest in the GDR. John Paul is the creator of the blog GDR Objectified where he presents his collection of objects produced in, or related closely to, the German Democratic Republic (GDR)with the aim of providing a window into East Germa...

Today’s Coffee Connection is Amy Lebanoff, DAAD RISE Germany and DAAD Young Ambassador Alumna. Amy participated in the DAAD RISE Germany program – a paid 10-12 week summer research internship program for undergraduate STEM students. In our conversation, she talks about her experience as a research intern at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and her activities outside of the lab. For inte...

Today’s Coffee Connection is Tony Jackson, German Master’s Graduate and Voice-Over Artist from Arizona. Tony shared his strategies for engaging with German, Germans, and German culture from the US. For Tony, his German experience was limited to immersion at home, because as a student with a disability, he was faced with challenges that prevented him from studying abroad. Despite that, he completed...

Today’s Coffee Connection is Peter Rosenbaum, Executive Director of the University Alliance Ruhr office in New York. In our conversation, Peter shares some insight into his work and the Ruhr region he represents as the Executive Director of the University Alliance Ruhr. We both grew up in the GDR, so I asked Peter about his childhood memories and how he reflects on the divided and now unified Germ...

Today’s Coffee Connection is Carol Anne Costabile-Heming who is one of our most dedicated long-term Research Ambassadors. She is a Professor of German at the University of North Texas, Denton. I had the opportunity to chat with Carol Anne about her path from focusing her studies on Chemistry to graduating with a PhD in German. Carol Anne spent time in Germany and specifically Berlin in 1990 and sh...

Today’s Coffee Connection is another music episode – this time I chatted with Lukas Akintaya, a German-Nigerian Jazz drummer and composer. Between 2018 and 2020, Lukas studied as a DAAD scholar at New York University (NYU). In our conversation, Lukas shared his path to pursuing a professional career as a jazz composer and percussionist, and he compared his experience as a musician in Berlin with h...

Today’s Coffee Connection is Sandra Navidi, University of Cologne Alumna, international attorney, bestselling author, consultant, media contributor and public speaker. She is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of BeyondGlobal, an international strategic consultancy. Hanni chats with Sandra about her best-selling book $uperhubs, networks and networking – so important, but dreaded by so many, i...

Today’s episode highlights the perspective of a student with disabilities studying abroad in Germany. Transcript for this episode available at http://bit.ly/daad-podcast. My Coffee Connection is Michelle She, CBYX High School Program Alumna, Teacher of students with visual impairments, and disabilities advocate. For more information for students with disabilities wishing to go abroad, visit www.mi...

Today’s episode highlights include • How to strategically plan for an international career • German and US Work culture • Why Cologne is a great city, especially for students and during Carneval • Not to miss: Germany during a soccer championship

Today’s episode is a highlight in itself. Today’s Coffee Connection is Maxine Troglauer, DAAD Music Scholarship recipient, Bass Trombonist and Master’s student at the Manhattan School of Music. In our conversation, Maxine shared how she became first interest in the Trombone, we talked about her experience as a musician, the history of the Trombone, and different career opportunities. We also talke...

Today’s episode highlights include: • Working for the University Heidelberg Association at the German House in New York • First-generation student study abroad experience and tips for success • Using the abroad experience for your career advancement • This week’s travel suggestions are Heidelberg and Norderney. Plus, find out what happens during a box factor tour. Today’s Coffee Connection is Aman...

Today’s episode focuses on German language learning and teaching - highlights include: • Learning German: fluency, cultural competency, confidence and accents • Support for students with learning disabilities • Raising a bilingual child • Child care and parental leave in Germany vs. the US • And this week’s travel suggestion is visiting Iserlohn and attending a hockey game

Today’s episode highlights include • The CBYX program – tips for a meaningful, successful year and how to leverage the experience after • German friendships 101 • Language learning during and after the abroad experience • Engagement with refugees in Munich • In this week’s travel suggestion, you hear why Munich is a must visit beyond Oktoberfest and the usual sights.

Today’s episode highlights include: • International education: the importance of it, trends, and career opportunities • Diversity, access and equity in US education • Strategies to prepare for living abroad • German and American work culture • This week’s travel suggestion is Sylt and you’ll find out more about Frankfurt and Stuttgart

Today’s episode highlights include • From student to representative of the University of Freiburg • How to break into field of higher education • The college experience in the US vs Germany • Tips to learn and improve German And • This week’s travel suggestions include Freiburg and Staufen

Today’s episode highlights include: • Career Development opportunities through the Robert Bosch Fellowship • Insights into the DAAD Bonn headquarter • Higher education internationalization in Germany • German office culture quirks • This weeks travel suggestions include the Zeche Zollverein in Essen, the Bauhaus museum in Dessau and several cities in the former East.

Today’s episode highlights include • How to obtain a PhD choosing the individual path • Strategies to find a mentor and lab • Cancer research • Carneval in Cologne - Kölle Alaaf! • And this week’s travel suggestions: Germany’s national parks and Düsseldorf. You can get in touch with Lin via Lin. Song@ucsf.edu.

Today’s episode highlights include: • Vietnamese – American – German connections • Refugees and how to support the community • Fulbright Teaching – Diversity Program • This week there are a few travel suggestions: Aachen, Monschau, Bonn, Cologne and Düsseldorf For Monschau, I highly recommend you search for it online and virtually travel to this beautiful town.

Today’s episode highlights include • Growing up in Germany in a military family • Culture shock, adjusting and professional opportunities as a global citizen • The US and German education system compared • The concepts of “where are you from” and “where is home” • And this week’s travel highlights include Weimar, Eisenach, Garmisch You can get in touch with Kati via kati.bell@dominican.edu.

Today’s episode highlights include: • How to obtain a PhD in Germany via the individual track • The German perspective on US and Canadian research • Germany in the 21st century - reunification, immigration and national identity • This week’s travel suggestion is the German-Polish city Görlitz/Zgorzelec – you may already know it from movies. Today’s Coffee Connection is Swen Steinberg, Post-Doctora...

Today’s episode highlights include • How study abroad sets you apart to advance your career and career opportunities with German • Funding opportunities for study and research through the German government • Green Germany I public transportation I Individual responsibility and work life balance • This week’s travel suggestion is Freiburg and the cities and countries nearby. You can get in touch wi...

Today’s episode highlights include: • Why the German language isn’t so awful and what you can do with a German degree • What German – American exchange programs are behind the acronyms GAPP and CBYX • Germans: welcoming, well informed, and eco-friendly • And the travel recommendations for today are: Goslar, Regensburg, Rügen • Plus we hear about Vienna – not in Germany, but rich in Germanic histor...

Today’s episode highlights include • Advice on applying successfully to a research grant • Information for young families • German directness in academia – and the benefits after the initial shock • American/German lost in translation AND • And we have a travel recommendation: visit the Harz mountains for its local beer and witchcraft – and hear what’s to see in the town of Halbestadt. You can get...

Today’s episode highlights include: • German health care system • Germany: small country with lots of different culture and language variation • Renu’s tips on how best to connect with a researcher in Germany • Renu’s interdisciplinary research at the Helmholtz Center and Max Planck Institute in Munich • Travel highlights North, South, East and West And today’s bonus: Renu talks about her TedX Ber...

Today’s episode highlights include: • Aravind’s journey from undergraduate in India, to graduate student in Germany to postdoc in the US • Living and studying in Germany not knowing any German • What NASA and RWTH Aachen have in common • Why Aravind believes Germany is the most student friendly country and • Why Aachen should be on your list of places to visit You can get in touch with Aravind at...