The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
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The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
"The ceaseless, tireless work of the staff of the London office must take much of the credit for increasing mobility between the UK and German academic sectors."
Baroness Warwick, Chief Executive, Universities UK in the preface to the DAAD London, 75th Anniversary brochure, June 2002.
75 Years in London
Since 1925 the DAAD has been dedicated to encouraging foreign students and academics to carry out study and research in Germany, and for German academics and students to go abroad. Its first branch office was established in London in 1927. It was closed during the war years but re-opened in 1952. It has been located at various premises across London. Up till the early 1990s it was housed at 17 Bloomsbury Square, along with the Anglo-German Foundation, the Anglo-German Association and the German Historical Institute. The DAAD has now moved to 1 Southampton Place.
Some odd requests
Under the listings for Germany in the phone book we appear right at the top under 'A' for Academic, which means we frequently get phone calls and visits, which have nothing to with our usual academic work. A couple of years ago a gentleman arrived in our offices clutching the instructions, all in German, for his wife's new set of saucepans. He wanted to know whether she should season them with oil before using them or whether this would spoil the non-stick effect. With translation in hand he left happily having won the bet over his wife!
Our translation skills were used again earlier this year, when a lady phoned to say she was doing The Times crossword and needed to know what a German fruit dessert would be – twelve letters. One colleague had an inspired guess of 'apple-strudel' and was promptly told it couldn't be this as the third letter word was 'f'. When informed that it was probably the German spelling of 'Apfelstrudel' that was needed, the caller painstakingly took down the correct spelling and promptly hung up.
Updated: 10 May 2010
