The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is the largest organization worldwide to promote international exchange among students and scientists. It is a registered association and its members are German institutions of higher education and student bodies. DAAD offers scholarships, supports the international orientation of German universities, promotes German studies and the German language abroad, assists developing countries in establishing excellent universities and advises decision-makers on matters of cultural, education and development policy.

Apart from its head office in Bonn, DAAD also maintains an office in the German capital, to which the famous Berlin Artists-in-Residence Programme (Berliner Künstlerprogramm) is closely affiliated. It stays in contact with and provides advice to its main partner countries on every continent via a network of 14 regional offices and 51 local information centers.

DAAD runs over 250 programmes in Germany and worldwide, offering semesters abroad for undergraduates and doctoral programmes, internships and guest lectureships, and supporting fact-finding missions or the establishment of new universities abroad. Moreover, DAAD supports international activities of German institutions of higher education by providing marketing services and publications, by staging events and offering training.