FOR many years now, King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh has been offering a bachelor's program in “German for translators” to young Saudis. Student numbers have been growing strongly. This year, over 40 young men signed up to study German at KSU. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has recognized the importance of the German department by providing grants to students and teachers and by sending permanent long-stay lecturers from Germany, covering most of their costs. Since 2009, Mark Rode, an internationally experienced specialist for German as a foreign language, has been teaching German at KSU. As he explains, he never ceases to be “impressed by the students' enthusiasm and talent”. The Saudi Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) is also greatly contributing to the quality of the future translators by annually sending a group of the best students to Germany for one year of studies at a German university. This year, Saudi students are bound for the University of Freiburg in the south of Germany, one of the country's prestigious universities. Ambitious Saudis with German skills do not have to worry about employment opportunities. Over 400 German companies active in Saudi Arabia are hoping to find able cultural and linguistic translators to facilitate mutual understanding with their Saudi partners and clients. At Effat University in Jeddah, another DAAD lecturer is now helping to establish German as a subject for interested Saudi female students. Dr. Susanne Karam enjoys her challenging work and is happy to see the growing role of the German language. Spoken by over a 100 million speakers in four countries in the heart of Europe, it is also a language featuring a rich scientific history and tradition. More than 100 world-class universities in Germany welcome students from all over the world to study at unmatched low fees, so that the brightest minds from all levels of society can achieve their full intellectual potential. German scientists were awarded over 100 Nobel Prizes. Germany also offers a great variety of dedicated, top-of-the-class research centers. KSU is rightly proud to have forged a close collaboration with one of these, the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics. There, Nobel Laureate Prof. Theodor Haensch works with Prof. Dr. Abdallah Azzeer on new laser technologies. Many other active cooperation pacts with German universities exist: from archaeology to tourism there is a lively exchange of students, professors, knowledge, and ideas. Whether student, employee, or businessman, you can start studying German today. The German Embassy in Riyadh organizes courses at all levels and welcomes everyone interested to find further details on its website www.riad.diplo.de. Nearly 1,000 Saudis are currently studying or learning German in Germany itself. With generous support granted by the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP), Saudis study or prepare to study at German universities. Medicine, engineering, chemistry and architecture are among the Saudi students' favorite subjects. The DAAD and the Saudi Embassy's cultural office in Berlin are providing them with constant assistance in finding their ways into the renowned German universities. The Goethe Institute for the Gulf Region in Abu Dhabi offers a new series of testimonials of Saudis studying in Germany called “Hayati fi Almania”. In one video, Dr. Nabeel Farhan from Makkah, a Saudi neurosurgeon, speaks about his many positive experiences in Germany. Go to http://www.goethe.de/ins/ae/abu/lrn/mld/arindex.htm to find out more. For more information on universities and studying in Germany as well as the German language programs in the Kingdom, the DAAD lecturers in Jeddah and Riyadh are happy to get in touch with all interested Saudis. — SG
