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Viewing cable 06BERLIN1354, LOOKING TO U.S. EXAMPLES -- GERMANY'S MINISTER FOR

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06BERLIN1354 2006-05-17 15:39 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Berlin
VZCZCXRO8202
PP RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHLZ
DE RUEHRL #1354/01 1371539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171539Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3200
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 001354 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON OEXC PREL TBIO GM
SUBJECT: LOOKING TO U.S. EXAMPLES -- GERMANY'S MINISTER FOR 
EDUCATION AND RESEARCH 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please Handle Appropriately. 
 
1.  (SBU)  Summary -- German Minister of Education and 
Research Schavan told the Ambassador she wants to make her 
first official trip to the U.S. at the end August and also 
discussed her thoughts on improving Germany's education 
system, including to integrate immigrant populations and 
trying to elicit more input from the private sector so 
graduates can better meet the needs of a globalized 
workplace.  She thought experiences in the U.S, would help in 
her achieving these goals.  The Minister requested Embassy 
assistance in publicizing the various exchange programs 
available to Germans interested in the U.S. in addition to 
the Fulbright Program and was pleased that the numbers of 
Americans coming to do scientific work and other studies in 
Germany have risen in recent years so that the numbers of 
Germans and of Americans studying in each other's country is 
now about equal.  She is interested in boosting the sorts of 
energy-related research activities envisioned under the 2005 
Mainz Declaration.  The Minister looks forward to Germany 
hosting the Carnegie meetings of G-8 science ministers in 
December in Leipzig and appreciates the U.S. agreeing to host 
last fall when the need to put a new government in place 
after the September 18 election precluded the German 
government from doing so.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U)  Ambassador paid his official courtesy call on 
Annette Schavan (CDU), German Minister of Education and 
Research, May 9.  Christoph Ehrenbach, Director for European 
and International Cooperation; Gudrun Maass, Americas desk 
officer; and a Ministry translator also participated. 
Embassy EMIN, PAO, and translator joined the Ambassador. 
 
Reforming German Education/Looking to the U.S. for Examples 
 
3.  (SBU)  Schavan opened stating she looks forward to her 
first official trip to the United States as Minister, 
something she now plans for late August.  Throughout the 
conversation, the Minister suggested she thought there is a 
great deal in the U.S. system that could help Germany revamp 
its education system to enable its citizens to meet 21st 
century challenges.  Schavan noted she again and again sees 
young Germans coming back from exchange programs in the U.S. 
enthused, having found the American culture of learning 
attractive.  She would like such a dynamic system in Germany. 
 
4.  (SBU)  Specific steps the Minister listed included 
improving early childhood education for children ages 3 - 6 
in Germany; Germans traditionally started schooling at age 7. 
 She also wants more attention on education for children of 
immigrant families and again sees this as an area where the 
U.S. experiences could help Germans develop the desired 
reforms.  Reacting to the Ambassador's remarks, she agreed 
the German system too cannot concentrate primarily on 
providing for those going to university, but needs to equip 
all Germans to be able to keep learning after leaving school. 
 It is no longer enough to let a student leave school at age 
16 and think they can hold and keep a job.  She also said 
while Germans have traditionally looked on education as a 
state responsibility, this notion has to change and the 
public/community needs to feel greater responsibility. 
Schavan noted she would like each school in Germany to have a 
school board, similar, she said, to the practice in 
Switzerland. 
 
5.  (SBU)  Agreeing with the Ambassador on the importance of 
the private sector playing a role in education to ensure 
those coming out of the school system are able to compete in 
the global markets and open to further learning, Minister 
Schavan said Germany traditionally had a good partnership 
with the private sector in developing/executing "vocational" 
education, including in engineering.  The challenge, she 
continued is expanding this sort of partnership to the whole 
of the education system.  Schavan also noted the Federal 
ministry's task should be setting standards which are then 
applied at the state (Land) levels.  This point is a part of 
the on-going discussions in Germany on reforms to its Federal 
system. 
 
Exchanges 
 
6.  (U)  The Minister said she would like to see exchanges 
between vocational education programs ) and she included 
scientific and engineering studies/work in this category -- 
in the U.S. and Germany.  Her staff noted, however, that 
while they had successes finding academic programs, they had 
not been able to find counterpart companies.  The Ministry 
staff also noted some frustration reaching below the U.S. 
Federal level in establishing contacts with educational 
institutions in the U.S.  One success the Ministry staff did 
point to was between Koblenz and Austin. 
 
 
BERLIN 00001354  002 OF 002 
 
 
7.  (U)  The Minister also noted strong interest in expanding 
overall exchanges between the U.S. and Germany.  The von 
Humboldt Foundation and DAAD (German Academic Exchange 
Service) programs have "a great network for exchanges of 
young scientists," but it is important, she continued, to 
expand that network.  The PAO pointed to the significant 
activity taking place under the Fulbright Program and EMIN 
noted the tremendous volume of scientific exchanges taking 
place between NASA, EPA, the national research labs, and 
other USG institutions as well as the even greater volume 
among academic and other institutions.  Maass agreed those 
exchanges between the U.S. and Germany number in the 
thousands annually, but noted while in recent years, the 
numbers of Germans and Americans doing research in each 
others, country have moved back into balance after a period 
where significantly more Germans were doing research in the 
U.S., according to Ministry studies, than Americans doing 
research in Germany.  The Minister asked if the Embassy could 
post information on the various exchange programs available, 
including for Americans in Germany, on its website and the 
PAO agreed to look into doing so. 
 
Research 
 
8.  The Ministry staff noted Germany wants to increase its 
ratio of research outlays to GDP from the current 2.5% to 3%. 
 Among the areas where Germany wants to strengthen its R&D 
activities is in biotechnology.  The Ambassador noted the 
German government is undercutting itself in achieving this 
goal through its restrictive policies on pharmaceutical 
pricing.  He also pointed to the 2005 Mainz Declaration 
between the President and then Chancellor Schroeder and noted 
the need to re-invigorate the contacts on energy technologies 
called for under the Declaration.  Intensifying contacts 
under the Mainz Declaration could help both countries improve 
their energy security situation and cut emissions.  The 
Minister agreed now is a good time to look at such 
cooperation, for the reasons the Ambassador cited as well as 
due to the discussion in Germany following the Chancellor's 
March Energy Summit, and thought it should be possible to 
look at some programs in the run-up to the President's July 
visit to Germany. 
 
Comment 
 
9.  (SBU)  Minister Schavan is considered to be conservative 
and close to Chancellor Merkel.  During the conversation on 
research, she cited the debate over moving away from the old 
Schroeder government's decision to phase out nuclear power 
and said it is important to encourage young Germans to do 
research into nuclear power so the country does not "say 
good-by to the technology forever."  She pointed to 
Environment Minister Gabriel (SPD), however, as the key 
opponent to dropping the plans for a phase-out.  Although she 
understands English and interjected comments in the language 
into the conversation, including at one point to help the 
Ministry translator, she spoke in German through most of the 
meeting. 
TIMKEN JR