Japanese-German Graduate Externship (JGGE) Program (hereinafter, the Program), which began in October 2019 in collaboration with the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen- Nürnberg (FAU) in Germany with the support of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), successfully completed its five-year project period at the end of September 2024. Also, Nagoya Institute of Technology (NITech) reapplied the Program to JSPS and has been approved for an additional four years, starting in October 2024. In addition, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) has approved the renewal of FAU’s International Research Training Group (IRTG), meaning that the two institutions are able to continue this joint program.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which hit shortly after the program began, had a major impact on this program, which is centered around joint research supervision between Japan and Germany. However, the program was able to weather the situation, thanks to the individual participants’ continued enthusiasm for the collaborative research and flexible online interaction.
Additionally, the program’s coordinator, HAYASHI, Koichi, was invited to a lunch reception to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the DFG Delegation to Japan on Wednesday, October 9, 2024. At the lunch reception, he exchanged views about the initiatives and development of the Program with staffs from the DFG International Affairs Department, JSPS, and other relevant personnel.
Now that the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided, active exchanges such as student exchanges, joint research, and lectures through the program have been realized, and relations between NITech and FAU have deepened even further beyond the boundaries of each project.

Group Photo at Yearly School 2024