Breakfast Roundtable

Prof. Joybrato Mukherjee began his term as President of the DAAD on January 1, 2020. According to the association charter, the President represents the DAAD in all organization-related matters. He serves as the chairperson of the Executive Committee, prepares its deliberations and resolutions, and ensures their implementation. He also chairs the meeting of the Board of Trustees and the General Assembly. His responsibilities include appointing the Secretary-General following confirmation by the Executive Committee and supervising the organization's management.

On October 1, 2023, Prof. Dr. Mukherjee took office as Rector of the University of Cologne. In cooperation with the other members of the Rectorate, he represents the university externally and is responsible for its management and strategic development. He chairs the Rectorate and the Senate and is the chief supervisor of the university’s scientific staff. He also defines the guidelines for the execution of the Rectorate's tasks.

Prof. Dr. Mukherjee completed his studies in English, Biology, and Education at RWTH Aachen University in 1997. In 2000, he received his doctorate at the University of Bonn; he also completed his habilitation in 2003 and was awarded the venia legendi for English Philology.

Christian Strowa assumed the roles of Director of the DWIH New York and Director of the DAAD Regional Office New York in September 2024. He completed his studies in American Studies, Psychology, and Media Studies at the University of Bonn, and pursued Comparative Literature and Philosophy at New York University. Additionally, he holds a postgraduate degree from UCL’s Institute of Education (IoE). He has held teaching roles at Dublin City University and University College London. Before his appointment to New York, he served as Head of Division “Knowledge and Network” at the DAAD’s headquarters in Bonn, where he was responsible for the DAAD’s network of overseas offices, the international DAAD Academy iDA, third party funding and the Centre for International Academic Cooperation KIWi. Prior to this, he led the Section “Scholarship Programmes Asia and the Pacific” and served as Deputy Director of the DAAD’s London Office.

Dr. Jan Lüdert is Head of Programs at the German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New York. Jan earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of British Columbia (UBC). He holds Harvard Kennedy’s School Public Leadership Credential; a First-Class Honors MA in International Relations from the Australian National University; and a BA in Public Policy from Hamburg University for Economics and Politics. He previously served as Associate Professor at City University of Seattle where he was the inaugural Director of Curriculum and Instruction. He held positions as Visiting Research Scholar at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at City University of New York's Graduate Center as well as Research Associate with the DFG 'Dynamics of Security' project at Philipps Marburg University. He is an alumnus of Seattle's World Affairs Council Fellows and UBC Liu Institute for Global Issues Scholar programs.