Return and Reintegration: Shaping the Future After Studying in Germany

As they increasingly arrive in the German higher education and social system, many international students and doctoral candidates are faced with the question of the next step: returning, staying or open transitions between different living and working contexts. Reintegration does not appear as the mere conclusion of an educational phase, but as an independent process in which personal decisions, social responsibility and career prospects are interlinked.

Against the background of these transition and orientation questions, the KAAD Reintegration Seminar took place on 17, 25 and 28 October 2025, which was held in three digital sessions and led by KAAD Secretary General Dr Nora Kalbarczyk.

The first part of the seminar focused on decision-making and orientation issues. In a workshop entitled "Returning to your home country? Yes, no, maybe – how and when?", the participants reflected on different options and times of return as well as the associated uncertainties and expectations.

The two-part practical workshop "The futureMe and the Entrepreneurial Method", which was conducted by KAAD alumna Dr Patricia Cabero from Bolivia, was a focal point of this year's reintegration seminar. The starting point was the question of how decisions about future professional and personal paths can be prepared under conditions of global uncertainty. Based on the 'Entrepreneurial Method' developed by Saras Sarasvathy, which describes entrepreneurial action as a process-oriented approach in open and unpredictable situations, the participants worked with case studies and reflection exercises to identify scope for action for the time after their academic qualification in Germany. The focus was not on setting abstract goals, but rather on the participants' examination of their own "futureMe". They reflected on their personal starting position, their professional and methodological skills, their existing networks and the means and options already available to them to develop prospects for the time after their academic qualification in Germany and to implement these in their respective home countries.

In the subsequent panel discussion, KAAD alumnae Dr Mekdem Tesfamichael Hassen from Ethiopia, Trinnah Caracho from the Philippines and Mary Kamel from Egypt as well as KAAD alumnus Dr. Aram Simonyan from Armenia reported on their experiences of return and reintegration. They provided insights into different professional contexts, ranging from psychosocial counseling and university teaching to development and volunteer programs, university research and institutional development. The contributions referred to the very different political and institutional frameworks under which reintegration takes place, as well as the need to transfer academic qualifications into concrete professional and social contexts. Recurring points of reference were personal networks and forms of institutional connection that support the transition into permanent professional activities.

Across the individual program items, the reintegration seminar opened up a common space for reflection on questions of return, transitions and professional orientation after academic qualification. The participants' biographical experiences, alumni perspectives and methodological approaches stood side by side and made the diversity of possible reintegration paths visible.