![[Translate to en:] TUM San Francisco und DAAD Nordamerika organisierten in diesem Jahr erstmals einen Neujahrsempfang in Deutschen Generalkonsulat in San Francisco. (Foto: Philipp Weitz)](/fileadmin/_processed_/d/6/csm_IMG_0573_8fc4663ab5.webp)
Welcome remarks were given by Consul Patrick Heinz, Press and Cultural Affairs, who emphasized the importance of networking to make connections and build enduring, mutually beneficial relationships. He also underlined the need for continuity in bringing together various public and private institutions of higher learning from both countries Germany and the United States.
Then, Dolores Volkert, Head of TUM’s North America office, showcased her liaison office’s activities since its launch in late September 2015 and provided an outlook for 2017. She mentioned, for instance, a lecture series on energy efficiency in October 2016 with TUM Professor Thomas Auer at selected universities in Northern California and Oregon organized together with the GACC or a beer tasting event last summer with one of our TUM alumni, who studied Brewing in Weihenstephan and worked for Anchor Steam Brewery. She also addressed the importance of strengthening cooperation with American stakeholders in TUM’s work and thanked partners and supporters for the good cooperation in the past year.
Peter Kerrigan, Deputy Director of DAAD New York, and Hanni Geist, Head of DAAD’s West Coast Information Center, also welcomed the guests and thanked DAAD’s partners for their support. They emphasized the importance of transatlantic exchange and reiterated the manifold programs and scholarship opportunities of DAAD. As one of the highlights for DAAD in 2017, they presented DAAD’s new website, which is an excellent tool for marketing German higher education and research.
As a highlight of the reception, Anne McLachlan, Senior Researcher at UC Berkeley (DAAD Alumna), Milica Grahovac, Senior Scientific Engineering Associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (TUM Alumna), and Erich F. Haratsch, Engineering Director at Seagate Technology (DAAD and TUM Alumnus), talked about how their experience in Germany or their transatlantic experience helped them build their careers and how the experience shaped them as a person.
The TUM alumni network is a global network. Graduates live in 139 countries around the world; a large number of them live in North America. TUM San Francisco maintains the relationship between TUM and its alumni across North America.
Did you study or complete your doctorate at TUM? Currently, there are already more than 50.000 TUM alumni and students who benefit from the TUM network, which will accompany them throughout their lives: www.together.tum.de