Course description
DIES - INTERNATIONAL DEANS' COURSE
LATIN AMERICA 2025/26
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK), Saarland University (Germany) and University of Alicante (Spain), are jointly organizing the DIES-International Deans’ Course for Latin America.
This intensive training course is part of the DIES Program (Dialogue on Innovative Higher Education Strategies), which has been jointly coordinated by DAAD and HRK and funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) since 2001 (www.daad.de/dies/en).
The DIES IDC LA is co-organized by Saarland University (UdS) and the University of Alicante (UA). Both institutions have been cooperating for a long period of time in projects focused on the evaluation, development, and improvement of university management in higher education institutions.
Course Content, Methodology and Schedule
The DIES IDC LA aims to bring together a group of about 25 newly elected Deans and Vice-Deans from higher education institutions in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru in order to enable participants to tackle the challenges posed by their new positions.
Training in both hard and soft skills will be key parts of this course and issues such as Strategic Faculty Planning, Financial Management, Quality Management, Online Strategies, and Human Resources Management will be covered. Methodology will be strictly practice-oriented and mainly based on case studies. Personal experience as university manager will highly contribute to the content covered, as participants are expected to actively participate during the course.
Participants will develop a Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for their own faculty. The SAP will comprise the characteristics of the faculty and strategies to be followed, the role of the participant in the proposed plan, and the underlying administration and procedures in the thematic areas of the course. In this framework, participants will develop and work on concrete measures to implement the proposed strategy in their own faculty.
Background knowledge on the SAP will be introduced during the first parts of the course (Module 0, Module I and Module II). In the next phase of the course (Module III), continued work on the SAP will be supported via online SAP Coaching Sessions and Webinars.
The last part of the course (Module IV) will offer participants the opportunity to reflect on the implementation of their SAPs and other reform projects discussed during the training.
Given that the entire content of the course is closely interrelated, participants are required to confirm their full availability to attend all onsite and online trainings prior to admission.
The course will be conducted in English and Spanish and has a total duration of approx. 7 months, distributed in one introductory module and four main modules.
The following list shows the provisional schedule of the course, subject to change according to the circumstances.
Module 0: 10 September 2025
- On-line, from 16:00 to 19:30 (UTC+2 / Central European Summer Time – CEST)
Module I: 22–26 September 2025
- On-site in Saarbrücken, Germany (plus necessary travel time).
Module II: 29 September – 3 October 2025
- On-site in Alicante, Spain (plus necessary travel time).
Module III: from December 2025 to March 2026
- On-line: Webinars and SAP Coaching Sessions.
Module IV: 16 – 20 March 2026
- On-site in Latin America (plus necessary travel time). Location to be announced during the course
Participants’ Profile
- Participants should have been holding the position of Dean or Vice-Dean for no longer than 2 years. Applicants who hold other positions, such as Vice-President or Head of Department, should describe their area of responsibility. Applicants from administrative units are not eligible.
- Participants should be aged 30–50.
- Participants must be proficient in both English and Spanish. If needed, applicants might be
required to pass an interview as part of the admission process. - Participants should hold a PhD.
- International experience will be highly valued.
- Being a DAAD alumnus/a is not compulsory but may be considered an asset.
- Candidates from higher education institutions of the following countries are eligible to apply:
Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, and Peru.
Funding
Throughout the course, participants will be hosted by Saarland University and the University of Alicante. For the modules conducted on-site, the following expenses can be covered by funds of the DAAD provided through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ):
- Travel costs (according to DAAD regulations):
- Module I and Module II: outward flight to Germany, transfer flight to Spain, and return flight from Spain, as well as costs arising from required ground transportation in Germany and Spain.
- Module IV: outward and return flights within Latin America.
- Accommodation and some joint meals during presence phases in Europe and Latin America. No full board will be provided.
- Emergency health insurance during presence phases in Europe.
Expected Co-FundingParticipants’ home institutions will be expected to pay a tuition fee of EUR 500. Additionally, participants must be able to cover local transportation in their home countries, visa costs, and potential additional per diems for the duration of the onsite training. |
Application and Selection Procedure
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Deadline: 15 April 2025, 23:59 CET. |
The following supporting documents should be included in the application in PDF format:
- Cover letter (2 pages max.).
- Organizational Chart of the higher education institution showing the section where the candidate is working in.
- Letter of Support from the higher education institution’s management board expressing conformity with the coverage of the tuition fees and the candidate’s active participation in all parts of the course.
- Proof of English Proficiency in the form of a certificate (or equivalent document) will be an asset. Proof of Spanish proficiency will be also required for applicants from Belize. On-line interviews might be organized with shortlisted candidates to verify the requested proficiency.
DISCLAIMERThe Selection Committee is composed of UdS and UA Academic Directors and Coordinators as well as DAAD and HRK representatives. Applications will be assessed by the Selection Committee according to the abovementioned participant’s profile and supporting documents. |
Contact Details
International Deans’ Course Latin America
Tel. +34 965 909718 (University of Alicante)
Tel. +49 681302-71121 (Saarland University)
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Eva Nossem, Institutional Coordinator Natalia Villalba, Project Coordinator DIES IDC LA Head Unit Saarland University 66123 – Saarbrücken Saarland, Germany |
Carolina Madeleine, Project Coordinator Eva Sánchez, Project Administrator Institutional Project Management Office University of Alicante 03001 – Alicante, Spain |
