Visitors’ gifts from Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, approx. 1955-2020. KIT Service Unit International Affairs; KIT Archives; KIT, Office of the President.
Gifts received during official trips abroad or during visits by leading personalities from other countries, including artfully decorated plates and cups, samples of traditional local handicrafts, university plaques, and elegant technical accessories for everyday use — such objects in this display reflect KIT’s global relationships. The diverse connections to the Far East that have developed over many years are next to gifts from across Europe, Russia, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Middle East, as well as North and South America. This display symbolizes internationality — thus aspirations and practices whose essential breadth and diversity cannot be captured by any single object. International contacts with governing bodies and institutionalized cooperations characterize KIT’s past and present, as does the constant flow of students and researchers from abroad. The diversity of partners, employees, and students is as characteristic as the long-term evolution of their origins and the nature of these relationships. Since the mid-nineteenth century, Karlsruhe Polytechnical College has attracted a significant number of students not only from outside Baden but also from abroad. Over the decades, their countries of origin have changed considerably. Often, students came to Karlsruhe because equivalent technical education was unavailable in their home countries, or was restricted to a select few. The patterns reflected rules for university admission, political upheavals, and forced displacement. Few people know that after World War II, a large proportion of the students were former deported laborers. Karlsruhe Nuclear Research Center saw a constant flow not only of visitors but also of foreign researchers. The commitment of KIT and its predecessor institutions to developing solutions to globally relevant issues in the natural sciences and engineering makes ongoing international contact and cooperation essential. During the Cold War era between East and West, as well as amid current geopolitical tensions, international contacts could and can still create moments and protected spaces for rapprochement. The presence of international students beyond scientific exchange programs and study visits abroad is important to KIT. Apart from knowledge acquisition and financial benefits for the institution, international networking and horizon-broadening intercultural encounters among individual persons play a vital role. kn