It is undisputed that studying abroad provides several benefits for students, such as improving language knowledge, intercultural awareness, and developing adaptation capacity as well as knowing new ways of learning. Not only does the experience abroad make students grow personally, but in today’s globalized world it can also mean a real advantage for their future professional life [1]. Moreover, the students may have access to research facilities and technical expertise not available at their home university. On the other side, universities profit from their international students since they provide a cultural enrichment for the host university, increase its reputation and international alumni represent a strong potential for future international cooperation. However, additional efforts need to be done both by the students and the university staff in order to organize a study stay abroad and to lead the exchange to a successful experience. Several issues like mobility, teaching, evaluation or recognition of credits may not proceed as smoothly as they should and need further development.

The European School of Materials (EUSMAT) at Saarland University has gained vast experience in developing and managing international programs. Recently, a program between Saarland University, the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg and the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata has also been established for the exchange of students in Materials Engineering between Germany and Argentina. This project is supported by the I.DEAR program of the German-Argentinean University Center.

In this work we will focus on the benefits and challenges of international study programs based on the example of the cooperation between Argentina and Germany. Therefore, we will present the I.DEAR program by providing statistics of this cooperation and by contrasting the latter with experiences in other programs. The particularities of study systems and possibilities for exchanges between both countries will be discussed.