a) The Federal Ministry of Education and Research Mr P Weber: Director Vocational Training led the presentation which highlighted the following key issues: . Bonn was the German capital from 1949 to 1990. A number of Ministries still had their headquarters in Bonn rather than Berlin and, the BMBF was one of them. The BMBF was headed by Prof A Schavan, Minister with four State Secretaries reporting to her. The BMBF had approximately 1000 employees of which 750 were in Bonn and 250 in Berlin. . The Federal Republic of Germany was made up of 16 autonomous states (Lander), each with its own constitution and responsibilities. Together, the 16 Lander made up the German Federal State (Bund). . The Federal Government had competing legislation authority for non- school-based vocational training, training grants, support of scientific research and university admissions and degrees. . The joint responsibilities shared between the Landers and Bund included funding of science and research, educational reporting and joint recommendations. . The aims of the "Qualification Initiative for Germany" included making education a top priority in Germany, giving every child a top priority, ensuring that everyone can acquire a school-leaving or vocational qualification and encouraging more young people to pursue university studies. . The Future Investment Act included extensive investment of 8.7 euros in the educational infrastructure. Current examples included early childhood education and care infrastructure, universities, municipal or non-profit continuing education institutions and research. . In terms of future prospects, Germany would invest 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in education and research by 2015, admitting 275 000 additional first year students to university by 2015, promoting top class university research and giving more support to major science and research organizations.