As scholarships go, a Humboldt is as prestigious a fellowship as they come.

Renaissance man Alexander von Humboldt dedicated his life to science, undertaking grueling research trips across the world in the process. The Humboldt Foundation was set up one year after his death in 1859 to promote international research partnerships.

One hundred and forty years later, some 600 scholars per year are awarded coveted Humboldt scholarships. Every three months sees a new batch of fresh-faced Humboldt recipients crossing the threshold of Germany's universities eager to breathe in the rarified air of academia.

International elite

The latest intake includes beneficiaries from countries as diverse as China and India, who have little in common except an outstanding educational record.

Their term kicked off in mid-October, when the 123 students met up for an introductory get-together in Cologne. The event was an opportunity for the new Humboldt scholars to mingle and meet up with alumni.

General Secretary Georg Schütte was gushing in his praise of the young researchers.

"The Humboldt Foundation sees it as its job to identify international research elites and invite them to Germany for extended stays," he said. "The students assembled here are those who stood out in a competition for grants which accepts entrants from any country and any discipline."

Culture shock

This year, 20 of the new crop hail from China -- including nano-scientist Gao Yan from Beijing. She's set to spend the next year at the University of Constance in southern Germany, and has already felt the first twinges of culture shock.

"Constance is kind of small," she said. But she's visibly proud to have been awarded such a top-drawer scholarship.

"I knew how hard it was," she said. "I'm very happy to have this opportunity to be here."

Two-way traffic

The Humboldt Foundation also helps German students get a foot in the door abroad. One of them was biochemist Bernd Spiteller from Munich. He spent one year in the US as a Humboldt scholar, where he felt his American colleagues had very high expectations of him.

"Over there, they consider Germans to be very hard-working and effective," he said.

Bernd Spiteller was part of an international research team at the University of Seattle. He saw part of his job as flying a flag for Germany.

"You feel you have to do your best to make Germany look good," he said. "You want to scupper this idea people have that Germany is a reactionary, fuddy-duddy place and convince them that it's really very advanced. They tend to associate Germany with fairytale castles and the Oktoberfest and lederhosen, so I felt it was up to me to convince them there's more to it than that."

But being a cultural ambassador better not get in the way of the real work. Humboldt scholars have a lot to live up to.

"So far, the Humboldt Foundation has spawned 40 Nobel prize-winners," pointed out Schütte. "And I'm sure there will be many more in years to come."