How do international students and alumni contribute to development in their countries of origin? Is the development effect greatest when students return to their countries of origin directly after completing their studies and become involved locally there, or can they also support the development of their country of origin if they remain abroad after their studies and contribute their knowledge and capital to the development process of their country of origin via transnational networks? Specifically, this question is examined in this publication using the example of the scholarship and alumni work of the Catholic Academic Alien Service (KAAD) in five countries of different developing regions: Georgia, Ghana, Indonesia, Colombia and Palestine.