Research Ambassador Workshop 2023

After four years, the time had finally come again: the University of Bremen invited its Research Ambassadors, who promote the university and the research carried out here, to a workshop during OPEN CAMPUS. Six of the eleven research alumni came to Bremen from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Tanzania, and from the USA a visiting scholar originally from Russia. Research Ambassadors are to act as contact persons in their home countries for anyone interested in studying or doing research in Bremen, and help build up research networks abroad. For the international researchers, the workshop was also a good opportunity to get to know the new rectorate.

In a discussion between the Research Ambassadors and Rector Prof Dr Jutta Günther and Vice Rector Dr Mandy Boehnke, both in office since September 2022, topics ranged from the university's new sustainability concept to the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the importance of social media in the university context. As Rector Günther sees it, this research network helps to open up worlds by giving international scientists access to the expertise and research capacities at the University of Bremen and enabling them to contribute their own outstanding know-how. These collaborations also open up worlds for Bremeners that would not otherwise be accessible to them.

A highlight of the workshop, the first in-person meeting in four years, was a reading by Professor Rozena Maart from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, one of Bremen’s partner cities. Prof Maart presented her new book 66 Women Who Build a Better Future for South Africa in the Café International, which the university's Welcome Centre has been organising for years.

The general consensus: the meeting was a success, topped off by agreement on new initiatives for an even closer exchange.