Dr. Sarah Wilewski

YUFE stands for "Young Universities for the Future of Europe".  This is an alliance which - as part of the European University Initiative of the European Commission - started its pilot phase on 1 December 2019 and, as an ambitious initiative, is increasingly establishing itself as a cross-cutting theme at the University of Bremen. Briefly outlined, YUFE consists of ten European partner universities and four non-university partners who together want to initiate and implement a radical change in higher education, thereby establishing a "young, open and inclusive European university".

Discussing this ambitious goal strategically, operationalising it with the participants from a wide variety of fields, countries and status groups, and developing (realistic) implementation proposals from it - this is the task of Dr. Sarah Wilewski, who is responsible for the overall management of the project at the University of Bremen.

She sees YUFE as a step on the way to helping shape the changing role of universities in society. Accordingly, she envisions the University of Bremen in 50 years as a more international, interdisciplinary and contemporary academic institution, structured less strongly by discipline and more by thematic cluster and embedded in a regional and global network.

With her work for YUFE, Dr Sarah Wilewski particularly wants to create an awareness that "we need everyone with the most diverse tasks at YUFE and work on a common vision". In this context, it is important to unite enthusiasts and sceptics in communication with the most diverse actors - without losing sight of the time and financial framework conditions. What helps her maintain composure and an overview in this challenging task? The ability to change perspectives, which she also finds enriching in her hobbies: in photography she learns again and again to see the seemingly invisible. Riding sensitises her in a different way to questions of communication: "You practise reading needs that are not verbalised and working together in a different, own "language". So determination, mindfulness and perseverance are also indispensable when working with horses."