An espresso with...

Hapuarachchige Dona Priyadarshani Premarathne did her doctorate at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Science (BIGSSS) from February 2017 to January 2022. Prior to this, she completed a bachelor's degree in sociology and a master of philosophy in sociology in Sri Lanka, as well as a postgraduate diploma in psychosocial work and counselling. She served as a junior lecturer before obtaining her PhD and currently serves as a senior lecturer (equivalent to associate professor in the US/German system).

Morin Fobissie Kamga is from Cameroon, where he completed a bachelor's degree in management and accounting. From 1999 to 2005, he studied economics at the University of Bremen and graduated with a Diplom. Before that, he attended Uni Bremen language courses starting in 1997. He is the founder and managing director of UTAMTSI GmbH, a Bremen-based coffee import, roasting and distribution company.

Antje Grotheer studied law at the University of Bremen from 1986 to 1991. She then worked as a research assistant at Uni Bremen, completed her legal clerkship and subsequently took up work as a lawyer. From 2003 to 2011, she held management positions in the Bremen administration and has been a member of the Bremen Parliament since 2011. In 2019, she succeeded the late Christian Weber as President of the Bremen Parliament for three months then was re-elected to the office in the summer of 2023.

Jana Schröder earned her bachelor's and master's degree at the University of Bremen from 2010 to 2017, specialising in marine geology and oceanography. During her master's studies, she spent an Erasmus year in Tromsø, Norway. Since 2021, she has been working for the geo-data firm Fugro, whose activities around the world include seabed surveying.

Dieter Brand-Kruth studied for his teaching degree (biology and German) at the University of Bremen from 1993 to 1999. He had previously given up a career as a police officer (1979-1982) after a serious accident. He then worked as a trainee and editor at the Nordwest-Zeitung Oldenburg, and from 2000 to 2014 he was a secondary school teacher at Gymnasium Horn. In 2017 he earned his doctorate in cultural studies. Since then he has been doing research on fairy tales.

Sarah Kumpf, a Stuttgart native, got her bachelor’s degree in applied literature and cultural studies at the University of Dortmund, minoring in politics and journalism. From 2007 to 2010 she did her master's degree in media culture at the University of Bremen. After spending several years as a journalist at Radio Bremen, she now works at the station as a consultant in the communications department.

After training as a geriatric nurse, Agnes-Dorothee Greiner studied nursing science and German for secondary school teaching at the University of Bremen from 2004 to 2009. She then worked as a researcher at the IPP, the Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research at the University of Bremen, until 2015. Today, she is head of the Bremer Heimstiftung’s education centre and a member of its five-person management team. The Heimstiftung is a corporate member of the alumni association.

SAVE THE DATE: Next year we want to have our alumni summer fête on Friday, 1 September 2023, in the Bremer Heimstiftung’s new Stadtleben Ellener Hof, a residential quarter in Bremen developed as a model for socio-ecological living.

Gabriele Hasler studied German and music at the university from 1977 to 1983. She is a jazz singer, multi-instrumentalist and composer. The "Jazz Pope" Joachim Ernst Behrendt wrote about her: "one of the most versatile, courageous, creative jazz voices in Europe."

From 2015 to 2020 Prof Dr Anna-Katharina Hornidge held a cooperation professorship at the University of Bremen and the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) with a focus on development and knowledge sociology. She has been Director of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) in Bonn and a professor at the University of Bonn since 2020.

Yves Nagel, born in 1968, began studying Professional Public Decision Making at the University of Bremen in 2015, graduating with a master's degree in 2019. He had previously worked for many years in the administration of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and since November 2021 has been mayor of the Lower Saxony joint municipality of Harpstedt, around 30 km from Bremen.

The marine biologist Simon Jungblut (born 1989) completed his bachelor's degree in biology/chemistry education at the University of Bremen from 2008–2011 and the Erasmus Mundus Master of Science in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from 2011–2013. From 2014–2017 he did his PhD in marine zoology in Bremen. Today, he is the coordinator of the EU-funded research project FACE-IT at the University of Bremen.

Mary Namukose was the first student from Uganda to complete the master's programme in International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology (ISATEC) at the University of Bremen, from 2012 to 2014. Today, the mother of a two-year-old daughter lives in the Ugandan capital Kampala and works there as a technical advisor for the German international development agency GIZ.

Sülmez Dogan has been Vice President of the Bremen Parliament and a Member of Parliament for the Green Party since 2015. She studied law at the University of Bremen from 1995 to 2000 and worked as a lawyer in Bremerhaven from 2007 to 2020.

Helmut Zachau, born in 1948, trained as an industrial clerk and studied socioeconomics at the Hamburg University of Economics and Politics (HWP) before coming to the University of Bremen for an LSIIbF degree (1973–1976) in teaching vocational subjects at secondary level II. Later he was a teacher, a Member of Parliament for the Greens for five years and, most recently before his retirement, Director of School Centre Walle.

Peter Senft, class of 1949, was one of the first students at the University of Bremen. He completed his law degree in 1979. From 1971 to 1979 he was also a member of the Bremen Parliament. After spending several years in England, he took up various leadership positions in social welfare associations and trade unions. He worked for a total of eight years as a diplomat for the German Federal Foreign Office in South Africa, Egypt and Tunisia.

Katrin Krämer studied German Linguistics and Literature as well as English Studies from 1986 to 1989 and 1992 to 1994 at the University of Bremen. Since the early 1990s, she has been working for Radio Bremen where she is now a presenter for Bremen Zwei. At the end of this year, she will host a series of 50th anniversary events organised by the University of Bremen and the alumni association titled "Just Change the World”, which will focus on the University of Bremen’s 50 years of service.

Dr. Sonja Bastin, born in 1984, studied sociology and social studies at the University of Bremen between 2004 and 2010 and obtained her doctorate at the Max-Planck-Institute for Demographic Research. Since 2016, our alumna has been working as a research associate at the Bremen SOCIUM Research Center on Inequality and Social Policy.

Andreas Bovenschulte, born in 1965, studied law at the University of Bremen between 1987 and 1994. Between 1995 and 1998, he had a position as research associate there; during this time, he did his doctorate in local law. Subsequently, professional career steps followed as a trainee, at Bremen Online Services, as mayor of Weyhe – and now he has been President of the Senate and Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen for one year. Read here what our prominent alumnus thinks about the university today.

After a traineeship in journalism at the Bremer Bürgerzeitung, Gabriele Brünings started her teacher training in Labor Studies/Politics (ALP) and History at the University of Bremen – in 1971, its founding year. After her traineeship as a teacher in 1977, she taught at a private secondary school in Scheeßel. From 1983, she worked as a free journalist for different media outlets; between 1987 and 2013, she was a press officer at the Bremen Senate.

In the newsletter we interview alumni about their time at Bremen University. In this issue Günther Schwarz answered our questions. He has lived and worked in England for more than three decades. Now he is returning to Germany - because of the Brexit.

In the newsletter we interview alumni about their time at Bremen University. In this issue Prof. Dr. Konrad Elmshäuser, Director of the State Archive Bremen, answered our questions

In this and the following newsletters, we will introduce our new corporate members. We will begin with JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS (JDE) and an interview with our alumna Inka Lux, Coffee Champion & HR Specialist Talent Acquisition and Development (Germany, Austria, Switzerland).

The patent attorney and biologist Dr. Lüder Behrens studied in many places around the world. His career began in Bremen - he now works for the well-known law office BOEHMERT & BOEHMERT in Munich.

In the newsletter we interview our members about their time at Bremen University. In this issue Wolf Gunther Brügmann-Friedeborn answered our questions.

Let’s rather say, this conversation took place over an ‘Alster’ at the Spree. While in Berlin with the Alumni of the University of Bremen, Dr. Kaemena spontaneously agreed to share some of her memories with us.

Let’s rather say, this conversation had a cappuccino length. Michael Wolff is not only active in film production but also – as an alumnus of the University of Bremen – deputy chairman of the board at Alumni der Universität Bremen e.V. We were, therefore, very interested in his memories of the university, his time as a student, campus life, and the time after.

It was a very detailed espresso – the top mid-tier employer (according to Focus magazine) had a lot to say. Christoph Ranze neither was born nor grew up in Bremen. He, a farmer’s son from Lower Saxony, came to Bremen being specialized in AI after studying at the University of Applied Sciences in Trier.