In May 2020 Andrei Yakovlev of the Higher School of Economics Moscow was appointed "Research Ambassador" by the Rectorate of the University of Bremen at the suggestion of the Faculty of Business Studies and Economics. In future he will represent the University of Bremen abroad, especially in Russia and Eastern Europe, and will be the contact person for anyone interested in a research or study stay at the University of Bremen.

The prerequisites for appointment as a "Research Ambassador" include research strength, strong ties to the University of Bremen and a previous research stay of at least one year at the University of Bremen. Andrei Yakovlev meets these requirements: From July 2002 to September 2003 he completed a research stay at the University of Bremen financed by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and has visited Bremen at regular intervals since then for research purposes. This cooperation also extends to other members of his Moscow team, and recently one of his former colleagues, Michael Rochlitz, became Professor of Economics at the University of Bremen.

In Bremen, Andrei Yakovlev works closely with the Faculties of "Business Studies and Economics" and "Social Sciences" as well as with the Research Centre for Eastern Europe. He has a long-standing collaboration with the research group of Jutta Günther in the Faculty of Business Studies and Economics, which goes back to an international research collaboration on "Foreign Direct Investment in Transition Economies" funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

We congratulate Andrei Yakovlev very warmly and look forward to further cooperation.