A Strong Network
More than 1,600 former DBU doctoral fellows, who now work in various fields—such as academia, business, and politics—are members of the alumni association DBU-Alumni.de.
The goal of the alumni program is:
- to strengthen and expand the professional networks of DBU alumni and DBU scholarship recipients so that they can successfully plan, finance, and implement their personal and professional efforts to protect the environment;
- make the DBU a central part of these networks, so that it can incorporate the perspective and expertise of grantees into its technical work and successfully fulfill its mission to promote projects in environmental protection.
The activities of DBU-Alumni.de are intended to facilitate, simplify, and encourage contact, exchange, and communication among alumni, between former and current scholarship recipients, between DBU-Alumni.de and the individual Central and Eastern European country networks, as well as the DBU itself, so that an international network of environmental experts can emerge.
Alumni Advisory Board
The DBU Alumni Advisory Board currently consists of twelve members: three DBU staff members and nine elected members. The term of office is four years. Elections are held every two years on a staggered basis for up to five members. This ensures that the board’s work remains continuous and dynamic.
The currently elected members of the DBU Alumni Advisory Board have a broad range of expertise, both in terms of their academic backgrounds and their professional experience. They represent various disciplines, including physics, biology, chemistry, sociology, engineering, agricultural sciences, and forestry. Their professional backgrounds are also diverse, ranging from positions at universities and in companies to start-ups and federal research institutions, as well as the education sector, nature conservation administration, and local politics. As a result, the Advisory Board has access to a broad spectrum of professional expertise and personal experience.
As former scholarship recipients, the members of the DBU Alumni Network are happy to share their experiences. This fosters a sense of community that provides support during the scholarship period and continues to offer valuable connections and assistance afterward.
Strengthening and expanding the DBU alumni network—that is the goal of our activities. The Advisory Board can be contacted at alumni-beirat-promotion@dbu.de.
DBU Alumni Advisory Board
Dr. Nadine Austel
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Julius Kühn-Institut
Dr. Svenja Bänsch
Wissenschaftlerin bei KWS SAAT SE & Co KGaA
Dr. Michael Hohenadler
Gymnasiallehrer / Lokalpolitiker
Dr. Thomas Homburg
Senior Manager New Business Development Team – LG Chem
Dr. Matthias Lange
Geschäftsführer energy & meteo systems GmbH
Dr. Jenny Lay-Kumar
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Thünen-Institut für Betriebswirtschaft
Dr.-Ing. Maria Loebjinski
Bauingenieurin Bei WKC Hamburg GmbH
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Andreas Schmid
Professor
Dr. Gerald Slotosch
Geschäftsführer Naturpark Thüringer Wald e.V.
Activities
The DBU Alumni Advisory Board represents the alumni network of former DBU scholarship recipients. Together with the Doctoral Student Council (ProVe), it is committed to the further development of the scholarship program and promotes exchange between current scholarship recipients and alumni. Representatives from both bodies attend each other’s meetings, which are held twice a year, thereby serving as a unifying voice—both during the funding period and beyond.
The DBU Alumni Advisory Board fulfills its role through the following activities:
- Regular communication with the DBU doctoral fellowship program and DBU management regarding current environmental trends in science and society,
- Submission of nominations for candidates for the German Environmental Prize,
- Organization of regular academic colloquia, in particular the colloquium titled “Ph.D. and Beyond?”,
- Participation by individual members in events such as orientation seminars, scholarship recipient seminars, alumni gatherings, international alumni workshops, or symposia,
- Creating surveys and generating ideas for further developing alumni outreach and for strengthening the network and professional exchange among DBU alumni,
- Creation of information material on alumni work.
More information
(in German language)
Contact person for the doctoral scholarship program
Dr. Hans-Christian Schaefer
Promotionsstipendienprogramm