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Our alumni ambassadors abroad
Our alumni ambassadors know the Saarland University campus like the back of their hand, and Saarbrücken will always have a special place in their heart. The work they do is extremely varied, ranging from advising students thinking about studying abroad at Saarland University, assisting the International Alumni Office in selecting and planning alumni events and representing Saarland University in their home countries.
Bulgaria
Dr. Mikaela Petkova-Kessanlis
St. Kliment Ochridski at the University of Sofia
Contact: mikaela.petkova(at)gmail.com
From 1993 to 2006, Dr. Mikaela Petkova-Kessanlis gained her M.A. (Magister Artium) and later her doctorate at Saarland University. Her fondest memory from that time was being given her first teaching assignment after completing her M.A. Dr. Petkova-Kessanlis is a linguist specializing in stylistics, text linguistics and German as a foreign language. And although she now teaches and does research at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridsk in Bulgaria, she is still in close contact with her alma mater in Saarbrücken, which makes her perfectly suited for the role of alumni ambassador.
Jordan
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Abdallah Ababneh
Yarmouk University
Contact: a.ababneh(at)yu.edu.jo
Prof. Dr. Abdallah Ababneh describes Saarland and Saarland University as his second home. He studied electrical engineering here from 1993 until 2002. From 2003 to 2009, he was an academic research associate under Professor Helmut Seidel in the Department of Systems Engineering, gaining his doctoral degree in the field of microtechnology in November 2009. In October 2010, he took up an appointment as associate professor at Yarmouk University in Jordan. Professor Ababneh's close ties to Saarland University are reflected in the visiting professorship that he held at Saarland University in the 2018/2019 academic year. In his role as an alumni ambassador, professor Abdallah Ababneh can be contacted by anyone with questions about Saarland University.
Cameroon
Prof. Dr. Alexandre Ndeffo Tene
University of Buea
Contact: ndeffo.tene(at)ubuea.cm
'National and international cooperation in research and in academic teaching need to be encouraged and supported in today's global world. As the director of my institute (ASTI) and as an alumni ambassador to Saarland University, I have a particular role to play in this regard. And that's something that I am now doing.' – It would be hard to find a more apposite description of the role and objectives of an alumni ambassador than this succinct quote from professor Alexandre Ndeffo Tene. Professor Ndeffo Tene was awarded his doctorate from Saarland University in the field of comparative literary studies, graduating magna cum laude in 2001. He is a professor at the University of Buea and is currently working with Dr. Andrea Wurm from Saarland University on a research project and on establishing a German-Cameroonian partnership.
Canada
Prof. Paul Morris
Université de Saint Boniface
Contact: pdmorris(at)ustboniface.ca
There is a strong bond between professor Paul Morris and Saarland University. After spending a total of fifteen years at Saarland University, during which time he was awarded his 'Habilitation' (an advanced, post-doctoral research degree), it could perhaps be said that professor Morris knows the Saarbrücken campus better than many students. Although now a professor at the Université de Saint Boniface in Canada – one of Saarland University's partner universities – professor Morris has strong ties to our university and regularly holds visiting lectureship positions here. He attended both the international alumni academies in 2017 and 2019. When advising his students, professor Morris regularly draws attention to the strengths of Saarland University in terms of its research and teaching staff, the academic disciplines offered and the general attractiveness of its location here in the heart of Europe. As an alumni ambassador, he is particularly focused on encouraging and strengthening exchange programmes between the Université de Saint Boniface and Saarland University not only for students, but for university teachers and researchers, too.
Lithuania
Dr. Rūta Eidukevičienė
Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas
Contact: ruta.eidukeviciene(at)vdu.lt
For Dr. Rūta Eidukevičienė her fondest recollection of her time in Saarland was living with other students from around the world in a house share in Sulzbach – a memory that underscores the importance that Dr. Eidukevičienė attaches to international collaboration and exchange. As a lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, her academic focus is also on literary and cultural studies, multilingualism and transculturality. Given her interests, it is only logical that Rūta Eidukevičienė has agreed to act as an alumni ambassador for Saarland University – a role in which she is happy to answer questions about international exchange opportunities and intercultural issues.
Senegal
Prof. Dr. Ibrahima Diagne
Cheikh Anta Diop University, Dakar
Contact: ibudjaan(at)hotmail.com
Having acquired both his doctoral degree and 'Habilitation' (an advanced, post-doctoral research degree) at Saarland University, professor Ibrahim Diagne has close ties to our university. Between 1999 and 2013, he made several extended academic visits to the Saarbrücken campus where he worked with professor Hans-Jürgen Lüsebrink from the Department of Romance Languages and Literary Studies. The focus of their work was on transcultural relations between Africa and Germany. As someone with extensive experience of working in different cultural environments, professor Diagne is especially well suited to the role of alumni ambassador and to representing Saarland University abroad.
Taiwan
Prof. Dr. Wan-Bau Wu
Tamkang University, Taipei
Contact: 149530(at)o365.tku.edu.tw
Prof. Dr. Wan-Bau Wu completed his doctorate in Political Science at Saarland University from 1992 to 1995. He works as a professor and as Dean of Foreign Languages at Tamkang University in Taiwan. As an ambassador for Saarland University, he networks alumni in his region and supports students at Saarland University and Tamkang University. With his help, Saarland University has entered into a partnership and exchange programme with Tamkang University. Since then, six students from his university have travelled to Saarland every year to improve their knowledge of German and experience university life and the surrounding area. "I often remember the wonderful time I had in Dudweiler, where I married my wife and where my son was born, and of course also the time I spent in the Mensa and on campus. Saarland is like a second home to me."
USA
Prof. Dr. Kurt Becker
New York University
Contact: kurthbecker(at)gmail.com
Kurt Becker is Professor Emeritus of Applied Physics at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering. He received his PhD in physics from Saarland University in 1981. Prior to his retirement, he was Vice Dean for Research and Entrepreneurship and Director of the NYU Tandon Institute for Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. He conducted research on low-temperature plasma physics, published 240 articles and holds 10 patents relating to the stabilization of atmospheric pressure plasmas. In addition to being a Fellow of the American Physical Society and of the National Academy of Inventors, he was awarded the Dr. Eduard Martin Prize of the Association of Friends of Saarland University (the present-day University Society) as well as the Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award and the SASP Erwin Schrödinger Medal. He is also an honorary professor at the University of Innsbruck. As an alumnus and ambassador of Saarland University, today he assists students with questions about Saarland University and supports students with their stays abroad in New York.
You can read about his career and his memories of his time as a student in Saarbrücken here:
Read the interview (German only)
Vietnam
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Minh Tuan Nguyen
Vietnam National University, Hanoi
Contact: tuannm(at)vnu.edu.vn
'Saarland University has always been a tolerant and outward-looking institution. I am proud to be an alumni ambassador for Saarland University and want to use my international contacts to create positive awareness of Saarland University outside Germany.' This quote from professor Minh Tuan Nguyen perfectly encapsulates the aim of our alumni work, which is built on an openness to different cultures and a desire to encourage the broadest possible global networks for our alumni. The close relationship that our alumni ambassador professor Minh Tuan Nguyen has with Saarland University was originally established when he was studying for his doctoral degree in Saarbrücken. Since then, that bond has been regularly refreshed during professor Nguyen's numerous visits to carry out research at the department run by professor Christoph Gröpl (chair of Constitutional Law). As someone actively involved in fostering and promoting international relations, professor Nguyen is an ideal contact for international issues large and small.