Dr. Dorothea Rüland Heads New Center for International Cooperation at Freie Universität Berlin
Former Deputy Secretary General of German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
№ 274/2008 from Sep 15, 2008
Dr. Dorothea Rüland
Image Credit: DAAD / Eric A. Lichtenscheidt
The Deputy Secretary General of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Dr. Dorothea Rüland, has been appointed director of the Center for International Cooperation at Freie Universität Berlin. She has been hired to implement the international element of the strategy that led to Freie Universität’s success in the German federal and state Initiative for Excellence last year. The strategy aims to strengthen Freie Universität’s position as an international network university. In the Excellence competition, Freie Universität was one of nine German universities to be awarded the Excellence status.
The President of Freie Universität Berlin, Prof. Dr. Dieter Lenzen, announced that Dr. Dorothea Rüland, a well-proven expert in the internationalization of universities, will be joining the university in Dahlem. Internationalism has played a fundamental role at Freie Universität ever since it was founded almost 60 years ago. Currently, Freie Universität cooperates with over 130 universities and other educational institutions around the world, in addition to participating in about 300 exchange programs. With the appointment of Rüland, the university aims to extend and intensify these contacts.
Rüland stated that she is looking forward to her new position. "Working as the director of the Center for International Cooperation will be a direct continuation of my work at DAAD." Her responsibilities will range from the recruitment of doctoral students and visiting scholars to collaboration in new international projects.
Rüland studied German literature, history, and musicology at Universität Freiburg, where she completed her Ph.D. She taught for two years at Exeter (U.K.) and five years in Chiang Mai (Thailand). In 1991 she began to work at DAAD, heading the office in Indonesia from 1994 to 1999, when she was appointed head of the Southern Division, responsible for all DAAD activities in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. As of 2004, she was Deputy Secretary General. Until joining Freie Universität, she headed the division offering programs aimed at making German higher education, science, and research more attractive to international students and academics.
Additional information may be obtained from:
- Dr. Dorothea Rüland, Center for International Cooperation, Freie Universität Berlin, Telephone: +49 (0)30 / 838-73940, Email: dorothea.rueland@fu-berlin.de