Professor Sabine Kunst, president of the University of Potsdam and newly installed (since July 2010) president of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), has been declared Germany’s “Higher Education Manager of 2010”. This award is jointly presented by the Financial Times Germany and the Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE), based in Gütersloh. It is designed to recognise the achievements of leaders in German higher education who have facilitated substantial internal reforms within their institutions, as well as strengthened their organisation’s external profile. Criteria of interest on the external front include recruiting outstanding students and professors, attracting third-party funding, and facilitating a broader range of cooperative activities. Professor Kunst’s work at Potsdam to effectively foster “research-based teaching” was given special mention by CHE’s director and award jury member, Dr. Frank Brick.

Professor Kunst was selected over a field of five other outstanding finalists, including Professor Ursula Nelles, president of the University of Münster; Professor Dieter Leonhard, president of the University of Mannheim; Professor Hans Jürgen Prömel, president of the Technical University of Darmstadt; Professor Ulrich Radtke, president of the University of Duisburg-Essen; and Professor Gunter Schweiger, president of the University of Ingolstadt. For the first time since the award was first given in 2008, two women were among the six finalists.

ACA extends sincere congratulations to Professor Kunst for this outstanding honour!

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)[in German]