Fellows 2024/25

Anna Braunroth is a legal officer at the Federal Ministry of Justice. In the Department for Special Law of Obligations, she deals with legal issues relating to various types of contracts such as contracts for work and services and construction contracts, architects' and engineers' contracts and property development contracts. 

Topics of Interest: Innovative, simplified and therefore more cost-effective construction - also known as Building Type E’

Bobby Cherian is head of ZDFspezial in the main editorial department for politics and current affairs and presents the news magazine heute in Europa.

Topics of Interest: Society and cohesion, climate and energy, immigration in Germany, future of the media

Jens Christof is Head of Radio at MDR Thüringen and is responsible for the linear and non-linear audio formats at the public-state broadcaster in Thuringia. 

Topics of Interest: Media and communication, society and politics

Antonella di Trapani is Executive in Residence Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and member of the EU Science Diplomacy Group of Experts.

Topics of Interest: Emerging and Disruptive Technologies, European Green Deal

Carolin Engel is Deputy Head of Division Legal Framework for Digital Services, Media Law at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport.

Topics of Interest: Immersive technologies, Artificial Intelligence, economic issues, social impact as well as regulatory options regarding the use of new technologies in the field of digital services

Maria Ertl is head of the Department for International Cooperation, Planning and Interdisciplinary Environmental Affairs at the Hessian Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, Viticulture, Forestry, Hunting and Homeland. 

Topics of Interest: Raw materials and raw material management in the chemical industry, raw material in the construction industry, recovery of (critical) raw materials, material sciences, rubber, global water resource management

Alexander Hanebeck is head of the division for personnel budget and organisation at the Federal Minister of the Interior and Community.

Topics of Interest: Trust in institutions and reasons for loss of trust, impact of and reaction to crises in democratic societies, expectations of the role of the state/administration in crises

Christina Herkommer has been a policy officer at the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth since 2017 and is responsible for the federal programme "Live Democracy!" with a focus on anti-Semitism, Antiziganism and queer hostility.

Lukas D. Herr is a policy officer in the Minister's Office of the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Education since February 2025 and is, among other things, responsible for coordination with the State Chancellery and the state's ombudsman.

Topics of Interest: Fundamental issues of educational policy, educational equality and performance of the education system, digitalisation in teaching and school development, early childhood education, democratic education and participation

Florian Ismaier is Head of the Spatial Planning and Regional Planning Division at the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport, Housing and Rural Areas.

Topics of Interest: Sustainable transformation of the economy, spatial impact of digitalisation, implementation of the energy transition, social cohesion

Gunnar Jenet is a science manager at the Ministry of Science and Health of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate. He is responsible for universities in the Mainz region and Palatinate in the Higher Education Department.

Topics of Interest: Sustainability in research, socially responsible research, implementation of climate protection in Germany

Markus Kallis is responsible for immission control at the Darmstadt Regional Council, among other things, for the large-scale chemical industry in the Frankfurt area. 

Topics of Interest: Hydrogen electrolysis and storage, power-to-liquid systems, fuel cells and e-mobility, new key technologies in energy storage and energy conversion

Rebeca Kleinschmidt is Head of Division in the Hessian State Chancellery. She is responsible for international affairs, justice and home affairs, and parliamentary affairs in the Europe and International Affairs Department.

Topics of Interest: The future of the EU - the European peace project, China, social issues with a direct impact on the working environment

Nino Kobadze is a lawyer and part of the Data Law Unit in the Department for Digital and Data Policy at the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport. 

Topics of Interest: Digitalisation in the mobility sector, EU competition policy and ex-ante regulation for the digital economy, transformation of the transport sector, EU policy in the digital sector, railways of the future

Anna-Julka Lilja is Head of the Division of Better Legislation l, Compliance Costs, and Office for Bureaucracy Reduction at the Federal Ministry of Justice.

Topics of Interest: Better regulation, reduction in bureaucracy, bureaucracy and democracy

Anita Lührs is head of division in the working group for Public Procurement, Digitalisation of public procurement at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community. 

Topics of Interest: CO2 shadow price calculation, standardised European quality label, guidelines for a sustainable workplace, nationwide indicator for sustainable public procurement, mapping of the due diligence approach in procurement

Marc-Philipp Maeck works at the Federal Ministry of Finance, dealing with financial and enforcement of sanctions.

Topics of Interest: Development of research on (EU) sanctions, the impact of sanctions and the achievement of political objectives through the use of sanctions, specifically on financial sanctions, sanctions enforcement

Dagmar Mensink coordinates religious policy issues in the government planning department of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Chancellery.

Topics of Interest: Future of liberal democracy, combating anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and group-focused misanthropy, Turkey as a geostrategic player in the Middle East and a significant player for integration issues in Germany, importance of AI for communication, institutional and social treatment of traumatised people

Friederike Schröder is Deputy Managing Director and Head of International Affairs at German U15. 

Topics of Interest: Democracy, geopolitical changes, security and dual-use, the future of public financing, Artificial Intelligence, climate and environment, health and pandemic preparedness

Bjoern Schulte is policy officer in the Department for Quantum Technologies and Quantum Computing at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research. 

Topics of Interest: Convergence of quantum computing and Artificial Intelligence, success of innovation, social media and the future of democracy

Michael Thiel is a senior Expert in the European Commission's Directorate General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union.

Topics of Interest: Investment and saving behaviour, interdependence between financial and non-financial structures, capital markets union, drivers of productivity and innovation