Alumni stories

Here you can find interviews and portraits of Alumniportal members from different countries.
Alumni talk about their studies abroad and about their careers in a short video.
Germany-Alumni describe their varied impressions of Germany in a short statement.

How Habiba Issa gave wings to a circus

“Acrobatics? You’re too small!” Despite all of her mother’s misgivings, Habiba Issa never gave up on her dream. Some years later, she founded two successful circus projects.

Guest article

Berlin in the nineties: a saviour with a punk hairstyle

Aruna Dhathathreyan came to Berlin as a guest researcher in the 1990s. Here she not only came to know a city full of exciting culture and people – but also learned how much our prejudices can deceive us.

Guest article

"I speak no Germany" – the art of surviving in a foreign country

"Germany seemed perfect to me before my first visit. Yet I still had a lot to learn about the country. Nothing in my school books prepared me for that." An article by our guest author Justyna Michniuk.

Guest article

German studies in Africa: successful pioneering activity

The German language is especially popular in Burkina Faso. Personalities like Dr Jean-Claude Naba represent the success of German studies in Africa.

Guest article

A personal experiment in new ways of greeting

Not long ago things were very clear: the traditional form of greeting in Germany is to shake hands. The corona distancing rules have now forced us to rethink. Our author has learned from her own experiment how intriguing this can be.

Corona Crisis

The Situation in Bangladesh

How are alumni around the world dealing with the Corona virus crisis? What do they hope for? Shafiqul Alam is a sustainable energy advisor in Bangladesh. He talks about the reasons why he was at first petrified by the pandemic but is now encouraged by it.

Alumni stories

New interviews and portraits