Prof. Dr. Sabine Kunst was elected yesterday in Bonn as the new President of the Turkish-German University Consortium (K-Tdu), succeeding Prof. Dr. Rita Süssmuth. The consortium, which consists of 38 German universities under the leadership of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), supports the expansion of the Turkish-German University (Tdu) in Istanbul.

‘I warmly congratulate Sabine Kunst on her election as the new President of the Turkish-German University Consortium. With her extensive experience in science management and science policy, Ms. Kunst is a great asset to the consortium and to German-Turkish scientific cooperation. I wish her every success and every success in her future work,’ said DAAD President Prof Dr Joybrato Mukherjee.

‘With Sabine Kunst, the German university partners of the Turkish-German University in Istanbul are gaining an accomplished and experienced leader who combines sound knowledge and many years of experience in science management with strategic foresight,’ added DAAD Secretary General Dr Kai Sicks. She will take on the important task of strengthening the further expansion of the university in cooperation with the German universities, giving new impetus to research and teaching, and increasing the international visibility of the TDU in close cooperation with the Turkish partners. Sabine Kunst will thus make a decisive contribution to the further development of TDU as an example of successful German-Turkish cooperation.

Honoring Rita Süssmuth

‘Prof Dr Rita Süssmuth also deserves special recognition for her visionary initiative and unwavering commitment, which have contributed significantly to the establishment and successful development of TDU,’ Sicks continued. ‘On behalf of all the universities involved, I would like to express my sincere thanks and utmost respect for her extraordinary commitment. I am delighted that Ms. Süssmuth will remain associated with the TDU as the founding president of the consortium.’

Sabine Kunst will chair the TDU consortium on a voluntary basis for three years. She is the President of the Joachim Herz Foundation in Hamburg. Prior to this, she held various management positions in the German science system and was Minister of Science in the state of Brandenburg.

Rita Süssmuth will continue to support the TDU as its founding president. The former President of the German Bundestag has been committed to German-Turkish academic cooperation since leaving office.

TDU

The Turkish-German University (TDU) is an important symbol of bilateral educational and scientific cooperation between Germany and Turkey. It was founded in 2008 as a Turkish state university on the basis of a German-Turkish intergovernmental agreement. The university began teaching in 2013 and was officially opened in 2014 as part of the German-Turkish Year of Science. The final expansion of TDU in 2030 is expected to include approximately 6,200 students in five faculties. Teaching and research at TDU is conducted in German, English and Turkish. The current rector of TDU is the Turkish Germanist and linguist Prof. Dr. Cemal Yildiz.

Funding and TDU Consortium

The TDU is financed by the DAAD with funds from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The universities participating in the TDU consortium make an important contribution to the content of the TDU's academic program and to the teaching of German. Turkey bears the costs of infrastructure and ongoing operations. The close integration of teaching, research and intercultural exchange through numerous double degree and Erasmus agreements as well as stays in Germany for young academics strengthens the academic development of TDU. The TDU consortium brings together 38 member universities and the DAAD to promote the university in an independent association.