Dorothea Rüland is awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Dorothea Rüland was honoured at the Federal Foreign Office for her services to international exchange in science

Hamburg, 16 February 2022 – Dr Dorothea Rüland, Secretary General of the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS), was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, First Class, this week for her many years of service to international exchange in science. Minister of State Katja Keul presented her with the award on behalf of the Federal President at the Federal Foreign Office. Before Mrs Rüland began her work at HIAS in the summer of 2021, she was in the service of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for three decades, including eleven years as Secretary General. In this role, she has significantly shaped the international cooperation of researchers and students.

In her laudation, Minister of State Keul emphasised: “International scientific exchange is of outstanding importance for tackling global challenges such as the climate crisis. Dorothea Rüland has worked tirelessly to strengthen it. I am very pleased to present her with the Cross of Merit First Class for her outstanding commitment.”

International cooperation as a central task

Strengthening and expanding international networks is one of the most important goals Dorothea Rüland has proclaimed for HIAS in her current position. Gathering outstanding personalities from all over the world in Hamburg and bringing them into conversation with each other is a task close to her heart. Hamburg’s State Counsellor for Science Dr Eva Gümbel said on the occasion of the award: “We are very pleased and proud to have won Dr Dorothea Rüland for Hamburg as a centre of science. We can only benefit from her many years of experience and expertise. Dr. Rüland has dedicated her life to science and science promotion. She is an expert with an excellent international network who will contribute to the further development and expansion of HIAS with her experience and her commitment to transdisciplinary exchange. I warmly congratulate her on this important award.”

Dorothea Rüland

Dr Dorothea Rüland has been Secretary General of the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study since 1 August 2021. Before that, the German language and literature graduate headed the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as Secretary General for eleven years. Between 1991 and 2008, she worked for the DAAD in various positions and on almost every continent, including several years in Southeast Asia, where she had already worked as a lecturer after completing her doctorate in 1984. From 2008 to 2010, the Berlin native headed the “Center for International Cooperation”, which she founded, at the Free University of Berlin.

The Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS)

The Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS) is a joint institution of nine Hamburg science institutions, with which the recommendation of the Science Council for increased cooperation in Hamburg as a centre of science and scholarship is being resolutely implemented. Since 2020, up to 20 excellent researchers and artists from all over the world have been given intellectual freedom without the usual professional obligations at HIAS for a limited period of time. Interdisciplinary exchange among each other is promoted, as well as direct connection to Hamburg’s scientific landscape and discourse with the city’s citizens.

www.hias-hamburg.de

Press contact

Tanja Kruse Brandão
Public Relations and Events
presse@hias-hamburg.de
Tel.: +49 40 428 38 – 6795

220215_HIAS_PM_Bundesverdienstkreuz an Dorothea Rueland_final