Famous Last Words
Apr 20, 2015
Miguel Haubrich Seco and Tonia Bieber tell us about their time at the KFG.
Inspiration, time for research and - not least - great colleagues. If I had to summarise my experience at the KFG in a few words, these three points would certainly be the highlights. Inspiration came not only from the lively and passionate discussions at the weekly Jour Fixe, but also from many conversations with colleagues. These would often start as unsuspicious chats and end up in new research ideas (not always on the most serious topics). Time for research, even if certainly not enough to ever work on all new ideas that arise in such a prolific atmosphere, is certainly among the important advantages of a stay at the KFG. But even a short sojourn at the KFG does certainly create new friendships with some of the most inspiring and sympathetic people in our field - friendships that last longer than a research project.
At the KFG “The Transformative Power of Europe“, I had the chance to carry out my research project on Europeanization beyond Europe in the field of higher education. The KFG is the perfect place to exchange research ideas in a reflected and welcoming surrounding, and I have really enjoyed my stay in this inspiring and motivating atmosphere. My few months at the KFG as a post-doc fellow were a highly productive phase: The once-a-week Jour Fixe meetings provided me with a variety of insights into different research perspectives and made it possible to gather experience from high-level scholars. The intensive discussion of academic papers was a great opportunity for learning from other fellows’ projects. All fellows were extremely open for discussion and we had a good time both in and after the meetings at the weekly dinner. For giving me this exceptional chance, my great thanks go to Tanja and Thomas as well as the team of Katja, Astrid, Anne, Torsten, and others!