Thank you, Manuela Linde!

Numerous colleagues and companions came to say goodbye and thank you, including the current and former Vice-Presidents for International Affairs: Professor Beate Hampe, Professor Heike Grimm and Professor Myriam Wijlens. Of course, there were plenty of memories to share: of the numerous international students, the beginnings of the ´"Strangers Become Friends" project, in which Manuela Linde was always very personally involved, the cooperation with partner universities, the development of an internationalisation strategy for the University of Erfurt, new initiatives such as the buddy programme, the “Internationalisation@home” project and, above all, many wonderful encounters with people from all over the world.

Manuela Linde, who studied Czech and Russian linguistics and worked as a tour guide before joining the university, has always been passionate about diversity, both on campus and beyond. And so she was there right from the start when the “Weltoffenes Thüringen” (Cosmopolitan Thuringia) initiative was launched in Thuringia: “I am involved because Thuringia needs a diversity of languages, cultures, ideas, skills and values in order to be fit for the future. In the International Office, I had the privilege of working with people from all over the world. They should continue to be welcome in a cosmopolitan Thuringia.”

The search for a replacement for the head of the International Office is currently underway. Vice President Beate Hampe: “We are grateful for the wonderful work that has been done here over the past decades. And we are confident that we will be moving forward with a strong team in the International Office and, hopefully, with new leadership soon.”