My entry into the field of higher education management and higher education development in Africa was an internship in 2003 – after completing her studies in African Studies – at the branch office of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Nairobi, Kenya.
After working for the DAAD’s newly formed department for Development Cooperation in Bonn, I began my studies in the international Master’s programme “Higher Education” (MAHE) at the International Centre for Higher Education Research Kassel, University of Kassel (INCHER-Kassel). This was my entry into the field of higher education research. After two years of study, I switched to doctoral studies to research university governance in post-conflict Sudan. During my doctoral studies I worked as a student assistant in the university administration (International Office, International Centre for Development and Decent Work) and as a research assistant in international comparative higher education research at the University of Kassel. I completed my doctorate in sociology (higher education research) in 2013 and published my dissertation in 2015 with the title “University Governance in (Post-) Conflict Southern Sudan 2005-2011: The Nexus of Islamism, New Public Management and Neopatrimonialism”.
Since then, I have conducted mutliple higher education research and consulting projects for public and private sector organsations.