Gerhard Teufel still enthuses today about his studies at the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA), the graduate school in Paris. “It was a fantastic year,” he says looking back. All subjects were represented at the French elite university, and his fellow students came from a many different areas of interest. Today the courses still include a three-month internship that takes future graduates into the French provinces. So it was no problem for Teufel to get to know the country and its people.

After studying law at Freiburg, Geneva, Tübingen and Montpellier, Teufel completed his articled training in Freiburg and Paris. It was quite by chance that the Baden-Württemberger, who was born in 1947, studied law. He says today that he probably chose this subject partly out of opposition to his family, all of whom were physicians.

He was secretary general of the German National Academic Foundation from 1995 to mid-2012. Responsibility for the foundation's approximately 6,000 scholarship holders often took Teufel abroad and led to many contacts, which needed to be networked. This work suited his nature well: “I like working with people more than working with files,” the lawyer says. Teufel says he also benefited from the ENA alumni group. “You know a lot of people who hold important positions today and are able to create important contacts.” This network will now benefit Salem Kolleg, which was founded in 2012. Teufel was its founding rector. Salem Kolleg opened in September 2013 and cooperates closely with the University of Konstanz. It aims to help school-leavers make the transition to university.