DAAD management

The new DAAD Secretary General takes up his office

Dr Kai Sicks officially takes up his office as new DAAD Secretary General on Thursday morning (1 April 2021). He succeeds Dr Dorothea Rüland, whose time in office at the world’s largest organisation for academic exchange came to an end in January.

Press picture Dr Kai Sicks

'The global academic community faces immense challenges in the 2020s, the keywords being the corona pandemic and sustainable mobility, but also social participation and diversity,' says DAAD President Professor Joybrato Mukherjee. 'I am therefore very pleased that in Dr Kai Sicks we have gained an accomplished academic manager as our new Secretary General. His past knowledge means he is very familiar with the internationalisation of our member institutions and he brings to DAAD a rich portfolio of skills and experience.'

'I consider the post as DAAD Secretary General to be one of the most exciting that the German science system has to offer,' says Dr Kai Sicks. 'DAAD’s task of bringing people together from all over the world is a great responsibility for me, but also an extraordinary opportunity in light of the many challenges we currently face.' He is therefore looking forward to collaborating with all DAAD employees in Germany and in the global regional offices and to active interchange with the DAAD committees, the member institutions and student bodies, the federal ministries and our partner institutions around the world.

Sicks was Head of the International Affairs Department at the University of Bonn until the end of March 2021, where his responsibilities include expanding the university’s internationalisation in research, studies and administration. Before his time there, Sicks – who is originally from Bad Homburg – was managing director of the Bonn Graduate Centre. Aged 44 and with a doctorate in German studies, he studied at the University of Vienna, the University of Cologne and Goethe University Frankfurt. Scholarships took him to such institutions as the German Historical Institute in Washington DC and Cornell University (both in the USA).

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A press photo of Dr Kai Sicks, which may be used free of charge in connection with this press release, is available here.

DAAD - Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst - German Academic Exchange Service