← Personal siteGiving Back · Time, experience & attention
I believe experience becomes more valuable when it is shared. Giving back means making time, opening doors and passing practical knowledge on — including through my teaching at Humboldt University in Berlin.
Why it matters
Careers are never built alone. Teachers, colleagues, friends and occasional strangers offer perspective at precisely the right moment. I try to return that favour — thoughtfully, personally and without making it about me.
How I contribute
These contributions vary in scale, but each is practical: sharing experience, strengthening confidence and helping people gain access to opportunities.
I make time for emerging leaders and founders at moments of transition: sharpening an idea, preparing a difficult decision or finding a path through uncertainty. The aim is not to supply ready-made answers, but to ask useful questions and share experience candidly.
At Humboldt University in Berlin, I bring practical experience from publishing, research and transformation into Library and Information Science. Teaching is a chance to connect theory with real decisions — and to learn from the questions and perspectives of students.
In 2017 and 2018, I served as interim Managing Director of Kiron Open Higher Education, a nonprofit opening pathways into higher education for refugees through digital learning. That work remains a concrete example of how knowledge, technology and committed people can widen participation.
A simple principle
“Giving back is not a separate chapter. It is part of how I want to work and live.”
The most useful contribution is often specific: one introduction, one honest conversation, one afternoon of concentrated attention. Small gestures can change trajectories.
Connect
If you are building an initiative, mentoring programme or community where my perspective might help, send me a short note.
Get in touch ↗