Although all of our guests are scholars of International Relations, each comes from a different geographical and academic background and each arrives with different expectations and goals for their stay at Freie Universität. For instance, Sim Onn Leang, PhD, is a lecturer from the Royal University of Phnom Penh who conducts research comparing discourses of nationalism, state-civil society relations and democratic citizen education, as well as Cambodia’s relations with neighboring Thailand. He hopes to gain insights on fundraising, on the curriculum design and teaching methods of the CGP’s M.A. program International Relations Online and is curious to learn how the GPSS office organizes Seasonal Schools that take place across five countries in Asia, operating from its Berlin base. Meanwhile, Warsaw University’s Paula Marcinkowska, PhD, was pleased to make progress in her research on the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), enjoying the access to literature she needed through the library portal of Freie Universität Berlin. Likewise, Iryna Rabotyagova, PhD, from the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine, has pursued her own research during her stay, examining the effect of domestic institutional design on the global order. In addition, she finds it interesting and beneficial to experience the educational and administrative system of a German university, observing: “The working processes are very well-structured here. Especially the ‘jour fixe’ meetings help to stay updated and focused”. She points out that the academic exchange is mutual: “I really feel like part of the team here. In meetings, I am asked about my perspective, about how things are done in Ukraine.” Ms Rabotyagova also appreciates the communal atmosphere on campus and the staff discussions about current academic topics that are held almost weekly. Our most recent arrival, Dr Kateryna Zarembo, combines academic and think tank work as Deputy Director for Research at the New Europe Centerand lecturer at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Her academic interests include Ukraine's foreign and security policy, European integration, civil society and Donbas studies. In her policy papers, Dr Zarembo draws on, inter alia, the global body of conflict resolution research. Her peer-reviewed publications include an analysis of the effectiveness of the EU's CDSP (Common Defense and Security Policy) as perceived by its beneficiaries in Ukraine and Ukraine's civil society after Euromaidan. As a former DAAD research fellow at the University of Jena, Zarembo is no novice to German universities. She views her stay at the CGP as both an academic retreat and an opportunity to reach out, conducting and discussing her postdoctoral research, as well as becoming acquainted with new teaching practices.

All of our guests have previously been engaged in projects carried out by CGP. While Sim Onn Leang took part in  workshops on curricular development in Southeast Asia funded by KAS, Iryna Rabotyagova, Kateryna Zarembo and Paula Marcinkowska were all participants of the DAAD funded Global Politics Workshop in Ukraine.