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Contact
Press, Communications and Marketing
Tel.: +49 228 833-144
Fax: +49 228 833-441
presse[at]avh.de
Thomas Hesse joined the Humboldt Foundation in 1993, spending many years acquainting himself with all the functions and methods of work in the sponsorship and selection fields in a personal and hands-on way. He was initially a Programme Director in the Selection Department and then Head of Division in the Department of Sponsorship Abroad. From 2000 to 2011, he was in charge of the Selection Department, subsequently becoming Deputy Secretary General. From April 2024 to the end of April 2025, he took over the duties as interim Secretary General after the retirement of Enno Aufderheide.
The Foundation’s President, Robert Schlögl, thanks Thomas Hesse for his great dedication to the good of the network and staff:
“I experienced Thomas Hesse as a particularly likeable person who was always ready to lend an ear, get people together, build and foster networks; someone who embodied the Humboldt Family in the very best sense worldwide. Thanks to his wide-ranging knowledge and expertise, Thomas Hesse had a formative influence on the development of the Humboldt Foundation. His services to the Foundation speak for themselves. I myself am especially grateful to Thomas Hesse for agreeing to become interim Secretary General when the position remained vacant longer than expected. I am very glad that I had the opportunity to work together with him.”
Vita
Thomas Hesse studied biology in Bonn. He then worked at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and received his Ph.D. from the University of Bonn in 1989. As a post-doc, Thomas Hesse continued to conduct research at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and at Monsanto Company in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. In 1990, he was awarded the Otto Hahn Medal by the Max Planck Society for his research in the area of plant molecular biology.
Always with an eye to the potential of the programmes, Thomas Hesse extended the quality standards and impact measurement in selection and sponsorship and drove forward the “digital turnaround” in the Foundation’s work. In his role as a Head of Division in the Department of Sponsorship Abroad, he was responsible for the Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship Programme and introduced the first evaluation of a German post-doctoral programme. At the beginning of the noughties, he was significantly involved in implementing innovative programmes such as the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award – the first funding programme for group leaders. Via the Wolfgang Paul Award he accompanied the subsequent development of the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship. One of his main ambitions was to make the Foundation digitally fit for purpose. Under his leadership, the ISA project, the Humboldt Foundation’s central data management system, and the DigAF Team (digitisation of selection and sponsorship procedures) were established.
In addition to his internal activities, his role as Deputy Secretary General took him around the world. On more than 300 official trips he campaigned for international exchange, visiting Humboldtians and partner institutions, amongst others, in Argentina, Azerbaijan, Australia, Benin, Brazil, China, Colombia, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Togo and the United States.
His warmth and understanding for researchers’ individual research conditions and living situations emphatically reinforced the relationship of trust between the Foundation and its partners and sponsorship-recipients worldwide. For his future journeys – which will hopefully include visits to the Foundation in Bonn and Berlin – we wish Thomas Hesse all the very best.