News

On July 18 and 19, 2025, the Alumni:ae from the anthropology and cultural studies department of the University of Bayreuth – and especially the Bachelor program KuGeA – came together for their first large-scale reunion in over a decade. More than 70 participants — alumni from various cohorts, related programs, current students, and faculty members — gathered for two days of exchange, reflection, and forward-looking collaboration.

The event was opened by  Prof. Dr. Erdmute Alber, chair of Social Anthropology, and alumna Stefanie Bauer-Vermuri, key organisors of the event. It continued with warm words of welcome by Prof. Dr. Paula Schrode, Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Studies, and Prof. Dr. Nina Nestler, Vice President for Internationalization, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity. Both emphasized the significance of African Studies in Bayreuth’s academic landscape and praised the initiative for reviving the alumni network. Many participants described the atmosphere as a “return among friends” — a sentiment that set the tone for the entire gathering.

Highlights of the program included a panel discussion titled “Three Decades of Africa in Focus: Retrospective, Insights, Outlook,” bringing together former and current faculty members and alumni from across generations. In a dynamic roundtable, alumni shared inspiring glimpses into their diverse career paths — from international development and education to civil society engagement and coaching. A third panel. Organized by actual students, brought students and alumni into conversation.

Saturday's sessions focused on networking and community-building. The day started with a session looking ahead and discussing the future of the Alumni:ae Africa community. One of the key outcomes of the meeting was a shared commitment to expanding and formalizing the African Studies alumni network at Bayreuth. The university’s alumni platform will serve as the first anchor point for future events, communication, and collaborative formats. Ideas for local meet-ups, interfaculty cooperation, and joint initiatives with existing alumni structures such as BIGSAS were also put forward.

The official part of the gathering finished with two parallel workshops that enabled deeper conversations. A workshop about personal and professional journeys facilitated by Joh Sarre invited participants to reflect and share their journeys, obstacles they faced, factors that enabled their pathways. The interactive workshop “Connect & Collaborate,” facilitated by Stefanie Bauer-Vemuri, encouraged participants to identify synergies and explore cooperation through speed networking and thematic group discussions. A strong energy and motivation to actively shape the future of the alumni community was clearly felt.

This long-overdue reunion underscored the enduring connection many alumni feel to Bayreuth — and the great potential of this growing network to foster exchange and cooperation in academia, civil society, and beyond.