Laura Ermert is the ultimate multi-project manager: after completing her studies, the 38-year-old completed various internships and marketed well-known musicals such as Mamma Mia and Sister Act in the musical metropolis of Hamburg. She then worked in various marketing positions, looking after clients from companies such as Krombacher Brewery and Akzo Nobel, and was responsible for implementing communication tools for cross-media campaign development, among other things.
Since 2021, she has been continuing her education in wine enjoyment and, in addition to her job as Head of Marketing at the company ‘UFER LEOWALD GmbH’, she now works part-time as a self-employed sommelier. The wine expert tastes high-quality wines and ensures a sensual experience for the palate with her wine events and her brand ‘WEINHAFTIG’. Click here to read more.

For the first time, the University of Siegen invited alumni who graduated or completed their doctorate in 2000 to a ‘silver jubilee celebration’. Over 100 graduates attended the reception in the Audimax on the Adolf-Reichwein-Straße campus and received their anniversary certificates from Rector Prof Dr Stefanie Reese.
Some alumni also took the opportunity to take part in the varied Open University programme the next day and to get to know the campus "Unteres Schloss" on a tour organised exclusively for them.
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On 22.03.2025 we received the sad news that Prof. Dr. Neelakshi C. Premawardhena passed away suddenly. We are very saddened by this. Neelakshi Premawardhena completed her doctorate in German Studies/Linguistics from 1997 to 2001 at the University of Siegen under Prof. Dr. Burkhard Schaeder. She was Chair of Modern Languages and also headed the Centre for International Affairs at Kelaniya University in Sri Lanka.

Prof. Neelakshi Premawardhena was a tireless global ambassador for our university as an alumna of the University of Siegen in her role as Alumni Ambassador. Since 2013, we have held DAAD-funded Alumni Academies, which she has greatly enriched with her tireless efforts. The international alumni community at the University of Siegen has grown into a close-knit family. The professional and personal exchange with Neelakshi Premawardhena has always been very cordial, her friendliness, wisdom and creative ideas have always inspired us. We have lost a member of our family. Her death has hit us all hard and leaves a huge gap.

Dr. Susanne Padberg and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Mathias Wirths
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The Alumni Project Week "Global Digital Health - Interdisciplinary Challenges from International Perspectives" is a collaborative initiative bringing together Research Alumni and local researchers from 6 German partner institutions (DKFZ, KIT, and the Universities of Cologne, Heidelberg, Münster, and Siegen) from 20 – 26 November 2025 in Cologne and Heidelberg. Click here to read more.

International alumni of the University of Siegen have once again been invited to take part in the Alumni Academy 2025/26 thanks to another DAAD funding commitment.
Over the course of two years, the participants will deal with issues relating to the sustainable design of transfer processes. Through an international discourse, innovative initiatives for the implementation of transfer strategies will be developed together. Click here to read more.