Like at Dortmund before (2009-2015), I have built this programme from scratch since 2016; unlike at Dortmund, I have been granted a much larger budget for career development of junior academics, including a staff of four highly qualified assistants (plus, after a successful external evaluation in 2021, my first ever secretary, from 2022); also unlike at Dortmund, the Siegen "House of Young Talents" is not restricted to helping doctoral researchers, but also covers support for postdoctoral researchers and non-tenured "junior professors" (Juniorprofessoren) regardless of their tenure-track situation, thus the whole researcher lifecycle from the beginnings of the PhD project to the appointment to a permanent full professorship. As head of the HYT, I am reporting directly to the Vice-Rector for Students and Junior Faculty, Diversity, and International Affairs, Professor Petra M. Vogel, and am involved in the university's HR strategy (employer branding, recruitment, onboarding, development, retention) for researchers, e. g. as sole operative project manager and writer of the University of Siegen's successful application for the European Union's "HR Excellence in Research" award for its "Human Resources Strategy for Researchers" (HRS4R), currently in its renewal phase, and of the successful proposal in the "Tenure Track" (BLP-WISNA) programme. From 2016 to the end of February 2024, my immediate bosses were the Vicerectors for Research and Junior Academics, Professors Peter Haring Bolívar (2016-2019) and Thomas Mannel (2019-2024).

While working as Director of TU Dortmund University's Joint PhD Programme, I began receiving numerous requests to teach workshops or hold lectures for early-career researchers (mostly PhD candidates) at other universities as well as various other academic institutions, to which I sometimes agreed, and more often not. I have always very much liked doing this, and the feedback has mostly been rather good, but I simply do not have the time. Therefore I have largely discontinued this since I arrived at Siegen University in 2016, but still do accept such offers occasionally, e.g. for DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) or EU-related projects (I also retain a nostalgic soft spot in my heart for my former life as a journalism educator). Topics range from so-called skills to methodology, always with a focus on meaningful career development for junior academics, towards a PhD for pre-docs or towards the various paths inside and outside academia for post-docs.

I built this interdisciplinary programme with courses and counselling for PhD students in the social sciences and the humanities, occasionally for STEM subjects and others as well, singlehandedly from scratch. A major focus was on external and international (mostly from the Global South) PhD students (in conjunction with the Faculty of Spatial Planning, and Katrin Gliemann and professors Sabine Baumgart, Christa Reicher, and Einhard Schmidt-Kallert in particular) and therefore many courses (as well as counselling) were offered in English. As programme director, I was subordinate to Professor Horst Pöttker (2009-2012) and Professor Ute Gerhard (2012-2015) as the respective deans of the Faculty of Cultural Studies, but I also reported to the Deans' Council. Start-up funding had been provided in 2009-2011 by the Rectorate (Vice-Rector for Research and Junior Academics, Professor Metin Tolan).

Research Assistant in DFG (German Research Foundation) Project "Media Integration of Ethnic Minorities in Germany, the USA and Canada" as part of the Forschungskolleg FK (Collaborative Research Project CRC) 615 "Media Upheavals" ["Medienumbrüche"] (Siegen), including the voluntary teaching of a few courses at Dortmund, and one, jointly with Professor Jörg Döring and Harald Bader, at Siegen; elected speaker of the c. 60 junior academics in the CRC and member of its Executive Committee, November 2007-August 2009, when the position automatically lapsed upon me leaving the CRC to become full-time Director at TU Dortmund's newly founded Joint PhD Programme.

Book Review Editor for one of the two leading German quarterlies in Mass Communication Studies, "Publizistik" (Westdeutscher Verlag -- reincorporated as VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften in 2004 -- Wiesbaden), for Professor Horst Pöttker (issues 1/2001 to 1/2005).

Research and Teaching Assistant at the Chair of East European History, Professor Bernd Bonwetsch (b. 1940-d. 2017), e. g. organizing and chairing a bi-weekly East European history research colloquium with external guest speakers for him, 1999-2002.

Research Assistant in Project "Journalistic Style" (Stilistik für Journalisten) at Institute for Journalism Studies of Dortmund University (as it then was, to November 2007), financed by the NRZ Press House Foundation (Stiftung Pressehaus NRZ), Essen, and directed by Professor Horst Pöttker; coordinator and co-author, with Professor Pöttker, Professor Joachim Pötschke, and Dr Josef Kurz, of corresponding book, "Stilistik für Journalisten" (Journalistic Style), 2000 (reprinted 2002, reissued 2010), and involved in related publications, e.g. for Professor Günther Rager's Lokalredaktionsdienst. I also voluntarily taught a few courses for undergraduates, and later wrote my own textbook for a distance-learning journalism college in Berlin as a result.

Sole editor for monthly "Süd-Zeitung", Dortmund-Hörde (publisher Robert Melchers); editor and copywriter for various PR and advertising projects acquired by agency (continued freelance until the summer of 1998).

Helping with research and teaching at the Chair for South-East European and particularly Ottoman Turkish history (Professor Fikret Adanır); presented paper at first ever German-Armenian Historians' Conference at Yerevan, October 1994, as member of a delegation headed by Professors Bernd Bonwetsch and Fikret Adanır.

Trainee in various departments for this regional (and, as is common in Germany, subscription-based), South Westphalian daily (weekday circulation then 195,000), including as stand-in editor for Media/TV Section (early 1992), local editor (based at Meschede) for Bestwig (where I also had to take, and develop -- yes, as in "with chemicals" --, my own photographs), also at Hagen (local news desk), Gevelsberg, Ennepetal, Schwelm; after completion of tour to gain collective-labour-agreement editor status (in combination with diploma) continued on free contract in August 1992 at Warstein before continuing studies towards diploma.

Conscripted as tank gunner/loader in main battle tank Leopard II A4 with Tank Batallion 214 of Armoured Brigade 21 "Lipperland" (at Augustdorf, District of Lippe) of the 7th (Westphalian) Armoured Division, "the spearhead of the German Army" (Bundeswehr); special trainings in diving, NBC defence; injured in tank maintenance accident; advanced to PFC, then Lance Corporal; participated in last major (Cold War) army manoeuvres, "Open Visor" (Offenes Visier) in September 1989, crossing Weser river with tank submerged; honourably discharged to the Army Reserve.