Brandt School Student Government

Hello everyone,

My name is Loise Effah Yeboah. I was born in Ghana but grew up in Italy. I hold a Bachelor's degree in International Development and Cooperation from the University of Bologna, and I am currently pursuing a Master's degree in Public Policy, with a focus on Development and Socio Economic Policy, as well as Non-Profit Management and Social Entrepreneurship.

Before joining the Willy Brandt School, I worked as a linguistic and intercultural mediator at an emergency reception center. I am deeply passionate about development, public policy, and public administration, and I aspire to work in Africa or for an international organization with a focus on Africa in the long term.

Namaste! My name is Vivek Raj and I belong to Bihar, one of the poorest state  in Northern part of India.  I am currently pursuing a Master's of Public Policy at the prestigious Willy Brandt School at the University of Erfurt, . Prior to this, I completed my undergraduate degree in law from the Campus Law Centre at Delhi University.

From an early age, I have cultivated a profound commitment to upholding human rights and promoting social justice. This dedication has guided my extensive internship experiences with organizations like the People's Union for Civil Liberties, the Department of Agriculture in Bihar, and the offices of Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies. Through these roles, I have had the privilege of contributing to vital work safeguarding civil liberties, disability rights, housing rights, and shaping impactful policies.

Looking ahead, my ultimate aspiration is to become an influential policymaker serving the people of India. I hope to craft and implement equitable policies that uplift marginalized communities, protect human rights, and drive positive transformative change across the nation. With a robust academic foundation, diverse grassroots experience, and an unwavering ethical compass, I am determined to create lasting impact through impactful policymaking roles.

Moin, my name is Manuel from Germany. I have completed a bachelor’s in political science at the University of Mannheim. I have delved into multiple sectors of the political sphere by working at a news station, campaigning for regional and federal elections and working at a company to compose a citizens participation app. So, this position is new to me: treasurer. If anyone of you comes with great ideas for the next event of the century, I’m the one you want to plan finances with beforehand.
In the meantime, I’m excited to play at the WBS United soccer team with a couple of you, hang out to watch movies, play board games and travel around as much as possible. I’m really looking forward to planning an amazing year of interesting events with my friends from the Student Gov. I am passionate about Immigration, Development and Energy Policies and would love to work at any international agencies on these topics.

If you were forced to watch reruns of a favorite show, which would you choose?
Every autumn, I drink tea and watch Avatar (the cartoon).

Hello Everyone !
I'm Talia Asim Shehzad, serving as the Vice President. I'm from Pakistan and hold a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration. I am DAAD Scholar at the Brandt School currently pursuing a Master's degree in Public Policy. My areas of focus are Socio-Economic Development and Global Public Policy.
When I'm not in class, you will find me with my nose buried in a classical literature book, vibing to indie songs or at Theater Erfurt. As the Vice President, my aim is to make your Masters experience a little less daunting, a little more enjoyable. So feel free to reach out with your questions, share your recommendations and more importantly, share your Spotify playlists !

Hey all! I am Ankita from India. I am a lawyer by practice. I finished my law school from India in 2021. Currently, I am a first year student of Masters of Public Policy, here at the Willy Brandt School. Before starting my Masters, I worked with the Government of India at the National Human Rights Commission, in the Policy Research, Projects and Programmes (PRP&P) Department. My interest mostly lies in International Law, Human Rights, Gender Based Violence, and Child Rights. In my free time, I enjoy cooking, travelling, dancing to Bollywood beats, and spending countless hours scrolling through reels on Instagram. As the Social Planner, I aim to create a cohesive environment for the School to build a community, all while having (hopefully) the best time while doing their Masters!

Hello! My name is Sofia, I’m half Argentinian-Half German.
Before starting my Masters at the Willy Brandt School I did my Bachelor's Degree in Political Science at the University of Mannheim. I am your student representative and will be the connection point between the students and the Willy Brandt School. If you have any problems with a class, a lecturer or any other MPP-related issues, always feel free to contact me: sofia.navarro_kienast@uni-erfurt.de. I will do my best to help you! Otherwise I look forward to meeting you in class, on campus and especially on the many cool events the student government and our social planner will organize for you over the next semesters.

Stephanie is a research associate to the Gerhard Haniel Professor for Public Policy and International Development, Prof. Achim Kemmerling. She is interested in political communication and computational social science. Her PhD project focuses on the public discourse on digitalisation and its socio-economic implications in Germany.

She holds a B.A. in International Cultural and Business Studies from the University of Passau and an M.A. in International Political Economy from King’s College London. In her B.A. thesis she studied the association between cosmopolitanism and migration by correlating survey results from several countries with data on migrant stocks. For her M.A. thesis she analysed issue salience in public opinion, the European Parliament and EU legislation, for which she relied on Eurobarometer survey results and a unique dataset of topics modelled with Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). Before joining the Brandt School, Stephanie gained professional experience in the public and private sector through different international internships and fellowships.