Alumni Profiles

Current Job Title:

Scientific staff member

Current employer:

Bavarian Academy for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management (ANL)

University Education:

M.Sc. Environmental Planning, Technische Universität Berlin (2011)

B.Sc. Environmental Science, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg/Niedersachsen (2009)

What are your work responsibilities?

ANL is a public educational and research institution. Among others, I am responsible for issues associated to environmental impact assessment, impact mitigation regulation, Flora Fauna Habitat assessments, as well as assessments under the species protection law in the fields of resource protection, renewable energy and ecology of water bodies. 

How did your education influence your career and prepare you for your work?

The experiences I made while studying environmental science and planning are very important for my career so far. I can apply my knowledge on the instruments of environmental planning and on cause-effect relations in various fields. However, even more important to my young career have been the soft skills imparted in the Master Program Environmental Planning. By studying in this interdisciplinary field, I learned to encompass and adjust to new tasks very quickly.

Why is environmental planning important?

Environmental planning with its diverse set of instruments is very important to cope with some crucial issues that tend to impair our livelihood, e.g. land consummation, loss of habitats and others. By the interdisciplinary approach, environmental planning helps to see the bigger picture whether on strategic or on project level. Environmental planning is a well-established and acknowledged field in a fast developing landscape and environment.

Contact:

Paul-Bastian Nagel

Fachbereich 2 – Ressourcenschutz und Umweltplanung

Bayerische Akademie für Naturschutz und Landschaftspflege (ANL) Seethalerstraße 6

83410 Laufen

Telefon +49 8682 8963-47

Telefax +49 8682 8963-16

paul-bastian.nagel@anl.bayern.de [3]

www.anl.bayern.de [4]

Current Job Title:

Environmental/Landscape Planner at the Central Environmental Protection Office of the Darmstadt Regional Commission  (Baurätin Fachrichtung Landespflege at the Obere Naturschutzbehörde - Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt) 

University Education:

B. Sc. Landscape Architecture and Landscape Planning – TU Berlin (2009),

M. Sc. Environmental Planning - TU Berlin (2011),

2. State Examination in Environmental Planning with the State of Hessia (Hessen) after Public Service Residency (Referendariat) (2014)

What are your work responsibilities?

Hessen’s Regional Commissions bring together experts from various disciplines to fulfill a variety of official duties (“Bündelungsfunktion”). Among others, we are responsible for the official approvals of wind farms under the Federal Emission Control Act.

In that context, I am responsible for the issues of environmental and landscape planning as part of this multi-disciplinary team. That means specifically: consulting with applicants, management and approval of applications, oversight of the relevant construction activities, payment processing, etc. Doing that it’s very important to keep the requirements of the National Environmental Protection Act (Bundesnaturschutzgesetz) in mind and not to mix up ecological concerns with the actual legal environmental standards.

How did your education influence your career and prepare you for your work?

On the one hand, gaining basic understanding in various disciplines was very important. Sometimes I still look back through my notes and schoolwork for reference information or examples. On the other hand, the soft skills that I learned are essential. My everyday work would be impossible without the ability to separate important issues from the unimportant, to present effectively, or to work well in a team.

Why is environmental planning important?

Everything is in flux: our world changes constantly and the demands on our environment change along with it. The outcome is our present cultural landscape. As a society we are more aware of the significance of nature, but it can also be difficult for us to accept that we have to make changes to our own habits to protect and conserve the environment.

In seeking a solution to land use conflicts, environmental planning plays a major role. The work is certainly not getting any easier – but it’s definitely exciting!

Contact:

Theresa Schulz

Dezernat V 53.1 - Naturschutz (Planungen und Verfahren)

Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt

Tel.: +49 (6151) 12 6862

E-Mail: theresa.schulz@rpda.hessen.de [5]

Internet: www.rp-darmstadt.hessen.de [6]

Current Job Title:

Researcher

Current employer:

International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) gGmbH

University Education:

M.Sc. Environmental Planning, Berlin Institute of Technology (10/2012 – 05/2015)

Thesis: “Carbon Footprint Scenarios of Renewable Electricity”, www.morebooks.de/gb/p_978-3-639-87143-2 [8], dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.02.080 [9]

B.Sc. Transportation Economics, Technical University of Dresden (10/2007 – 09/2010)

What are your work responsibilities?

The ICCT is a non-profit research institution focusing on environmental impacts of the transportation sector. Currently, I am responsible for research on electric vehicles, in particular on life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions and technology costs. Both, emissions and costs are estimated for the current and future situation.

How did your education influence your career and prepare you for your work?

My studies in Transportation Economics and Environmental Planning (EP) provided me with insights into a myriad of different aspects of environmental issues. The EP program is highly interdisciplinary with courses being offered in ecology, economics, sociological and engineering science. A strong focus is laid on independent and critical thinking by the students. In addition, my fellow students from all over the world helped me to think in a global context and prepared me to work in an international team.

Why is environmental planning important?

The level of greenhouse gas emissions and the pressure on natural systems is increasing, natural resources become increasingly scarce. Environmental planning can help us by identifying, analyzing and reporting the problems and potentially consider them in policy and regulation design.

Contact:

Paul Wolfram

International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) gGmbH

Berlin Office

Neue Promenade 6

10178 Berlin

p.wolfram@theicct.org

http://www.theicct.org/ [10]

Current job title:

PhD scholarship student funded by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (German Environmental Foundation) and Research Associate at the Environmental Assessment and Planning Research Group, Berlin Institute of Technology

University Education:

M.Sc. Environmental Planning, Technische Universität Berlin, 2013, Thesis: Effektivität der Strategischen Umweltprüfung in Deutschland: Ein Ansatz zur Evaluation

B.Sc. Landschaftsplanung und Landschaftsarchitektur, Technische Universität Berlin, 2010, Thesis: Umweltverträgliche Standortsteuerung von Photovoltaik-Freiflächenanlagen - Hinweise für die Bauleitplanung

What are your work responsibilities?

As a PhD student, I am responsible for the PhD research project “Wie strategisch ist die Strategische Umweltprüfung in Deutschland? Ein Evaluationsbeitrag [12]“(How strategic is Germany's strategic environmental assessment? A contribution to evaluation), which includes appropriate publications, presentations at conferences, and communication with the scholarship donor. 

 As a Research Associate I am working on the project “Strategische Umweltprüfung und (neuartige) Pläne und Programme auf Bundesebene – Methoden, Verfahren, Rechtsgrundlagen [13]” (SEA requirements for (novel) federal plans and programs – methods, procedures, legal basis) funded by the German Federal Environmental Agency. According to the research project, I am also responsible for the work coordination among project partners and communication with the German Federal Environmental Agency. Furthermore, I am involved in administrative and funding business according to this specific research project.

I additionally give guest lectures on strategic environmental assessment in bachelor or master courses taught by our Environmental Assessment and Planning Research Group at TU Berlin.

How did your education influence your career and prepare you for your work?

My studies helped me to become aware of my personal interests and abilities. The master courses, my job as a student assistant at the Environmental Assessment and Planning Research Group, and  completion of my bachelor’s and master’s thesis aroused interest in research and strategic environmental assessment and paved the way for my academic career in the field of strategic environmental assessment.

A major part of study has been to practice soft skills. As team work is a learning experience, it has enabled me now to coordinate a research team of more than 10 researchers. The broad range of topics covered by my master program enabled me to quickly adjust to new tasks, and has been a most important long term benefit from my studies.  These are essential for a successful academic career, as well as an agency career or a career as a consultant.

Why is environmental planning important?

I especially think environmental assessment is the connector between economic development and environmental protection. It is helping to prevent, minimize, and compensate environmental impacts to protect the environment against human activities. Environmental assessment has the potential to make economic development environmentally sound without prohibiting economic development. In short, it’s making the world a better place to live.

Contact:

Technische Universität Berlin

Environmental Assessment and Planning Research Group

anke.rehhausen@tu-berlin.de

Current job title:

Project Manager at the Bavarian Environment Agency

University Education:

MSc. Environmental Planning, Berlin Institute of Technology, 2011

MSc. Sustainable Resource Management, Technical University Munich, 2006

M.A. Clinical Psychology, Pune University, 2003

What are your work responsibilities?

Currently, I manage a project on reduction of emissions in the air-conditioning and refrigeration sector. This joint-project is with the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Bavarian Environment Agency, and the Israel Ministry of Environmental Protection. The main goal is to reduce emissions from the cooling sector through the avoidance of hydro chlorofluorocarbons (HCFC) and to encourage a switch from these ozone depleting and climate-relevant substances to more natural cooling substances such as ammonia, CO₂, or Propane. Energy efficient cooling technologies are also a focus in this project.

How did your education influence your career and prepare you for your work?

Through my education I was able to gain an understanding of interrelated concepts of environmental management and develop respect for the complexity of environmental issues. Having worked on ‘real-life’ student projects during my studies, I was able to include this learning into my current role as a project manager. The team work among students from various countries across the globe also helped to sharpen my intercultural skills.

Why is environmental Planning important?

In my view, environmental planning is essential to all kinds of planning, from mega-scale to small-scale projects or plans and can even apply to personal planning. Planning in an integrated manner, with efficiency and savings in the background, and minimizing negative impacts in the foreground is an essential process. Environmental planning also applies to a wide variety of sectors including the private sector, such as development companies or consultancies, as well as the public sector, such as environmental regulators.

Contact:

Tel: +49 821 9071 5935
Mail: nivedita.mahida@lfu.bayern.de [14]

http://www.lfu.bayern.de/analytik_stoffe/f_gase/index.htm [15]

Current job title:
Scientific staff member in the head office of the Leibniz Association

University Education:
Ph.D. Institute of Environmental Systems Research, University of Osnabrück, 2010: ‘(Re)-framing Uncertainties in Water Management Practice’
Dipl.-Ing. Landscape Planning TU Berlin, 2005

What are your work responsibilities?
The Leibniz Association is made up of 86 independent research and scientific institutes, running a head office in Berlin. Leibniz Institutes contribute to clusters of excellence in fields such as mathematics, optical technologies, materials research, bio-medical research, environmental research, bio- and nanotechnology, as well as biodiversity, economic policy, and educational research. The Leibniz Association is structured into five scientific sections (A to E). Within the scientific department of the Leibniz headquarters I am responsible for:
•    Environmental research (Leibniz section E)
•    Sustainability
•    Energy
•    Research ethics / good scientific practice 
•    Citizen science

How did your education influence your career and prepare you for your work?
My study of landscape planning covered a broad range of topics from legal issues, planning instruments, and decision theory to studies of soil, air, water, as well as flora and fauna. At the same time I learned a variety of soft skills such as various formats of writing, presenting, analyzing and summarizing issues. My work on projects over a period of 6-12 months was particularly intense, working in groups of about ten. In short, my study in landscape planning not only gave me a solid background in a number of environmental issues and disciplines but also helped me gain skills in communication and organization. 

Why is environmental planning important?
I think environmental planning is an effective instrument for helping to correct the short-sightedness that often characterizes capitalism. 

Contact: 
http://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/ueber-uns/ansprechpartner/#c1466

Current job title: Project Manager, Landscape Planning 

Current employer: „mahl gebhard konzepte“ 
The Munich-based company „mahl gebhard konzepte“ covers the whole range of projects in the field of landscape architecture, landscape & environmental planning, and urban planning.

University Education:
Dipl.-Ing. Landschaftsplanung, TU Berlin, 2006

What are your work responsibilities?
As a Project Manager, I am responsible for projects concerning landscape, environmental and urban planning. I mainly deal with environmental assessments for the planning and implementation of projects, landscape and greenery concepts for building development, species conservation, urban and regional planning processes, including participatory processes, and increasingly with the identification of sites for the production of renewable energy.

How did your education influence your career and prepare you for your work? 
As a student of Landscape Architecture, TU Berlin offered me a great variety of courses in this broad field. I greatly benefited from learning about different aspects as landscape design, spatial & urban planning, garden history, ecology, and environmental politics. For my final exams and thesis, I specialized on environmental planning. 
This rich educational background enables me to understand the complexity of diverse projects, to quickly assess major issues, and to propose adequate methods for the implementation of projects. 
Every project is different and there never exists a single solution that fits all purposes. With my broad professional expertise, I have gained the ability to design planning processes customized to very specific environmental needs and institutional or social circumstances. 

Why is environmental planning important? 
In a time of land consumption, decrease of biodiversity, and global warming, the conscious planning of a project’s impact on the environment and landscape needs to become a standard. Environmental planning is an important instrument to ensure the consideration of environmental aspects like climate, landscape appearance, and biodiversity into planning and building processes.

In my daily routine, I often realize how important it is to have legal resources to enforce environmental protection, because the interests of investors and municipalities are often contrary. The best results are achieved by coherent and participatory approaches using a process of dialogues between planner, investor, municipality, and the public, when environmental planners are invited to join planning processes in early stages of a project.

Therefore, I think strong legal instruments we possess work most effectively when applied by profoundly educated, flexible, and open-minded planners in the context of integrative and dialogue-based approaches.

Contact:
http://www.gebhardkonzepte.de/ [18]

Current Job Title: Professor at Technische Universität Dresden and Head of Research Area‚ Landscape Change and Management‘ at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development Dresden

University Education:
Ph.D. TU Berlin, 2001 – 'Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung und ihr Einfluss auf Zulassungsverfahren'
Dipl.-Ing. Landschaftsplanung TU Berlin, 1997

What are your work responsibilities?
My research and teaching responsibilities comprise of:

• Landscape Planning, Environmental Impact Assessment, Urban Development Planning
• Evaluation and Development of Spatial Planning Instruments
• Landscape Policies and Biodiversity

How did your education influence your career and prepared you for your work?
The TU Berlin education in landscape and environmental planning was very important for my academic career. TU Berlin prepared me in all scientific and technical working skills as an environmental planner. And, additionally, the practical work in study projects gave me the right experience in organizing myself, in team work, and in establishing leadership qualities. Both, technical and soft skills are essential for being prepared for an academic career. 

Why is environmental planning important?
Environmental planning is an academic key discipline in exploring and developing new concepts for spatial environmental protection. It investigates how landscapes and, in particular, open spaces with their ecosystem services in cities and regions are influenced by demographic and climate change and changes in land use. It contributes to the analysis and elaboration of methods for the overall protection and management of landscapes, and the environment. Planning also contributes to the ecological re-development of cities and regions with particular focus on biodiversity, including post-industrial landscapes.

Contact: 
Leibniz Institute of Ecological and Regional Development Dresden
Weberplatz 1
01217 Dresden, Germany
www.ioer.de [20]
Phone: +49 0351-4679-100

Current Job Title: Fellow, Coordinator Bioenergy and Agriculture

Current Employer: Ecologic Institute, Berlin

University Education:
Dipl.-Ing. Landschaftsplanung TU Berlin, 2005, Diploma-Thesis:Innovationsbiographie Windenergie. Eine Analyse des deutschen Windenergiebooms seit 1990. [21] 

What are your work responsibilities?
The Ecologic Institute is a private not-for-profit think tank for applied environmental research, policy analysis, and consultancy with offices in Berlin, Brussels, Vienna, and Washington DC. It has been ranked No. 6 of the top 10 global environmental think tanks (2010 Global "Go-To Think Tank Index" of the University of Pennsylvania). My work responsibilities are manifold: Mainly policy analysis and consultancy for different sponsors such as the European Commission, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, the European Environmental Agency, different NGOs, foundations etc. Topics/ areas of work include: 

• Sustainable bioenergy, agriculture and rural development, reform of the European Common Agricultural Policy; 
• Renewable energy policy, climate policy, sustainable global land use, nature conservation, transatlantic environmental policy.

How did your education influence your career and prepared you for your work?
What I valued most about my education was its broad approach ranging from theoretical questions of environmental policy, nature conservation, landscape planning etc., to practical issues of soil protection, wildlife corridors, landscape design etc. It helps me to become quickly familiar with different environmental policies and developments and to see new links between them that will be important to solve the global environmental problems. Moreover, the work in teams and projects, the frequent need for presentations and project reports in my studies was an early training for the requirements in an international interdisciplinary working environment.

Why is environmental planning important?
There are many reasons, but eventually it comes down to the limited availability of land and resources that requires a harmonized approach to ensure a sustainable use

Contact:
Email: stephanie.wunder@ecologic.eu [22]