2016-2018 Research associate at the Thünen Institute for Business Administration, since 2018 at the Thünen Institute for Market Analysis
20011-2014 Co-project leader on impacts of nature reserves on neighbouring populations in South Caucasus
2007-2009 PhD on rural credit systems in Georgia, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen
1999-2001 Studies of Tropical and International Agriculture, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Georg-August-University Göttingen
1990-1995 Studies of Applied World Economic Languages branch Arabic, French, Development Economics and Commercial Law, Bremen University of Applied Sciences
1985-1987 Studies of Islamic Studies, Branch Arabic and Persian, University of Hamburg
Research stays in Syria (1987-1988, one year) Morocco (1992-1993, one year), Madagascar (2000-2001, six months) and Georgia (2007-2008, six months)