As of 1st September, the ifo Institute will have a new Executive Board member – Dr Stephanie Dittmer, currently Head of the Strategy / Presidential Fund of the Helmholtz Association in Berlin.
She will succeed Prof. Meinhard Knoche, whose term of office ends on 31 August 2017 with his retirement. He has been on the Board since 1995. Dr Dittmer said, “I am very much looking forward to my new responsibilities.” Dr Peter-Alexander Wacker, Chairman of the ifo Administrative Council, commented, “With Dr Dittmer, ifo has acquired an excellent research manager. At the same time, I would like to thank Meinhard Knoche for the 22 years of extraordinarily successful work on the ifo Executive Board.” Ifo President, Clemens Fuest stated, “I am looking forward to working with Dr Dittmer, and I would like to thank Meinhard Knoche for his highly successful work on the Executive Board. He has decisively shaped the course of the Institute and helped make ifo one of the leading economic think tanks in Europe.”
Stephanie Dittmer’s tasks at the Helmholtz Association included negotiations with regard to the Pact for Research and Innovation, the orientation and administration of the Presidential Strategy Fund, the management of the Helmholtz Academy for Executives and numerous other instruments for the promotion of young researchers and further training. Prior to this position, from November 2006 to July 2008, she was in charge of research policy and strategy development at the Helmholtz Office. From 2003 to 2006, she was a personal assistant to the President of the University of Goettingen. Ms Dittmer studied Sociology, Slavic Studies, and Eastern European History at the University of Goettingen, where she received her doctorate (Dr. rer. pol.).