THINK TANK - Key Persons
Anna is currently pursuing a dual Masters degree at Sciences Po Paris and the London School of Economics in European Affairs and Political Economy. She is passionate about fostering Europe-Asia relations and is particularly interested in opportunities for Artificial Intelligence and security cooperation between the two regions. Besides her academic studies, Anna and has gained work experience in the political sphere at both, the national and European level, as well as in the political communications sector. At STEAR, Anna hopes to help contribute to bridging the gap between European and Asian youth and to expand the reach of STEAR's mission further.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for External Affairs
Emilie grew up between the UK and China, attending international school in Suzhou and reading Chinese Studies at Newcastle University. She moved to Hong Kong after graduation to work for Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in a number of corporate roles and most recently worked as Assistant Director of Rooms at Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai. Currently, Emilie is in Bologna where she is pursuing her Masters degree at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. At STEAR, Emilie hopes to develop more open and inclusive dialogue in the arena of Europe Asian relations, empowering and engaging young people in the process.
Francis is a recent graduate from the London School of Economics. He has a strong academic interest between the relations of Europe and Asia. His particular interest is with China and the European Union. Moreover, he has written a dissertation detailing the nuance between eastern and western legal philosophy to explain the complex relations with the international rule based order. He enjoys learning from different cultures and always open to listen to any exchange related to international relations.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Centre for European Studies
Juliette is an incoming finalist undergraduate at the University of Cambridge reading Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Chinese). After a year abroad in Taipei, Taiwan where she worked at the French Chamber of Commerce and the newspaper The China Times alongside studies at the National Taiwan Normal University, she will return to Cambridge for her fourth year following which she hopes to pursue a career in international politics. With dual French-Australian nationality, she is bilingual (French-English) with Advanced Chinese (HSK 6) and Advanced Spanish (CEFR C2). Passionate about geopolitics and international security, she has thus far focused on regional dynamics in the Indo-Pacific. Research to date has included US-China strategic competition, the Korean nuclear conflict, and the role of middle powers such as Japan and the UK in the multilateral order.
Koen was born in Taiwan, but grew up in the Netherlands. He is currently wrapping up his MSc in China & Globalisation at King's College London, and will join the Budgetary Affairs department of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in September 2022 as a Financial Trainee. Having joined STEAR in October 2021 as Secretary-General, a role in which he, among other things, supervised the Cultural Team and the creation of STEAR's inaugural Social Impact Report, Koen is happy he can serve as one of STEAR's Co-Presidents for 2022-2023. He hopes to help increase STEAR's impact, diversity and organizational capacity.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Strategy & Growth
Konstantin is a dual Master's degree candidate in Public Policy & Management at HEC Paris and Freie Universität Berlin. He has held leadership positions in various youth-led organisations and gained work experience in public sector consulting and development cooperation. Having lived, worked and studied in Germany, Thailand, Singapore and France, he follows developments in Asia-Europe relations with great interest and pursues a purposeful, international career at the intersection of business and politics. After a term as External Affairs Officer, Konstantin now aims to further position STEAR as diverse, inclusive think tank and expand its international footprint and impact as Vice-President for Strategy & Growth.
Leonie was born and raised in the Netherlands and is enrolled in the Erasmus Mundus Joint Degree Euroculture in Uppsala (Sweden), Udine (Italy) and is from September on based in Osaka (Japan). She has experience as an editor for a student newspaper and gained managerial experience in the board of Amsterdam's fifth-largest student association. Having lived in Cambodia for a few months, she has a deep interest in building cultural bridges between Asia and Europe. During her board year, she aspires to contribute to mutual cultural understanding within Eurasia.
Job Titles:
- Director at the European Institute for Asian Studies
Lin Goethals is the Director at the European Institute for Asian Studies, a think tank and policy research centre based in Brussels focusing on EU-Asia Relations. Lin Goethals holds a Master's degree in Political Sciences from Ghent University in Belgium. Her main research interests include EU-China relations, EU-Asia affairs, ASEAN, public diplomacy, as well as people-to-people, education and youth cooperation between Asia and Europe. She has held different positions in specific research projects, such as the EU-Youth Policy Dialogue and the Immigrants in China project. She has had research and study experiences at a number of universities worldwide, including Beijing Normal University (Beijing), Peking University (Beijing), National Taiwan University (Taipei), the University of Padova (Padova), and the University of the Western Cape (Cape Town). She has also been a Research Assistant at the ESSCA School of Management in France, teaching on EU-China Political and Economic Relations.
Job Titles:
- Programme Manager for Asia at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Linda Maduz is a Programme Manager for Asia at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
Louise is an incoming master student in Global Politics at the LSe and graduate from King's College London where she was reading International Relations, with a specialisation in East Asia and Foreign Policy. Besides her studies, Louise has held leadership positions in various organisations promoting youth entrepreneurship and cross-cultural understanding She also gained professional experience in a non-profit promoting peace processes in the Middle East and Central Asia and at a social impact consulting firm. She is particularly interested in foreign policy, public international law and business issues in Europe and Asia. After serving one term as a Sponsorship Officer at STEAR, Louise hopes to enable STEAR to grow further and extend its reach to an increasing number of young people, passionate about Europe and Asia.
Michael Reiterer pursued his academic career always in parallel to his diplomatic one at the Austrian and then European service. He has taught at various universities in Europe and Asia. In September 2020 he retired from the European Diplomatic Service as Ambassador plenipotentiary and extraordinary of the European Union to the Republic of Korea (2017-2020); previous posts included Ambassador to Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein (2007-2011), Deputy Head of Mission/Minister at the EU Delegation to Japan (2002-2006), and Counsellor in charge of ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) at the European Commission (1998-2001). In addition, he co-chaired the Joint Group of Trade and Environment Experts at the OECD, served as panellist at the WTO dispute settlement and was a member of the European Economic and Social Committee.
Prof. Dr. Ummu Salma Bava is Professor and Jean Monnet Chair of the Centre for European Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. She has studied in India and Europe and has over 30 years of teaching, research and administrative experience and is one of the leading Indian experts on the European Union, India and German foreign and security policy. She has numerous publications and these include "EU-India Relations - The Strategic Partnership in Light of the European Union's Global Strategy" ( Springer 2021) and "The European Union and the Changing Security Dynamics in Europe" (Springer 2019). She is a member of the Academic Advisory Board, German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg and was a member of the Research Advisory Council of Germany's leading Think Tank - Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), Berlin. Prof. Bava was conferred in January 2012 with the prestigious Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz) by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany. She speaks fluent English, Hindi and German.
Sakshi is a soon-to-be graduate of a Master's in Global Affairs at King's College London. She was born in India and raised in Hong Kong, and as a result, she brings with her an appreciation of the diversity of Asian-ness, which she hopes to highlight in her role as Editor-In-Chief. Having studied law, Sakshi has worked in the United States Congress, non-profit organisations, human rights law firms, and academia. Sakshi has published articles related to intersectionality, gender-based violence in the context of geopolitics and conflict. Her final year dissertation focuses on the foreign policy agency of Asian small states in geo-strategic positions in light of the rapid developments in the Indo-Pacific, building on her keen interest in the changing multilateral order of the region. At STEAR, Sakshi hopes to further the mission of diversity and inclusion and provide a platform for Asian and European youth to shape their futures.
Sandra is a soon-to-be master graduate of East Asian Economy & Society from Vienna University, currently gaining her footing as young professional in the world of Europe-Asia diplomatic relations as Assistant at the Embassy of Japan in Austria. With past experiences (Embassy of Austria in Japan, Europe-Asia Foundation etc.) focusing on (youth) cooperation between the two regions as well, she aspires to continue contributing in strengthening bi-& multilateral cooperation between Europe and Asia. During her studies she has also spent various terms abroad in East Asia, namely at Kobe University in Japan, Yonsei University in South Korea and NCKU in Taiwan. As she is mostly focusing on the role of media, culture, languages and identity in international cooperation in her research, she is especially interested in public relations and cultural diplomacy.
Job Titles:
- Senior Advisor at the European Policy Centre
Shada Islam is a respected and well-known Brussels-based commentator on the European Union who runs her own Brussels-based global media, strategy and advisory company, New Horizons Project. Before that, Shada worked for nine years as Director of Europe and Geopolitics at Friends of Europe, an influential independent think tank based in Brussels.
Shada is currently Senior Advisor at the European Policy Centre as well as Non-Resident Fellow at the Centre for Global Development. Shada is also a Visiting Professor at the College of Europe (Natolin) and a Solvay Fellow at the Vrije University Brussel (VUB).
In 2017, Shada was selected as one of the 20 most influential women in Brussels by the magazine Politico.
Théo Abramo is pursuing a Dual Bachelor's Degree in International Economics and Politics at the University of California Berkeley and Sciences Po Paris. Besides his academic focus on Europe-Asia relations, global governance, and constitutional law, Théo has published research examining the tripartite relationship between the US, China, and EU in the context of artificial intelligence. Determined to learn how global organizations design and deploy large scale, comprehensive strategies that impact multiple lines of business, Théo worked at Teneo, a global advisory firm who help solve the complex issues of tomorrow. Coupled with his work in Model United Nation, as Conference Director, he is hoping to continue fostering a truly international community that's passionate about Europe-Asia relations.
Truston graduated from the 3 Campus East Asia Programme, studying in Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. Originally from a small town in West Java, Indonesia, Truston is highly passionate in Southeast Asian studies and regional integration. Truston is also an advocate for universal basic income and life member of the Basic Income Earth Network. At STEAR, Truston seeks to keep Southeast Asia well-represented while contributing to greater connections between the youth of both continents.
William Hurst is the Chong-Hua Professor of Development at Cambridge University, where he is a fellow at Wolfson College. He works on labor politics, contentious politics, political economy, and the politics of law and legal institutions, principally in China and Indonesia. He is currently completing a book manuscript on the comparative politics of law and legal institutions in China and Indonesia since 1949. For this work, he has completed more than one year of fieldwork in each country since 2006.
He joined Cambridge University from Northwestern University, before which he was a postdoctoral fellow at Oxford and an assistant professor at the Universities of Texas and Toronto.
Yusril recently graduated with distinction from New York University Abu Dhabi where he was majoring in Social Research and Public Policy with minors in Theater, Political Science, and German. He is particularly interested in two areas: the role of transnational cooperation and non-governmental entities in expanding access and opportunity for disadvantaged populations; and the use of applied theater in fostering positive social changes. He wrote his Bachelor Thesis on how the use of Applied Theater elements can foster the refugee integration process in Germany. Yusril also has a growing interest in impact investment and the ways in which the power of capital can be harnessed for social good. Moreover, he has worked for a long time in providing education for underprivileged children through the nation-wide youth social foundation he established when he was just 17. Yusril's diplomatic career began when he was 16 representing Indonesia at the 2017 International Better Understanding for Better World (BUBW) Conference. Having lived, studied, worked, and conducted research in over 21 countries has fueled his passion to work with a diverse environment in an international setting.