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Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Thomas Hickmann

Current Positions

  • Since 07/2019: Researcher at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, University of Utrecht (NL); Co-Leader of the ENGAGE project
  • Since 10/2015: Co-leader of the DFG-funded research project Carbon Governance Arrangements and the Nation-State: The Reconfiguration of Public Authority in Developing Countries (together with Harald Fuhr and Markus Lederer)
  • 12/2014 - 06/2019: Post-Doctoral Researcher and Lecturer at the Chair of International Politics, University of Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Harald Fuhr
  • 04/2012 - 06/2019: Internship Coordinator for the Social Sciences at the University of Potsdam

Previous Research Experience

  • 03/2018 – 04/2018: Guest Researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Department of Environmental Policy Analysis, Prof. Dr. Philipp Pattberg
  • 10/2009 – 12/2014: Research Associate and Doctoral Candidate at the Chair of International Politics, University of Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Harald Fuhr
  • 07/2010 – 07/2011: Research Associate at the Chair of International Organizations and Public Policy, University of Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Andrea Liese to support the establishment of an interdisciplinary research cluster at the University of Potsdam composed of Earth and Environmental Scientists as well as Political and Administrative Scientists
  • 04/2009 – 09/2009: Teaching Assistant at the Chair of International Organizations and International Public Policy, University of Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Otto Keck
  • 10/2005 – 08/2006: Research Assistant in the third-party funded project Government Reform as Institutional Politics at the Chair of Political Science, Administration, and Organization, University of Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Werner Jann

University Education

  • 10/2009 – 12/2014: Doctoral Studies at the University of Potsdam, Disputation of the Doctoral Thesis The Reconfiguration of Authority in Global Climate Governance: How Bottom-Up Climate Initiatives Relate to the International Climate Regime on December 12, 2014, Qualification: Dr. rer. pol. (‘summa cum laude’ )
  • 10/2004 – 03/2009: Study of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Potsdam, Qualification: Diploma Degree (MA equivalent) in Public Administration (‘with distinction’), Diploma Thesis: The Relation between Science and Politics in International Environmental Regimes: Comparing the Regimes for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Global Climate (graded as ‘excellent’)
  • 08/2006 – 07/2007: Study of Political Science and Public Law at the University of Copenhagen (Erasmus Mundus Programme)

Practical Experiences

  • 04/2008 – 06/2008: Intern at the German Federal Foreign Office in Berlin, Division Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific
  • 02/2008 – 03/2008: Intern at the Committee on Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid in the German Bundestag
  • 07/2007 – 09/2007: Intern at the Office for Regional Cooperation in Southeast Asia of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, based in Singapore
  • 07/2005 – 09/2005: Organization of an intercultural exchange between German and Philippine social workers on behalf of Dialog hilft Kindern in der Einen Welt e.V.
  • 09/2003 – 06/2004: Voluntary social year in a learning and development center for children and young adults in Manila, maintained by the Philippine Jesuit Aid Association

Alternative Community Service

  • 07/2002 – 07/2003: Alternative community service (in lieu of military service) in the Catholic Community Saint Paul in Brussels, Belgium

Awards, Certificates, Scholarships

  • Prize for Excellent Teaching awarded by the Dean of Studies at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Potsdam for the development and implementation of innovative learning and teaching formats, 2018
  • Grant from the President of the University of Potsdam for outstanding achievements in the establishment of research networks and science-policy interactions, attained in April 2017
  • Advanced Training Course on Simulations and Games in International Relations and Global Public Policy provided by Victor Asal, State University of New York, February 2016
  • Elected among the top 3 in the teaching award competition of the Federal State of Brandenburg (Brandenburgischer Landeslehrpreis) for the course Simulation of the International Climate Change Negotiations (summer term 2015)
  • Qualification for the final round of the German Thesis Award (Deutscher Studienpreis) sponsored by the Körber-Foundation for the most excellent dissertations completed in 2014
  • Scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) covering the travel expenses and the attendance fee for the participation in the 54th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA), held in San Francisco from 3 – 6 April 2013
  • Junior Teaching Professional Award from the Potsdam Graduate School (PoGS) for the successful completion of a structured workshop series to enhance the didactic skills of young researchers from the University of Potsdam, obtained in April 2013
  • Certificate Hochschullehre Brandenburg of the Netzwerk Studienqualität Brandenburg (SQB) for the successful completion of a professional development program for university lecturers in the federal state of Brandenburg, obtained in August 2012
  • Young Researcher’s Travel Grant from the International Studies Association for the participation in the 52nd Annual Convention of the International Studies Association (ISA), held in Montreal from 16 – 19 March 2011
  • Student fellowship of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, received from August 2006 to March 2009

Invited Guest Lectures

  • The Evolution of the United Nations Sustainable Development Agenda: From the MDGs to the SDGs, United Nations Association of Germany, Berlin, 21 April 2018
  • Authority in Global Climate Politics: The Impact of New Governance Arrangements on Developing Countries, Institute of Political Science, University of Leipzig, 15 November 2017
  • Global Governance of Climate Change, Potsdam Summer School on Human Environments in a Changing World, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, 6 September 2017
  • Urban Sustainability Governance in South Africa: Insights from Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, Institute of Political Science, Technical University of Darmstadt, 19 December 2016
  • Transnational Climate Initiatives and the International Climate Change Negotiations, Artec Sustainability Research Center at the University of Bremen, 11 May 2016
  • Power Constellations in the International Climate Regime, Turkish-German Frontiers of Social Sciences Symposium on Changing Climate – Changing Lives organized by the Humboldt Foundation and Koç University, Istanbul, 26-29 November 2015
  • The Reconfiguration of Authority in Global Climate Governance, Research Seminar Series of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Berlin, 24 June 2015
  • The Tragedy of the Commons and the Overexploitation of Global Common Pool Resources, “Und Jetzt?” Conference organized by grenzenlos e.V. and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Großlohra, 25 August 2014
  • Science-Policy Interaction in International Environmental Politics: An Analysis of the Ozone Regime and the Climate Regime, Research Seminar Series of the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, Berlin, 16 August 2013

Organizational Skills and Administrative Tasks

  • Committee Member of the Harold & Margaret Sprout Award sponsored by the Environmental Studies Section of the International Studies Association (ISA) honoring the best book in the field of environmental politics and governance, 2018-2020.
  • Chair of the Interdisciplinary Workshop "Localizing the Sustainable Development Agenda: Cities as a Key for Sustainable Development?" supported by the 'AG Junge UN-Forschung' of the United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN), University of Potsdam, 7-8 September 2018.
  • Co-Chair of the Conference "Environmental Politics in the Anthropocene: Problem Areas, Challenges, and Research Perspectives", organized by the working group Environmental Politics and Global Change of the German Political Science Association (DVPW), University of Potsdam, 6-7 April 2017.
  • Steering Committee Member of the working group Environmental Politics and Global Change of the German Political Science Association (DVPW), 2015-2018
  • Elected Full Member of the University Council at the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Potsdam, Representative of the Junior Academic Staff, 2014-2018
  • Member in the Joint Appointment Committees with the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change for the Professorship for Sustainable Development as well as with the Institute for Applied Sustainability Studies for the Director and Professor for Transformative Sustainability Research, 2014-2015
  • Co-Chair of the PhD-Workshop “The Future of Global Environmental Governance: Searching for Alternative Modes of Global Environmental Policy-Making”, held at the Environmental Policy Research Center, Freie Universität Berlin, 9-10 July 2010

Academic Memberships

  • International Studies Association (ISA)
  • European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)
  • European International Studies Association (EISA)
  • Earth System Governance Project (ESG Project)
  • Innovations in Climate Governance (INOGOV)
  • German Political Science Association (DVPW)
  • United Nations Association of Germany (DGVN)

Reviewer Activities

  • International Studies Review (Oxford University Press)
  • Global Governance (Lynne Rienner Publishers)
  • Policy Sciences (Springer)
  • European Policy Analysis (Policy Studies Organization)
  • Sustainability (MDPI)
  • Earth System Governance (Elsevier)
  • Environmental Policy and Governance (Wiley)
  • Environmental Science and Policy (Elsevier)
  • Global Environmental Change (Elsevier)
  • International Environmental Agreements (Springer)
  • Environmental Politics (Taylor & Francis)
  • GAIA Ecological Perspectives for Science & Society (Oekom)
  • Water (MDPI)
  • Climate and Development (Taylor & Francis)
  • Climate Policy (Taylor & Francis)
  • WIREs Climate Change (Wiley)

Editorial Board Member

  • International Environmental Agreements (Springer) (as of 2019)