Dear WiSo professors, WiSo staff and student representatives,

Major events are casting their shadows ahead. Next year, we will be celebrating the 125th anniversary of the WiSo Faculty, and we would like to prepare the celebrations as a joint anniversary year. One of the foundations for this is the Strategic Development Plan, the implementation of which is progressing swiftly. This plan reflects, among other things, the shared values of the WiSo Faculty, which are rooted in ethics, sustainability, and responsibility—and which weave through this newsletter.

In today’s issue, you will also find information about new services for our students, as well as an interview with WiSoAlumnus Mariano Rayo, who can look back on an extraordinary political career. In a special feature, we introduce our doctoral candidate Leonie Diffené, who has achieved remarkable success in sport.

Enjoy reading!
 

Contents

• News from the Faculty Meeting
• Looking forward to 125 years of WiSo
• Innovations for Students
  • Anny – The new booking system for the WiSo faculty
  • WiSo Ethics Award
• WiSo Workplace Video: Prof. Dr Bernd Irlenbusch
• WiSo Strategy 2030
• Review: Meeting of the administrative and service departments in February
• News from the Business School
• WiSo Personalia
• PARTicipate in our WiSo Value Events
  • WiSo Coffee Chat
  • WiSo Summer Party
• The WiSo graduation ceremonies on 28 June 2025
• WiSoAlumni Interview: Mariano Rayo
• WiSo Special: Leonie Diffené
• WiSo in the Media – November 2024 until February 2025

At the faculty meeting on 27 January 2025, the rector of the university visited and provided insights into current developments at the university level.

Furthermore, the first reading of the new teaching and learning approach took place. This framework was officially adopted at the faculty meeting on 10 March 2025, and the finalised version will be available on the public drive.

Seven departments have been formally established since December. As part of this process, their respective rules of procedure were successfully adopted within the framework of the faculty meetings. We extend our best wishes to all departments as they begin their work.

Additionally, during the faculty meeting on 10 March 2025, elections were held for programme directors, ombudspersons, commission members and WiSo representatives for WiSo committees for the term ending on 31 March 2026.

Please note that the invitations and minutes of the public meeting of the Faculty Council are available on the public server.

125 Years of the WiSo Faculty: Let’s shape the future together!

In 2026, we will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the establishment of Germany’s first independent business school in Cologne, which marked the beginning of the WiSo Faculty – a milestone that we want to shape together! 

Since the Cologne School of Management began operations on 23 April 1901 at Hansaring in Cologne, it has had a particular impact on research and teaching in economics and business administration, as well as on society. From the very beginning, it has been characterised by its practical approach to business and social issues and by its international focus. This not only opened up new horizons for economics (national economics) at the time but also contributed significantly to the further development of practical business studies into an actual field of science, which was epitomised by Eugen Schmalenbach, who taught in Cologne from 1903. By the founding of the first social science institute in Germany under the founding directors Leopold von Wiese and Max Scheler (today’s DSS), the unique interdisciplinary connection between business administration and economics, political science and sociology, which still defines the WiSo Faculty today, finally manifested itself. 

Setting new impulses as an academic institution is therefore deeply inscribed in the DNA of the WiSo Faculty and continues to characterise all our work. It was only logical that the new University of Cologne, which was ceremoniously opened on 12 June 1919, was formed from the School of Management. Together we want to continue this 125-year innovative tradition and reinforce the WiSo Faculty as a leading academic institution.

Planning for our 125th anniversary celebrations is already underway in many areas, and we will provide regular updates here.

We invite all academics, staff and student representatives to get involved in the anniversary celebrations. We ask for contributions and suggestions regarding the following questions: Which topics or initiatives should take centre stage? How can the anniversary be organised in a special way? And what can and would you like to contribute?

In keeping with the PARTicipate motto, suggestions and proposals are welcome!

Possible ideas in this context include:

• Short interviews with WiSo lecturers and staff
• Spotlight videos (e.g. focus on special events or initiatives)
• Networking science and society – what makes WiSo unique as a research and work location?
• Topics such as identity and tradition
• Interdisciplinary research and collaboration (e.g. C-SEB and ECONtribute Clusters of Excellence and key research initiatives)
• Strengthening the sense of community – students, teaching staff, alumni and employees
• Creating new spaces for discussion – academic exchange and critical reflection
• And of course: things that are simply fun! Creative and humorous ideas are very welcome. 

The variety of our ideas will make the anniversary come alive! We look forward to your suggestions and proposals. Please send them to: 125years@wiso.uni-koeln.de

Launched in March, anny offers students easy, central access to WiSo services, including: 

• Study spaces and group study rooms
• Advice appointments at the WiSo Student Service Point (WiSSPo)
• Course appointments at the WiSo Teaching Library

Benefits for students 

Especially the ability to reserve our study spaces and group study rooms, which are popular well beyond the faculty and the university, makes everyday student life noticeably better and easier!

With anny, we ensure that the limited number of study spaces is allocated fairly: long queues at exam time, uncertainty about the availability of spaces, and the blocking of spaces by leaving personal belongings behind are now a thing of the past. Students also benefit from being able to better plan their study times and from having a quick and convenient overview of available resources. A particularly useful feature is the ability to use interactive maps of our buildings to find the ideal place to study.

During exam periods, the booking of study spaces is even restricted to WiSo students. Outside of these periods, all students of the university can book spaces. The WiSo Lounge, the Coffee Bar and the group study and break rooms in the WiSo building remain freely accessible without reservation.

Another advantage: the study rooms in the WiSo building are now open on Saturdays from 7.30am to 5.30pm. 

Innovation and service 

With the introduction of anny, the WiSo Library and Campus Service is emphasising its innovative strength in the efficient use of resources, while at the same time improving its service for all members of the WiSo Faculty.

Find out more about the anny booking system: https://wiso.uni-koeln.de/de/services/buchungssystem 

WiSo Ethics Award: an opportunity for our students!

Our faculty offers students the opportunity to have their final thesis recognised for addressing ethical and socially relevant issues with the new WiSo Ethics Award.

The award will be presented for the first time during the upcoming graduation ceremony in June. One bachelor’s and one master’s thesis will be selected. Students can nominate their own work upon submission – an excellent opportunity to showcase their commitment and research achievements.

The new WiSo Ethics Award perfectly complements our teaching focus on EASE* topics, as it fosters the connection between academic work and social responsibility. It encourages students to actively engage with ethical challenges while also providing them with recognition and visibility for their research contributions.

Minimal effort, great impact!

For supervisors, participation requires only minimal additional effort beyond the regular assessment process. Supervisors evaluate the theses based on four predefined criteria and assign scores accordingly. These evaluations must be completed and submitted by 30 May – the same deadline as the examination office’s submission for consideration in the summer 2025 graduation ceremony.

Please take this opportunity as a supervisor and encourage your students to apply for the WiSo Ethics Award!

Today’s ideas. Tomorrow’s impact.

_{*Entrepreneurship, Analytics and AI, Sustainability and Ethics}

In today's Video we spoke to Professor Bernd Irlenbusch, holder of the Chair of Corporate Development and Business Ethics and Ethics Commissioner of the WiSo Faculty, about research into ethical behaviour in business life, the implementation of ethical values at the WiSo and how they can be anchored in teaching in particular.

We have now moved well and truly into implementation mode with our Strategic Development Plan (also known as FEP 2030).  

To make sure that we don’t lose sight of any of our 89 strategic activities, we have drawn up a comprehensive implementation plan. The members of the Managing Board have taken on accountability for the various tasks, with strategic activities thematically matched to their different roles. For each activity, there is also one colleague from our professional and administrative services who is operationally responsible. Additionally, Gerold Gnau has accountability for FEP 2030 implementation as a whole, with support from Eva Peters in the role of FEP 2030 coordinator. We are keeping track of the various activities via MeisterTask, a project management and documentation tool available to users with an @uni-koeln.de email address. For additional clarity, we have identified a range of priorities for 2025 and 2026 in our six key areas of research, teaching, transfer, careers, governance, and professional and administrative services. These include, for example, evaluating the key research initiatives, formalising collaboration with the affiliated institutes, developing a plan related to permanent positions, establishing a teaching load concept, and pursuing our newly developed corporate connections strategy.  

There is a Steering Group consisting of all accountables and responsibles, who had their first meeting on 19 March 2025. The group will continue to meet once a year to discuss the developments and challenges of implementation. Additionally, quarterly meetings will be scheduled for the individual accountables who will then present progress to the Dean and the Managing Director, with responsibles present as needed. How accountables and responsibles organise the activity workloads is up to them, depending on the complexity and urgency of the tasks. 

We will also regularly re-visit the plan at Faculty Council Meetings, during our Strategy Days, our biannual meetings of professional and administrative services staff, and, of course, at meetings of the Managing Board.

The Strategic Development Plan itself will be made available to all WiSo staff within the coming weeks – keep an eye on your in-tray! In the meantime, if you have any questions about FEP 2030, please do not hesitate to contact Gerold Gnau (gnauwiso.uni-koeln.de) and Eva Peters (eva.peterswiso.uni-koeln.de).

Meeting of all employees from the administrative and service areas

Dear colleagues, 

On 20 February, this year’s first meeting of WiSo employees from the administrative and service areas took place. We were very pleased with the lively exchange as well as the many constructive responses received via the feedback link that we had shared via PUMA. 

The wide range of information from the faculty management and from other areas, the various opportunities for dialogue during the event and the presentation by Ingo Kleiber on generative AI were perceived as particularly beneficial. The focus of this presentation on the administrative and service areas at the UoC helped many of us to approach the topic further and showed that we as employees are well supported in this complex challenge. We are pleased that for most of us, the use of AI appears to be a positive perspective or practice that can alleviate and improve our own working lives.

Documentation of the event is available on the public drive under “1_Fakulktätstermine”. It is certainly worth taking a look, especially for those who were unable to attend. The next meeting of all administrative and service staff will take place on 18 September.

Diverse Continuing Education Opportunities at the University of Cologne Business School

Expand your knowledge with our exclusive programmes

In addition to our Executive MBA programme, we once again offer a wide range of seminars at the Business School this year. All WiSo Faculty staff benefit from discounts on the entire range.

2025 AI seminar: dive into the world of artificial intelligence

In 2025, we are once again offering our popular German-language seminar on artificial intelligence. This three-day programme takes place from 2 to 4 July 2025 on campus and covers:

• Fundamentals and current trends in AI
• Practical examples from various industries
• Hands-on experience with AI tools and models
• Discussions on AI ethics and future prospects

Additional seminars in autumn 

Look forward to exciting English-language programmes such as:

• Omnichannel Transformation
• Future of Mobility
• Digital Transformation and Entrepreneurship

… and many more.

Executive MBA: next start in September 2025 

Our Executive MBA combines the latest scientific insights with practical content. Applications for the September 2025 start are open at any time. Benefit from our early bird discount of €3,000 for applications submitted by 30 April 2025.

Interested? 

If you’re looking to grow and participate in one of our programmes, you can contact us at any time via email at ucbs-exec-edu@uni-koeln.de. For more information about the Business School’s courses, visit: business-school.uni-koeln.de!

Our popular WiSo Coffee Chats will be available every month.
Meet your colleagues and enjoy a hot beverage on the house.

All your questions and comments on a wide variety of topics are welcome at these meetings. In the relaxed atmosphere of the Cafe Bar, open issues can be addressed in an uncomplicated manner.

In the spirit of our WiSo values, the WiSo Summer Party will take place again this year on Thursday, 3 July 2025.
 

Together we will round off the summer semester in the WiSo courtyards with entertaining hands-on activities, Kölsch beer, soft drinks and barbecue food.

More information will follow shortly.

On 28 June 2025, the WiSo graduation ceremonies at the University of Cologne will take place. During this festive event in the assembly hall, graduates of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences will be ceremoniously presented with their certificates in cooperation with the WiSo student council.

The WiSo graduation ceremony is an important moment for our graduates, marking not only the successful completion of a long degree programme, but also the transition to the next professional phase. Every semester, it creates a lasting experience that shapes the students’ profile and contributes significantly to a lifelong bond with our faculty.

The event offers a valuable opportunity to celebrate with fellow students, professors and family members and to honour the time spent together at the university. Last but not least, this celebratory event is created through the cooperation of a large number of employees –from event management and the examinations office to alumni management – as well as through the commitment of professors and in cooperation with our WiSo student council. This commitment goes far beyond their actual tasks and makes the graduation ceremony a special experience both for WiSo and for everyone involved.

The WiSo Faculty is looking forward to active participation from the professors for the presentation of the certificates, and support from the WiSo Services is always welcome. Please contact our event manager Andrea Leon Diaz at leon-diazwiso.uni-koeln.de at any time to welcome the graduates and their families to this special occasion and to organise an unforgettable day.

Our alumnus Mariano Rayo (class of 1990) studied economic policy at the WiSo Faculty. He then returned to his home country of Guatemala, where he worked as a research assistant in the Economic Research and Consulting Department of the Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales (ASIES). At the beginning of the presidency of Álvaro Arzú, Mariano Rayo was Secretary General at ministerial level of the National Council for Economic Planning from 1996 to 1997. In this capacity, he was part of the government delegation that participated in the peace talks with the guerrilla organisation Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) in May 1996, negotiating, among other things, the agreement on socio-economic change and the agricultural situation in Guatemala, which eventually led to the signing of the final peace agreement and thus to the formal end to Guatemala’s 36-year civil war. 

From May 1997 until the end of the Arzú government in January 2000, he was head of the government cabinet and then a member of the Unionist Party in the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala for 12 years until 2012. In September 2015, following a corruption scandal in the presidency of Otto Pérez, he was briefly appointed Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare in the cabinet of interim President Alejandro Maldonado, a position he held until January 2016. He currently continues his academic work in economic and political research as special projects coordinator for ASIES and works as an independent consultant at national and international level and is a member of various supervisory boards of private companies. He also hosts a three-hour radio show every morning. 

In the alumni interview we talked about the need to balance the demands of the guerrillas with the people’s desire for economic prosperity, the influence of German unity on the success of the peace negotiations and the impact of the social market economy on progress in Guatemala.

Dear Mr Rayo, you were born and raised in Guatemala. You came to Germany in 1982 and studied economic policy here at WiSo under Professor Dr Christian Watrin, among others. What made you decide to study in Germany and why did you choose the WiSo Faculty?

In 1976, I went to Germany for the first time as part of a student exchange. That year, I met a wonderful German family living in Siegburg – we still have an extraordinary friendship to this day. Between 1976 and 1982, I returned to Germany several times for study and pleasure. So, it was almost self-explanatory that when I finished school in Guatemala, I looked for a German university near Siegburg. Originally, I wanted to study business administration. While I was already at WiSo, I became more and more interested in economics, politics and sociology. We must remember that we are talking about the 1980s, when many changes were taking place in the world, including in the Central American region.

There were foreign students, but not as many, and even fewer from Latin America. Many of those who studied at WiSo were exiles from countries where they had been involved in political activities, including guerrilla movements, and had received scholarships. My case was different. I came by personal choice and had no scholarship. Therefore, I dedicated myself more to studying and living in the community of German students than to socialising with foreigners. 

This opened many doors for me and gave me the opportunity to get more involved in everyday German life, both inside and outside the university. Of course, I also worked in different places, which gave me experience of responsibility, punctuality, dedication and commitment. These values have shaped my life and are a legacy of my time in Cologne, Bonn and Siegburg.

Discovering the social market economy and learning from university professors who were at the forefront of the theoretical and practical development of this system was something unique.

Immediately after graduating, you returned to your home country, where, from 1990, you worked as a research assistant in the Economic Research and Consulting Department of the Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales (ASIES), a think tank dedicated to strengthening the democratic rule of law and comprehensive development in Guatemala. To what extent did your studies at the WiSo Faculty influence your professional career and your entry into ASIES? Were you able to transfer the knowledge you acquired in Germany to the circumstances and particularities of Guatemala?

ASIES has worked closely with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation to promote Christian Democratic and Social Christian ideas and policies in Guatemala. In addition, the Guatemalan University Francisco Marroquín, with which I have an affinity, has a close relationship with the Mont Pelerin Society. So almost from the beginning, I was able to find places where I could transfer what I had learnt at WiSo. Not only in theory, but also in practice, as I quickly found myself working as a consultant for the central bank, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy.

However, I quickly realised that the ideas and suggestions could not be copied because our realities and history were very different. Without giving up the rigour of the education at WiSo, the daily challenge was dealing with the structures and circumstances of Guatemala, especially since my country had lost an entire generation of professionals and academics due to the internal armed conflict. Both the political left and the political right lost men and women who could have contributed a great deal to Guatemala’s development. That’s why, from a young age, I was involved in decision-making and positions of power. It was a case of “from book to power”.

I should mention the outstanding professors at the University of Cologne, such as Dr Watrin, who taught me to think and discuss from theory to practice. The colloquia were spaces for accumulating knowledge. In addition, WiSo’s relationships with other universities, foundations and think tanks allowed me to broaden my professional training. Furthermore, the diversity of the courses meant that I was not tied to a single discipline.

Your further career has been marked by numerous political stations: as Secretary General of the National Council for Economic Planning, for example, you were involved in the peace talks with the URNG guerrilla organisation, which eventually led to the formal end of Guatemala’s 36-year civil war. What were the main challenges during the peace talks, particularly in terms of economic policy?

My participation in the peace negotiations had two moments. The first mission, in 1995, before Álvaro Arzú became president, was kept secret for a long time and aimed to lay the foundations for the resumption of the peace process. Especially because the future government, which I represented, was conservative-liberal – at the time we were called neo-liberal – and the guerrillas were Marxist-Leninist, following the Cuban example. There were hours of discussions explaining why we were going to privatise various services and make economic policy decisions that would be a 180-degree turnaround from what was being implemented in Guatemala at the time. Of course, the experience and results of German unity gave me many arguments to convince the commanders.

Even in the exercise of power, the challenge was to move from discourse to practice, and to find a balance between what has been negotiated with the guerrillas and signed in various agreements, and governance. Citizens expected concrete results, not just an end to the internal armed confrontation. Peace without economic results and the well-being of the citizens would have been a failure. With the social market economy as a guiding principle, we achieved political peace and results.

You then joined the government of President Álvaro Arzú as Head of Cabinet and subsequently went on to represent the young Unionist Party in the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala for three terms. Your time as Head of Cabinet included the introduction of the General Telecommunications Law and the General Electricity Law, which led to significant improvements in the country’s electricity and telephone services. As a member of parliament, you were chairman of the committee on economic affairs and foreign trade for many years. What made you switch from academia to politics? Was there a particular vision or goal that you wanted to achieve?

After the end of the internal armed conflicts, I belonged to the first generation of “techno-politicians”, i.e. those young people who had the opportunity to take on political responsibility almost immediately after leaving university, in my case the University of Cologne. We had a lot of books in our heads, but little to no experience of real political work. We took up the challenge, threw ourselves into the deep end and, despite resistance from many sides, and also thanks to the support of leaders like Álvaro Arzú, we managed to ensure that the right economic policy decisions were taken. 

What I mentioned earlier had a lot to do with the values I acquired not only at WiSo, but also in everyday life in Germany: discipline, dedication, commitment, tenacity, punctuality and order.

Four years of government are not enough to bring about all the economic, social and cultural changes needed to achieve prosperity for all. Especially if a congress is not accompanied by the passing or reforming of laws.

That is why, when I later became a legislator, and with the experience of having been in government, I was able to push for legislative changes that would set the new rules of the economic game. For example, I pushed for my country’s second monetary and financial reform since 1945, which is in force today and has led to recognised macroeconomic stability. 

There are still many reforms ahead of us to make Guatemala a modern, competitive country capable of offering equal opportunities to its citizens. I have had the opportunity to make an impact as a minister, secretary of state, chief of staff and legislator, thanks to the quality of the education I received in Cologne. I am surprised that the new leaders in my country do not have enough clarity about the choices that need to be made to achieve a higher level of development. There’s too much emphasis on rights and an unwillingness to take responsibility. Individual freedom has turned into licentiousness; there is no more respect, only tolerance. Basic values have been lost.

You have always remained loyal to Cologne, have visited your alma mater several times and still keep in touch with some of your fellow students from your time in Cologne. What value do international networks have for you, especially in view of your experience in politics and academia?

When I found out about the University of Cologne’s international networks by chance, I didn’t hesitate for a minute to get involved. Not only because I would like to meet people again who have played a decisive role in my life, but also because I believe that I have a lot to give back to Cologne and its university. 

My gratitude to the university, its students, alumni, professors, former professors, assistants, clerks and, in general, to the citizens of Cologne, Bonn and Siegburg is immeasurable. 

If I have achieved anything positive for my family, my country and the Guatemalans, it is largely due to the education that the University of Cologne and the WiSo Faculty provided me with. I am infinitely grateful.

What are your top three tips for our students? And do you have any special tips for our international students?

Never stop dreaming, but don’t expect those dreams to come true by themselves, work at them, strive and give more than is asked or expected of you.

Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or wrong decisions – only practice makes perfect. Life is not a bed of rose petals; it is a path full of thorns. 

Enjoy your life, have a fun, take opportunities and never stop trying.

I have only one thing to say to international students: Yes, you can!

Finally, please complete the following sentence: When I think back to my student days in Cologne, I think...

… of Kölsch, carnival, 1. FC Köln, unforgettable friends, my family in Siegburg and the soul of Cologne.

Mr Rayo, thank you very much for your time and for this interview!

East Asian myths, spiritual practice and the meeting of Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee: the term “karate” evokes almost mystical associations for many people. There could hardly be anyone further from these stereotypes than runner-up world champion and WiSo doctoral student Leonie Diffené.

As a competitive athlete, Leonie Diffené not only manages the balancing act between her professional and training life but also excels in both areas. Alongside her research in the field of demography and social inequality, she held her own at the World Championships last October. Leonie Diffené and her team won the runner-up world championship title in the “kata” category against many competitors.

To put this success into perspective, it helps to look back on history:

The roots of karate – translated as “empty hand” – lie in Okinawa, a Japanese prefecture consisting of over 150 individual islands in the East China Sea. As the centre of the independent island kingdom of Ryukyu, Okinawa maintained lively trade contacts with China as early as the 14th century. This brought the first influences of the Chinese martial art of kung fu to the islands. Over time, these influences were developed by the Ryūkyūjin into their own techniques and styles.

Due to its economic importance, Okinawa was long the scene of unrest and uprisings, which led to a ban on weapons in 1422. This ban was tightened after the annexation of the kingdom by Japan in 1609, as a result of which the inhabitants of Okinawa concentrated on unarmed defence. To prepare for possible attacks, the inhabitants trained in unarmed hand-to-hand combat. Conflict meant that writing down techniques and tactics was tricky, as everything could fall into enemy hands or be lost. The inhabitants therefore recorded their techniques and exercises in choreographed sequences of movements, known as “kata” (literally “a series of defined movements”).

At the beginning of the 19th century, several Okinawan masters popularised their martial art in Japan. Gichin Funakoshi then made a significant contribution to establishing karate as a sporting discipline by promoting the standardisation and systematisation of the rules. After the Second World War, karate continued to spread as a sport until it became an official discipline in international sports federations in 1964. This was followed by the formation of international karate associations such as the World Karate Federation (WKF) and the Japan Karate Association (JKA). In 2020, the International Olympic Committee included karate in the programme of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. 

Today’s karate is based on three pillars: kihon (“basic school”; techniques and technique training), kata (choreographed movement sequences without an opponent) and kumite (fighting with an opponent). Kata and kumite are practised in the form of competitions at tournaments.

Leonie Diffené is at home in kata. Born in Magdeburg, she began her sporting career as a child with gymnastics, but at the age of six she wanted to try something new. Her mum asked around and found karate. “My mum still tells me today that my eyes always lit up when I went to karate,” says the 27-year-old.

Diffené trained at her home club until she graduated from high school and became European junior kata champion. She remained loyal to karate throughout. She also played football for a while but chose to continue with karate due to the extra commitment.

Every karateka is trained in all three basic areas at the beginning. Only later does a specialisation in kata or kumite follow. Diffené decided in favour of kata, as she progressed more quickly and enjoyed kata more as a discipline. We visited Leonie Diffené during a training session.

Monday evening, it’s raining outside. We enter a dull green and brown multi-purpose hall in Troisdorf. Hardly anyone would guess that this hall is the forge of a reigning world championship runner-up.

Leonie Diffené is first in the hall, warming up with a skipping rope before other karateka gradually arrive. The first of them to arrive is Stefan Gerdesmeyer, coach of the Karate Dojo Ochi Troisdorf club. The atmosphere is upbeat; first he chats with Diffené about her competition last weekend. Then, together with other trainees, they set about bringing some colour into the hall and lay bright red and blue mats on the hard hall floor. While everyone is busy puzzling the individual mats into a 10 x 10 metre square, Diffené tells me: “These are the mats that I also compete on. I train kata on the mats here, while everyone else trains kumite over there.”

Once all the mats have been laid out, Diffené begins her training on her own while everyone else trains with a partner in the other half of the hall. She repeatedly goes through individual movements and then individual sequences of her competition kata.

The kata she is practising for the final rounds is called Gojushiho Dai, which translates as “54 steps”. In this unit, Diffené definitely takes more than 54 steps. She goes through the same movements over and over again, almost mechanically.

Alongside her club colleagues, who keep trading blows, the untrained eye might get the impression that kata is “not really fighting at all” – a persistent preconception. After all, you may not be fighting a physical opponent in a kata, but you are always fighting with yourself. “You strive for perfection, even though you know you’ll never achieve it. But striving for constant improvement also drives you on. I’m then in the flow. I forget everything around me. There’s nothing better than training for two hours and not thinking about anything else during that time,” summarises Leonie Diffené.

Her determined pursuit of perfection will pay off in October 2024, when Diffené and two teammates win the runner-up world title for Germany. The kata discipline exists not only as an individual category, but also as a team category. Three members of each team stand together on the mat and try to present the same kata as synchronised as possible.

As the last world championship was held seven years ago due to the pandemic, the upcoming championship was eagerly awaited. “The preparation for this event was really enormous and the three of us really grew together as a team once again,” says Leonie Diffené. In the end, they were able to secure the silver medal behind the Japanese. An outstanding success, as Leonie Diffené’s assessment makes clear: “The Japanese always win and it’s almost a sensation when they do lose. That’s why second place feels like first place – if you exclude Japan.”

The competition hall in Takasaki, just under three hours north-east of Tokyo, was not an unknown variable for Diffené on her competition day. She had already been able to familiarise herself with the local conditions during two visits to Japan in the last two years and train with her Japanese colleagues and role models. “You always orientate yourself on the karate of the Japanese. I’ve always watched videos of past and current world champions on YouTube. And then I was able to train with them. It was a little dream come true,” she beams.

The flexibility that Diffené has in her doctorate has also contributed to the fulfilment of this dream. After graduating from high school, it was clear to her that Cologne was an ideal location for her sporting career due to its proximity to the renowned club in Troisdorf. She also recognised WiSo as a leader in the field of sociology right from the start and therefore also appreciated the quality of the education she would receive here. 

After her bachelor’s degree in social sciences, she completed a double master’s degree in demography and social inequality, then worked in Professor Leopold’s department and conducted research in his KINMATRIX project on family-related data from Europe and the USA. Through her work, she quickly found herself in contact with doctoral students and was able to get an idea of whether a doctorate would suit her. Thanks to the excellent academic supervision and colleagues who supported her in her sporting endeavours, she ultimately decided in favour of a doctorate at WiSo. 

In addition, the scholarship from the Cologne Graduate School offers her the flexibility she needs to successfully combine her academic and sporting ambitions. As part of her doctorate, she is researching family networks and relationships, particularly those of people with a migration background. In the summer, she will then spend four months at the University of Tokyo researching attitudes towards immigration and comparing the European and Japanese contexts. Of course, she will also use this research stay to train diligently in karate in Japan.

Leonie Diffené not only logistically links her professional career with her sporting career. She also finds structural overlaps between her doctorate and karate. In both areas, she is deeply involved with a specific topic, remains persistent, meticulous and invests a lot of time. And the pursuit of perfection is often a constant companion. Another aspect is constant learning. Diffené says: “The more you learn, the more you also learn what you can’t do. But that’s also the beauty. It never ends.”

Another advantage of continuous learning is that it constantly opens up new goals – and Diffené currently has plenty of them. In addition to completing her doctorate, hopefully followed by a post-doc in the field of migration, she will soon be competing in the German and European Championships. The goal is clear: to reach the podium, both individually and with her team. 

Leonie Diffené also sees herself connected to her sport in the long term, hopefully as a coach. From time to time, she already organises the odd training session or, depending on her schedule, a training course. Especially when she realises how young girls take their cue from her, it gives her a lot of motivation to continue to act as a responsible role model. “When you know and see what is possible, it opens up new horizons for you,” she says. 

We wish Leonie Diffené all the best as she continues to expand her own horizons, whether at WiSo, in Tokyo, academically or in sport!

Text: Lorraine Hoffmann

WiSo Marketing regularly checks the press review of the University of Cologne for articles and mentions of the WiSo Faculty and its professors in the national and international media. These press clippings are constantly reviewed and collected after WiSo reports. Here we would like to give you an overview of the publications in the national media in which WiSo professors serve as experts or which publish articles written by them. If the article is available online, you will find a link to it below. Press articles that are only available in print media are mostly available via the electronic journals database of the University and City Library.

The list is compiled according to available data. If an article is missing, please send us an email.

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