President of GIGA Plans to Step Down after Nine Highly Successful Years

The President of the GIGA, Prof. Dr. Amrita Narlikar, has informed the funders, the Board of Trustees, the Executive Board and staff of the institute of her plans to step down at the end of this summer, after almost a decade. Formalities to enable this are currently underway. She will continue at the GIGA as a full-time senior researcher and professor.

Prof. Narlikar came to the GIGA in 2014 from the University of Cambridge as its first woman president. With her in office, the GIGA could claim to have its first president from the Global South, and also its youngest ever head of institute.

Prof. Narlikar has delivered on her promise to the funders and other stakeholders: to transform the GIGA into an excellent research institute with international recognition and impact. In 2021-2022, the GIGA had a successful evaluation, with the recommendation that the institute receives the full funding for its next 7-year cycle. This success was built on the institute’s remarkable, collective achievements, which include unprecedented highs in quality publications, impact, policy exchange, and record levels of third-party funding acquired.

Towards achieving these successes, Prof. Narlikar has led by example. For instance, over the last four years, she has contributed to the GIGA’s research output with four books in top-notch publishing houses (the fourth is currently in production), in addition to papers in high-impact journals. She has one of the best records at the GIGA in procuring third party funding via her research projects. These achievements, during her tenure as GIGA President, are winning her international appreciation, as illustrated by her honorary positions in Australia, India, and the United Kingdom.

After nine successful and at the same time extraordinarily demanding years, Prof. Narlikar will dedicate more time to her family as well as her cutting-edge research agenda. This includes projects on geoeconomics and geopolitics, narratives from the Global South, multilateral institutions, Indian foreign policy, the Mahabharat, and animal rights. With the real-world implications of her research, she will be contributing to scholarship on knowledge exchange/ transfer.

In order to enable Prof. Narlikar to pursue her plans, the Hamburg Ministry of Science, Research, Equalities and Districts (BWFGB) is providing its support towards a swift and smooth completion of the remaining steps.

ANNEX

Annual Report 2021, Message from the President, pp. 10-17

Curriculum Vitae of Prof. Dr. Amrita Narlikar