What People Say About DIWDC

Testimonials About DIWDC, its Performance, Leadership and Accomplishments During Six Years of Service

“I had the pleasure to speak at the Inaugural Gala of DIWDC in 2007, together with the then German Ambassador to the US, Dr. Klaus Scharioth. I was impressed to see a well functioning and compact Institute with the ambitious vision to foster transatlantic relationships on economic policymaking. DIWDC enabled me to stay abreast with important discussions in Europe during my time in office. Congratulations DIWDC for 6 years of successful work.”

Edward Lazear , Professor of Economics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA and former Chief of the Council of Economic Advisers to the US President

“Amelie Constant’s energy and enthusiasm for connecting students to meaningful experiences is inspiring, and I’m honored to have been able to collaborate with DIW DC to place students.”

Susan Fleck, Ph,D., Division Chief, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC

“DIW in DC is a great program, which attracts top-quality students. I always enjoy coming by to talk with them.”

Rebecca M. Blank, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC  

“For decades the DIW Berlin has led the way in bringing first rate social and economic research to bear on pressing public issues in Europe, and since 2007 the DIW DC has brought this same dedication and expertise to bear in the United States. Under the leadership of Executive Director Amelie Constant, the DIW DC has emerged as a leader in providing scientific advice to policy makers not only in Washington, but around the world.”

Douglas S. Massey , Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

“At five years of age, DIWDC has shown itself precocious and prescient. Of course, scholars and policymakers alike welcome the opportunities that DIWDC provides -- scholarly exchange of ideas, conferences at the frontier of the most important research topics, training in Washington for PhD students from the DIW Berlin Graduate Center of Economic and Social Research, ongoing transatlantic research and discussion. But who would have thought in January 2007 that these very opportunities would become pivotal for a world facing new economic challenges, a world, moreover, in which one of the key players is Germany. DIWDC has been extraordinarily fortunate to have at its helm Professor Dr. Amelie Constant who brings unrivaled insight from both sides of the Atlantic to the DIWDC mission. Happy Fifth Birthday, DIWDC!”

Guillermina Jasso , Silver Professor of Sociology, New York University, New York City, NY

  “Over the last years I had a couple of times the occasion of visiting the DIWDC, to talk to Amelie Constant and to address the students. I was impressed by the quality of the graduate program and by the unique opportunity, which is given to the students to get familiarized with the numerous national and international organizations, hosted in Washington.”

Pierre Pestieau, Professor Liege University and CORE, Belgium, BE

“Everyone talks and worries about globalization. The DIWDC focused instead on the opportunities afforded by globalization by creating a unique and innovative graduate program that gave European students an incomparable international hands-on policy and learning experience in Washington, D.C. Thanks to the DIWDC, a pioneering foundation was created to generate the next generation of leaders, scholars and policy makers who are at home in the world in their analyses, thinking and orientation.”

David Audretsch, Distinguished Professor, Director, Institute for Development Strategies, Ameritech Chair of Economic Development, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

“The establishment of DIWDC in Washington was a very positive initiative that reflects both an understanding of the importance of the German-U.S. relationship, the rich opportunities for scientific and scholarly cooperation, and the opportunity to exchange policy experience. A major case in point was the highly successful cooperation between the DIW, DIWDC, and the National Academy of Sciences in initiating a series of high-level conferences on Comparative National Innovation Policy attended by senior White House and Departmental officials. These events brought together leading figures from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss common challenges and best practice. The November 2010 Washington Conference was followed up with an equally successful conference in Berlin in May 2011. These events significantly raised the profile of Germany here in Washington in terms of its growing investments in education and R&D, its support for advanced manufacturing, and successful innovation policies.”

Charles W. Wessner, Ph.D., Director, Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, The National Academies of the Unites States of America, Washington, DC

“DIWDC has been a welcome addition to the economics community in Washington DC. The program is extremely active and intellectually ambitious and it has made its presence felt through a number of its endeavors.”

Francis Vella, Professor and Chair of Economics, Georgetown University, Washington, DC

“DIWDC serves as an important linkage between academics and policy-makers, bringing together and enhancing communication between the two groups. Dr. Constant is an enormous asset to DIWDC. She brings both a distinguished research record and a wide set of administrative skills to her role as Executive Director.”

Rachel Croson, Professor of Economics at University Texas Dallas, Dallas, TX

“In 2007, during the first year of my PhD studies, I spent four wonderful and inspiring months at DIW DC. Maybe this was the best part of my doctoral studies, at least I believe that they had a long-lasting impact on my personal development and career. As young inexperienced students, we had the opportunity to meet and talk to experienced senior researchers in the field. Moreover, we were taught PhD courses at DIW DC and everyone conducted an internship organized by DIW DC. I can’t believe that this was five years ago. Many thanks DIW DC for everything!”

Nicolas Ziebarth, Assistant Professor, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY and former DIW Berlin Doctoral Student

“The Director of DIWDC, Amelie Constant, is such an inspiration to the students with whom she works. Students are treated as professionals, and she takes great care to ensure that the work they do in Washington is valuable. These students develop good English communication skills and learn how to be professionals in their own fields. The students I know who worked and studied at DIWDC all raved about this program. I am currently working with two students in Germany who went through the DIWDC program in 2010-2011. Both of these students had professionally rewarding experiences with DIWDC. This experience helped both of them develop as professional economists, and the director in particular made sure that their short stay in the United States was worth the expense. I wish more European students could have this opportunity to study and work under the direction of Dr. Constant. I highly recommend this program to other organizations in Europe.

I recently attended a professional conference sponsored by DIWDC, the 8th Annual Migration Meeting and 3rd Migration Topic Week in May 2011. The conference brought together professionals in many disciplines who were working on important migration issues throughout the world. I met so many interesting people at the conference and received good feedback on my research in Kyrgyzstan.”

Kathryn Anderson, Professor of Economics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN

“Washington DC is the global capital of development economics and policy. DIW DC, and especially its annual conference "German Day on Development" held inside World Bank premises under the auspices of the German Executive Director at the World Bank, opened doors to development institutions and established valuable contacts. I still benefit from these linkages in my research today.”

Tilman Brück, DIW Berlin and Professor at Humboldt University, Berlin, DE

“Amelie Constant has been the driving force behind the amazing success of DIW DC: Devoted, hard-working and engaged. It is impressive to see how she managed the complex strategic goals of the institute while keeping her practice as a productive and innovative researcher and a dedicated professor.”

Klaus F. Zimmermann, Director, IZA, Bonn, Professor of Bonn University, Chairman of the DIWDC Board of Directors, and former President of DIW Berlin

“Dr. Amelie Constant is an amazing mentor for younger researchers. No matter how busy she is, she always finds time to talk and advise students; she has the talent to awaken our own expectations and to make us be the best we can be. Thank you, Dr. Constant, for being there every step of the way!”

Eleni V. Geladari, MD, Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University

“Coming to the DIW DC after finishing my PhD was a thrilling experience and an important step in my career. Its central location and great network brought me to the centre of the academic and public policy world of Washington DC. The institute provides a stimulating environment with excellent working conditions. I would always come back to that great place!”

Arne Uhlendorff, University of Mannheim, Department of Economics, Mannheim, DE

“I had the good fortune to spend one month as a visiting fellow at DIWDC in September 2010. This research visit was not only an invaluable personal experience but also an excellent professional opportunity to present and discuss the concepts and results of my research to an international audience. Besides being in a professional office environment I enjoyed interacting with the other staff, visitors and interns of the Institute. Amelie Constant made sure that I would benefit to the maximum through this visit. She personally scheduled many meetings for me with other professors in DC’s universities, urged me to attend important events in the area, and gave me honest advice every step of the way. Moreover, working together with Amelie Constant was the starting point of further fruitful research collaboration. DIWDC and Amelie Constant offered me a unique experience in the US and I recommend this fellowship program without any hesitation.”  

Steffen Otterbach , Ph.D. student at the University of Hohenheim, Germany and DIWDC Resident Fellow in the summer of 2010

“Amelie Constant, your name says it all:  A-stute -   M- otivating -   E- nthusiastic -   L- ively -   I- nspiring -   E- nduring,    C - harming -   O- utstanding -   N- eeded -   S- ociable -   T- rustworthy -   A-wesome -   N ot-comparable -   T- alented. DIWDC could not have survived without you.”

Charalampia V. Geladari, MD, Postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, Boston, MA

“My experience at DIWDC has been invaluable to me in terms of my professional and personal growth. My time at the Institute provided me with several useful skills such as, editing, event planning, publication/PR, and very strong administrative skills. I learned a great deal about the field of Labor Migration and was able to utilize this knowledge later on in my academic and professional life. Working with Dr. Constant was a pleasure and a privilege. I was given an opportunity to learn from and work with an intelligent, hardworking, and passionate woman who became a wonderful mentor and role model. My internship at DIWDC has opened doors to many other opportunities and I would not be where I am right now without Dr. Constant.”

Carolyn Ferguson , U.S. House of Representatives for the Energy and Commerce Committee and DIWDC intern in the summer of 2010  

“Dr.Constant is a great mentor! During my 2010 summer internship, she greatly encouraged me to do intensive research on Chinese human capital investment and constantly follow up with my research progress, which led to our collaborated research paper on Chinese economic development that is in press in an academic Journal. With Dr.Constant’s leadership, DIW DC has become a very dynamic place for academic elites as well as policy makers to exchange and discusses views on public policy issues. I’m honored to be part of the team in witness the development of DIW DC and I very much appreciate Dr. Constant’s guidance during my academic pursuit!”

Jingzhoo Meng , International Monetary Fund, Washington, DC, and DIWDC intern in the summer of 2010

“An excellent course.” … “I would have focused on migration earlier in my studies if I took this course earlier in my studies. I found this course to be very interesting and taught by an excellent instructor.”

Anonymous Student in the Course Evaluation Form, Spring 2011, The George Washington University, Washington, DC

“Strong points of the course were the knowledge and expertise of the instructor, the guest speakers we had who were also experts in the field, and the last but not least, the subject matter. The subject of the course alone lends itself to extremely interesting readings and research, and I really enjoyed being exposed to the discipline.”

Anonymous Student in the Course Evaluation Form, Spring 2012, The George Washington University, Washington, DC

“DIWDC started as a small institute here at the heart of Washington, DC. The think-tank has found its niche and voice to serve the scientific and international community. DIWDC has helped to intensify transatlantic relations and collaboration with various groups at the World Bank. In particular, it has facilitated our collaboration with IZA by mobilizing the local fellow labor economists. The research and policy analysis that DIWDC is producing, is also very relevant for the work that we are doing to improve labor market outcomes in developing countries. We also appreciate the annual workshops that DIWDC has organized with the World Bank, including the "German Day on Development." These have brought together high level experts from Europe, the US and the World Bank. The meetings have been particularly useful to improve our understanding of issues related to conflict and migration in low income countries. We look forward to continuing benefiting from the support and knowledge generated by DIWDC and its Executive Director.”

David A. Robalino , Labor and Youth Team Leader - Social Protection & Labor, The World Bank, Washington, DC

"DIW DC has played an important role in providing a platform for the exchange of ideas and research, and   tightening the connections among scholars from Europe and the U.S.   Kudos to Dr. Amelie Constant for these   accomplishments in such a short period."

Erdal Tekin , The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA

“Having been on the Board of the Scientific Advisors of DIWDC since the beginning I know well the amount of research output, the service to education and the initiatives in the transatlantic arena that DIWDC has produced. I have always been impressed by it and by the enthusiasm and passion of its Executive Director, Amelie Constant.”

Christopher Pissarides , 2010 Nobel Prize Laureate, Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, London, The UK