Solvay Gerke

Prof. Dr. Solvay Gerke is the Director of the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and Professor of Political and Cultural Change at the University of Bonn. Since 2005, he has led ZEF’s Department for Political and Cultural Change, focusing on knowledge governance and local knowledge systems.

• Director, Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn
• Executive Director, Center for Development Research, University of Bonn (2007–present)
• Professor and Director, Department for Political and Cultural Change, ZEF (2005–present)
• Professor of Southeast Asian Studies, University of Bonn (1997–2005)

In the WISDOM project, he serves as Project Leader for Work Packages 2000 (Knowledge Management) and 5000. His career spans academic leadership roles, including Deputy Director of the Center for Asian Studies (1999–2000) and Director of the Seminar for Oriental Languages (1998–2000). Prior to ZEF, he was a Senior Researcher at Bielefeld University’s Faculty of Sociology (1990–1997).

• Research Interests: Knowledge governance, local knowledge systems, political and cultural change, Southeast Asian studies, and development research.
• Contact: Email: solvay.gerke@uni-bonn.de | Phone: +49 228 731970