Ulrike Jessner-Schmid

Ulrike Jessner-Schmid is an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Innsbruck (Austria) and holds an academic position at North West University (South Africa). Her primary affiliation is with the Department of English. She holds a PhD in English and French Philology (1988) from Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, followed by a Habilitation (2006) at Leopold-Franzens Universität Innsbruck, recognized with the Liechtenstein Award. She also serves as an official representative for the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) since 2016.

Research Interests: Focuses on Applied Linguistics, Multilingualism, Third Language Acquisition (TLA), Metalinguistic Awareness, and Cross-cultural Pragmatics. Her work challenges monolingual educational norms, emphasizing multilingual advantages in cognitive development and pedagogical strategies.

Key Achievements: Received the Arthur-Haidl-Prize 2015 for the DyME research group's contributions to multilingualism research. Coordinates international partnerships, including with South Africa and Hungary, and leads the DyME (Dynamics of Multilingualism with English) research group. Her research extends to multilingual education in diverse contexts like South Tyrol, Tanzania, and South Africa.

Administrative Roles: Oversees linguistic publications, serves as a grant reviewer for FWF, and manages educational initiatives such as the MKT Metalinguistischer Kompetenztest for evaluating multilingual competencies. Her work bridges theory and practice, influencing language policies and teaching methodologies globally.