Our team members and their knowledge are our resources. They combine social science expertise and interdisciplinary competence. This is our basis for the creation of new concepts and realistic and viable solutions which lead to the development of models, processes and projects, achieving optimal results. We deal with the coordination and management of regional and international projects on a daily basis and have wide-ranging experience in this field. Because communication is essential, please do not hesitate to contact us directly.

Dr. Karin Stiehr is an associate partner and the director of ISIS. As a social scientist, she is an advisor to the provincial governments of Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. She researches structural processes and coordinates regional, domestic and European social science and social policy projects; especially, those concerning demographic changes and civil society. Dr. Stiehr focuses on the situation of older women, the living conditions of the older people (especially, isolated persons) and the quality of life in homes for the aged. She is also active in the field of setting up voluntary services for older people. As an evaluator, Karin Stiehr participates in programmes to insure the quality of EU projects. Her working languages are German and English.

Dr. Karl Mingot,studied sociology at the Universities of Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Giessen. He is trained in techniques of objective hermeneutics and in conversation analysis. His research focuses mainly on the way people perceive artefacts, the historic development of occupations requiring professionalization, poverty in Germany, as well as living in old age. Conducting case studies and project evaluation are his main tasks with ISIS. Karl Mingot speaks German, French and English.

Lamia Chérif graduated from the Dresden University of Technology with a Bachelor of Romance Studies in French and Spanish with a particular focus on cultural studies. Subsequently, she completed a German-French double master at the Universities of Strasbourg and Passau in the subjects International Relations and European Studies. Since the end of 2018 she is working for ISIS, especially in the fields of promoting quality of life of older people and the integration of refugees. She is currently involved in European projects on valuing the knowledge of very old people and on integrating refugees in the labour market. She is also working on the study “Survey of refugee women in shelters and hotels in Frankfurt”. Lamia Chérif speaks German, French, English and Spanish.

Jana Eckert has studied social sciences (diploma) at JLU Giessen with majors in sociology and political science and the secondary subjects psychology and psychosocial medicine. Her education focused on quantitative social research and on health-related issues. Since mid-2013 she is working for ISIS, especially in the fields of geriatric care and promoting quality of life of older people. She is currently involved in an European research project on enhancing the social and digital participation of older people. Jana Eckert speaks German and English.

Jesper Schulze studied social sciences with a focus on sociology and social psychology in Hanover and then moved to the Goethe University Frankfurt for his master’s degree in sociology. His studies focused on theories and concepts of social inequality with a special emphasis on poverty and gender studies. He is currently involved in European projects on adult education. Here he is working on innovative interdisciplinary concepts to ensure quality of life in an aging society and on the topics of racism and diversity. Jesper Schulze speaks German and English.

Welela Samson studied sociology (Bachelor) at the Goethe-University in Frankfurt, where she is currently completing her master’s degree in humangeography. Her studies focus on critical migration studies, critical urban studies and postcolonial feminist theory. During a semester abroad at the Grenoble Alpes University in France, she further educated herself on the field of International Development Studies. She also gained experience in working with people with migration and flight history and started working at ISIS in 2019. She is working on a project with refugee women in Frankfurt and also supervises a project on age-friendly environments. Welela Samson speaks German, English, Amharic and French.

Renata Openchowska Renata Openchowska is working for ISIS as an administratvie assistant since December 2014.She completed an apprenticeship as an economic technician for finance and accounting and studied economics at Bogdana Janskiego University of Applied Sciences in Lomza, Poland. She holds the IHK certificates “Administration of Human Resources” and “Accounting”. At ISIS, Renata Openchowska is in charge of the usual administrative activities and in particular the accounting of Eu-funded projects. She speaks Polish, Russian and German.