University Rector Pellert:

“Carinthia could be the most exciting region in Europe”

Ada Pellert in front of the portraits of her predecessors: she is the first female rector at the AAU.

(Bild: Evelyn Hronek)

Ada Pellert is the first woman to head the Alpen-Adria-Universität in Klagenfurt - in an interview with "Krone" she explains her plans, where there is still some catching up to do and how political education at universities can succeed.

"Krone": You are the first female rector of the AAU - even though the university is so young. Do women do the job differently to men?
Ada Pellert: My goal of equality is that there can be as many different women as men. At the end of the day, there are simply different personalities. I went into university management in 1999, as Vice-Rector in Graz. At that time there wasn't a single female rector in Austria. Hello?! So there was obviously something systematic there. In this respect, we are still happy that a woman is in the position for once. But in Germany I've already had a lot of female colleagues, and there are more and more. But you're right, it obviously took 54 years at the University of Klagenfurt. I was also the first female rector at the University of Hagen, which has just turned 50. So, yes, there is some catching up to do.