Ulrike Plettenbacher

Ulrike Plettenbacher, Director of Austrian Affairs, joined CEU in the beginning of 2019. She began her career at CEU as Head of Operations (VPO), supporting and conducting CEU's move from Budapest to Vienna. 

Trained as a political scientist, Dr Plettenbacher studied at the University of Vienna. Her PhD is concerned with theories of democracy. Previously she was Secretary General of the Austrian Science Board (Österreichischer Wissenschaftsrat). Working with partners including the Austrian Parliament and the Ministry of Science, Dr Plettenbacher developed higher education strategies and policy recommendations, including quality measurement, performance agreements and university governance, as well as funding strategies for basic research in the humanities and social sciences. Prior to this, she worked as a political scientist with clients including the European Commission, the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Municipality of Vienna, where she concentrated on governmental reform and election behavour analysis.