Media

BIGSAS Alumna Dr Valerie Nur Receives Research Prize for Ethnography, June 26, 2026

We are delighted to congratulate Dr Valerie Nur, BIGSAS alumna, on receiving the 2026 Research Prize for Ethnography (Forschungspreis Ethnographie).

Dr Nur was honoured at the 10th Feldarbeitstage, held at TU Dortmund on 26–27 June 2026. The Research Prize for Ethnography, awarded by the Section for Sociology of Knowledge of the German Sociological Association (DGS), was jointly awarded to Dr Valerie Nur and Dr Luis Bastidas in recognition of their outstanding ethnographic research.

Dr Nur received the award for her book Die Unbeständigkeit der Dinge. Handwerk, Familie und Mobilität bei den Tuareg in Niger, published by Dietrich Reimer Verlag in 2024. The book is based on 21 months of ethnographic fieldwork and examines Tuareg craftsmanship as a social practice through which skills and knowledge are passed down across generations.

This is the third award Dr Nur has received for her dissertation/book, following the Frobenius Research Promotion Prize in 2022 and first prize from the German Association for Social and Cultural Anthropology (DGSKA) in 2023.

Dr Nur completed her doctorate at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies (BIGSAS) under the supervision of Prof Dr Gerd Spittler. We are very proud of this achievement and warmly congratulate Dr Nur on this latest recognition of her excellent research.

Photo: Dr Valerie Nur, Prof Norbert Schröer (laudator) and Prof Angelika Poferl (Chair of the Jury), from left to right. Photo by Dr Luis Bastidas.

Welcoming the Delegation of Moi University at BIGSAS, November 17, 2022

BIGSAS welcomed a delegation of Moi University, one of our six partner universities, to Bayreuth. The delegation consisted of Prof. Dr Isaac Sanga Kosgey (Vice Chancellor of Moi University), Prof. Charles Kipbichii Lagat (Director of Moi University’s International Office) and Prof. Dr Peter Simatei Tirop (Director of Moi University’s African Cluster Center). 

The event served to further adavance the friendship and academic exchange between the partner institutions.

BIGSAS Honorary Doctorate to West African Sociologist and Women's Rights Activist Fatou Sow, May 18, 2022

Senegalese sociologist and women's rights activist Fatou Sow was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bayreuth on May 18, 2022. Fatou Sow is a pioneer of gender studies in Africa and a feminist who has combined her scholarly work with decades of advocacy for women's rights in all areas of politics, society, economics, and religion. 

President’s Dinner, 19 November 2021

Outstanding teaching and research achievements, creative ideas, impressive social commitment, promotion of women: every year, the city, the University Association, the International Club and the University of Bayreuth honour extraordinary achievements by university members.

At this year’s dinner, two BIGSAS Junior Fellows have been awarded prizes for their outstanding accomplishments:

• Mingqing Yuan: Prize of the International Club for her important contributions to international intercultural perspectives
• Joh Sarre: Prize of the City of Bayreuth for her summa cum laude dissertation titled "'Some call it slum, we call it home!' - Negotiations of belonging among the Nubian inhabitants of Kibera, Kenya"

Award of the Klaus Dieter Wolff Prize 2021 to BIGSAS Junior Fellow Oladapo Ajayi

Our Junior Fellow Oladapo Ajayi received the Klaus Dieter Wolff Award of the Rotary Club of Bayreuth-Eremitage 2021. We would like to congratulate Mr Ajayi and express our appreciation for his commitment.

BIGSAS Journalist Award 2019

The BIGSAS Journalist Award has been awarded for the fifth time. The Award recognizes excellent journalism on Africa in German-speaking media. We would like to congratulate all awardees and epxress our appreciation for their unwavering commitment.