Dr. Simon Mamerow, IU International University of Applied Sciences / HTW Berlin

People are at the centre of the research of work anthropologist and futurologist Dr. Simon Mamerow. The Brain City Ambassador teaches at IU International University of Applied Sciences in Berlin, also works as a lecturer at HTW Berlin and is a member of the Commission for Studies and Teaching.

Which decisions are purely human and where are we individually? What constitutes culture? And how can freedom, opportunities and possibilities be brought together with technological development and responsibility? Dr. Simon Mamerow’s research focuses on the anthropology of work. In other words, it is generally concerned with what work does to people, their social environment and society – and with such questions in particular. “To do this, I draw on historical events. However, I also take into account current data that are collected as part of labour market monitoring and the national economy. My approach is interdisciplinary and is at the interface between economics and educational sciences,” explains the Brain City Ambassador, who works in the area of economics and management at the IU International University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. Simon Mamerow also teaches as a lecturer at the HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences. He has also already made a name for himself as a futurologist. “My current focus is on international chains, global management and the impact of digitalisation. These perspectives are particularly important due to the challenges posed by migration and digital transformation.”

Economic and technological change also led Simon Mamerow to his field of research. “I studied business administration at HTW Berlin. In the process, I increasingly realised that the models used are not sufficient to explain what is going on in times of massive change. However, people have remained the same. Over the past millennia that we can look back on today, it has practically not changed. So what can we say with what certainty about the future? And if simple ‘continuation’ is not possible, how do people then decide?” Parallel to his dissertation on the subject of “Work in the tension between society and the individual” at the Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin), Simon Mamerow advised companies and was thus able to check the sources of his assumptions. “This opened up this very specialised field of work for me. There are not many work anthropologists. Through one of my doctoral supervisors, Prof. Dr. Christoph Wulf, who heads the Society for Historical Anthropology at the FU Berlin, and my second supervisor Prof. Dr. Gerhard de Haan, Head of the Institut Futur,  I got to know the possibilities and approaches of futurology and was able to incorporate them into my work.”

The career of the Brain City Ambassador is unusual: I was born in Berlin-Kreuzberg and went to the Heinrich-Mann-Schule in Berlin-Neukölln, which was then notorious as a problem school. In the 1990s, this was the first school with its own security guards. Through the Lise Meitner School, a senior centre for natural sciences, I came to the Charité as part of my community service and worked there in academic administration,” says Simon Mamerow. After a few years of self-employment, he went to university. “I initially studied business administration at HTW Berlin. However, I was always drawn to the FU Berlin. I was particularly captivated by the ‘Language of Emotion’ programme. Understanding how emotions influence us and how they work was very appealing to me.”

According to Simon Mamerow, it took “some persuasion” to be admitted to the FU Berlin to study for a doctorate in educational science after completing his master’s degree in “Management for Work” at the HTW Berlin. His doctoral supervisor Dr. Christoph Wulf supported him. “So it happened that I was the only economist in Mr. Wulf’s graduate college. In my opinion, something like this is only possible in Berlin: To find people who are willing to take unusual paths. I finally completed my dissertation magna cum laude.”

Simon Mamerow is particularly fascinated by his native city of Berlin because it is constantly changing. “Berlin is very eventful and always a bit more extreme than other cities. The effects we see and feel in Berlin can often be felt throughout Germany a few years later. Berlin is therefore something like an incubator for the early phase of change.” This applies to topics such as digitalisation as well as crises. “In Berlin, the most diverse characters come together and there is little inhibition about contact. There may well be a currywurst stand next to KaDeWe that is not expensive. This is the Berlin spirit, which is invaluable for a lively mind and social research.”

Another important advantage of the city for him is the short distances. “You can find experts for almost any topic here; that is unique in Germany. Everything is concentrated in Berlin: Both light and shadow, allowing work at the highest level and lighthouse projects for Germany and Europe. Additionally, professional arrogance is rare. You can speak directly to almost anyone - regardless of their career level in management and science.”

Simon Mamerow recommends that young scientists develop their own initiative early on and look for synergies. “Berlin is often confusing and somewhat chaotic. But there’s nothing that Berlin doesn’t have. There is hardly a subject, hardly a topic, hardly a situation that does not have at least some local access. Following your own plan and perhaps taking detours to reach your goal works really well.” Simon Mamerow’s own career path is the best example of this. “If it doesn’t work right away, look for associates, because I’m sure someone somewhere is working on something that can be brought together with what you have in mind,” says the Brain City Ambassador and adds: “Berlin was never a particularly easy place. But if you are looking for ways, you can find them in this city.” (vdo)