Prof. Dr. Michael Grünberger (Bucerius Law School): Diversity in Academia – Perspectives of a First-Generation Academic

This event is organised by Max Planck Law.

About the Speaker
Michael Grünberger is a German lawyer and academic specialising in private law, technology law, and non-discrimination law, among other areas. After completing his legal training at the University of Cologne and abroad, he worked as a professor, vice dean, and dean at the Faculty of Law and Economics at the University of Bayreuth. Since 1 October 2023, he has been President of Bucerius Law School, where he is driving forward the modernisation of legal education through innovative study formats, open learning environments, and a clear commitment to equity and inclusion.

About the Topic
In a short lecture titled "Diversity Stories of a Legal Scholar", Professor Michael Grünberger, President of Bucerius Law School, will share insights into his personal experience as a first-generation academic. Having grown up in modest circumstances as the child of a single mother on a small farm in South Tyrol, he knows from personal experience how crucial equal opportunities are for academic achievement. That is precisely why he is now committed to ensuring that everyone has access to excellent education—regardless of their background, gender, sexual orientation, or class.
Through the lens of educational sociology, Professor Grünberger will reflect on his own diversity stories — exploring where exclusion mechanisms operate, what facilitated his advancement, and what hindered it. He will also highlight how privileged his journey still was, despite the challenges. Rather than offering a detached analysis, he will speak deliberately from a diversity perspective first, and then — as the same person — take on the university leadership perspective. After all, educational advancement is always more than just an individual success story. His lecture invites us to understand how personal experience and institutional responsibility are inseparably connected when it comes to creating genuine equal opportunities in higher education.

The lecture will be followed by a moderated roundtable discussion with all participating researchers from Max Planck Law. This protected space will allow for open dialogue, questions, and the sharing of personal experiences, offering a valuable opportunity to reflect together on the challenges and possibilities of building a more diverse and inclusive academic community.

The lecture will be held as a hybrid event, both on site at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Mittelweg 187, 20148 Hamburg, and as a video conference via Zoom.

Please register no later than 12:30 p.m. on Monday, 4 May 2026 using this LINK.
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