Born in Chemnitz, Saxony, he studied German as a Foreign Language, French, and General and Comparative Literature at Leipzig University. After graduating he was a lecturer with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) at the Université de Savoie in Chambéry for five years, where he taught German as a Foreign Language at all levels from beginners to advanced, held special seminars in German Studies (phonetic, linguistic, cultural studies and translation), and organised study trips to Germany. In 2011 he moved to Berlin to join a project in the district of Neukölln which assisted children of new immigrants, with limited or no German skills, to more quickly and easily gain a foothold in the German school system. He then joined the Freie Universität Berlin and became coordinator of the Berlin European Studies Program FU-Best.