Conducting research and cooperating in a legally compliant manner
Export control officer Katrin Bombitzki advises researchers and administrators on international projects
Katrin Bombitzki has been our university's export control officer since August 1, 2025. In this role, she helps researchers make sure their research, collaborations, and international projects are legally compliant. She spent four years exporting dual-use goods in the field of medical technology to countries outside Europe and 13 years helping to build a binational university in the Middle East. In an interview, Katrin Bombitzki spoke with editor Ines Perl about how she is approaching her new role, what tasks await her, and what goals she has for the coming months.
How was your start at our university?
Overall, it was a busy start. But I didn't expect anything else. I knew that I would be setting up and designing a completely new area of responsibility. I was delighted by the trust and appreciation shown for the ideas and designs I contributed.
Can you explain in simple terms what export control means at a university?
Export control at a university affects everyone. We want to live, research, and work in a safe and free environment. To continue to do so, we need pillars of stability. Export control can create this framework for secure scientific exchange. Everyone should be happy to support this.
What motivated you to take on this task?
I was excited about developing and shaping this new area of focus at OVGU. It is relevant for every employee and researcher, which means that my work has a holistic approach. This also gives me insight into all structures and administrative units. Opportunities like this to shape such processes in an established organization and, if necessary, adapt them to today's conditions are rare. I am talking about nothing less than the global security situation.
What specific tasks will be part of your daily work in the future?
I will advise employees, researchers, and the university management on the secure planning of For example, I will advise on international project work and cooperation, prepare training courses, and support the network of export control officers within Germany and across the EU. In addition, I will set up an internal compliance program so that everyone involved feels confident in applying foreign trade law and, above all, can assess whether it applies to the planned project at all.
Challenges at all levels
Where do you see the biggest challenges in your new role?
The challenges are basically at all levels: from preparing understandable explanations of legal content that requires clarification, to implementing the necessary measures and integrating them into almost all administrative and organizational units of the OVGU as secure processes, to reducing any skepticism that employees and researchers may have about the topic.
How would you like to support the scientists in their work?
I think the most important thing is to formulate a comprehensible offer. In my experience, it is important to establish secure processes and structures for this topic, especially for scientists whose expertise lies in other areas. Ultimately, I want to be there as a reliable contact person.
What role do collaborations with international partners play in your work?
I think this issue is most complex in the area of export control for universities. Sanctions, country embargoes, dual-use technologies, and general knowledge transfer and exchange with non-European third countries must all be taken into account. Certain review questions and review documents, which I have already prepared on the website, often in graphic form, help to assess the situation accurately. As a rule, these are projects and collaborations that take place in Europe or have been concluded with so-called EU001 countries, i.e., countries that are not subject to embargoes.
The area of armaments, military developments, and research requires particular attention. There is currently a lot of change in this area. These are often dual-use goods, i.e., goods, whether physical or intangible in the form of knowledge, that are certainly relevant in foreign trade law, as the potential for misuse is considered high. We must continue to discuss these issues in order to conduct ethically responsible research and development.
How do you deal with the tension between freedom of research and legal requirements?
To be honest, I'm pretty relaxed about this when it comes to export control. At the moment, I don't see any overregulation, just a lot of uncertainty about how to deal with the rules and how to establish them in structures that may already exist or are yet to be set up at OVGU. That's extra work, of course.
Basic research is and remains free. Anything that has industrial applications, could be misused, and does not take place within the EU is subject to rules, and that should reassure us all rather than cause us concern.
Stay in touch, use multipliers, create transparent structures
How would you like to raise awareness of export control at the university?
It is important—and this applies to all offers and services that require explanation—to remain in dialogue, to use multipliers, and to create transparent structures that signal to everyone that it is okay to be uncertain in this area. And it is okay to ask questions. Not everyone has all the expertise, and that is not necessary.
What goals have you set for yourself in your new role for the coming months?
Goals cannot be achieved alone. My experience with change processes is that external circumstances cannot be influenced. Change can only be initiated from within ourselves. I will not be able to reach those who are not open to this process. I invite everyone else to accompany me on this journey.
How do you collaborate with other departments or central offices at the university?
The first step was to develop a range of services. The second step involves small and large-scale discussions to determine key figures and lay the foundation for further work. These discussions also serve to listen and build trust in the joint process. The range of services will be further expanded and developed on this basis so that specific issues can be addressed. I am working on creating a training program and on keeping myself up to date and bringing myself up to speed. Because I also need training.
I actively approach multipliers, i.e., people who plan events or pass on information in their faculties or organizational units. The long-term establishment of recurring discussions will also be based on an internal compliance program. This requires risk analyses in cooperation with the faculties. So another task will be to set up working groups for this purpose.
What do you expect from university employees with regard to export control?
We have to be honest. Nobody was waiting for this issue to arise. From what I have observed, it has tended to be perceived as something to be feared. But contrary to what might be assumed, the rules are intended as protection, not as an obstacle to research.
The changes around us have already taken place. I would like the employees of the OVGU to have the courage to accept these changes, as I have myself.
Thank you very much for talking to us, Ms. Bombitzki.