Dr. Robin Sackmann is the founder and director of DSLC. He was born and grew up in Einbeck (near Hanover in the northern part of Germany). He studied Linguistics, Chinese Studies, and Computer Science in Berlin and Shanghai and worked at Freie Universität Berlin for many years, before coming to Hong Kong in 2005. Apart from his work at DSLC, he has also served as Honorary Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University of Hong Kong from 2012 till 2018. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking and camping in Hong Kong, travelling in Asia and Europe, and reading about cosmology and physics. He also likes jazz and classical music.
Our DSLC teacher Margarita Liebrecht was born to German parents in Nekrasovo (Russia) and grew up in Osnabrück (West Germany), where she was raised bilingually. She has been interested in learning languages from an early age on and speaks German, English, Spanish, French and Russian. She studied Foreign Language Education for her M.A. at the University of Osnabrück and came to Hong Kong in 2019 to work as a German teacher and Head Teacher, before she joined DSLC in 2022. Alongside her passion for linguistics, Margarita is also a dedicated teacher and has taught students from all age groups. In her leisure time, she enjoys skating, trail running in the mountains of Hong Kong and is a passionate musician too.
Our DSLC teacher Dominic Meißner was born and grew up in Nuremberg, Germany. As a child of a German father and a Greek mother, he was exposed from early on to living with different cultures. He studied International Management and Law and worked as a tutor at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg where he got his Master degree in 2008. Later he pursued a business career that led him to Shenzhen, China, in 2010. Since that time, he has been living and working all across China till joining DSLC in 2019. Prior to teaching German, he trained professionals in intercultural management and quality control. In his free time, he enjoys cycling and classical music.
Our DSLC teacher Axel Schunk was born and grew up in Chemnitz (Southwest Saxony, Germany), and studied in Aachen (Germany), Uppsala (Sweden), and Vienna (Austria). After teaching at a secondary school in Vienna and conducting seminars for different NGOs, he came to Hong Kong in 2018 and started teaching at DSLC in 2019. Axel has a particular interest in environmental sustainability, and has worked on numerous projects in Europe and Asia. He enjoys sports, hiking and travelling and everything to do with nature and outdoor activities.
Our DSLC teacher Martin Li was born in Berlin, grew up in Gummersbach (a small town near Cologne in western Germany) and studied at the University of Trier (southwest of Germany). He moved to Hong Kong and started teaching at DSLC in 2015. He is very interested in Asian culture and greatly enjoys the diversity of metropolitan life in Hong Kong. He also likes all kinds of outdoor activities such as road cycling, hiking and photography.
Our DSLC teacher Dr. Stephan Ortmann was born in Marburg and grew up mostly in Roigheim, a small village in Southwest Germany. He studied at the University of Tübingen and Erlangen-Nuremberg. He moved to Hong Kong in 2011 because of his interest in Asian societies and has joined DSLC in 2020. Apart of his work as a German teacher, he has also been teaching Asian Studies and Politics at different universities in Germany and Hong Kong. He has studied five languages including Cantonese. He loves Hong Kong’s amazing mountains and has climbed almost all of them.
Our DSLC teacher Jan-Patrik Reimann was born and grew up in a family of teachers near the university town of Tübingen (southwest of Germany) and studied in Beijing, Glasgow and Oxford. He moved to Hong Kong in 2013 and started teaching at DSLC in 2017. Apart from his work at DSLC, he has been conducting leadership training and cultural workshops for secondary students for the past four years. He speaks five languages, including Cantonese, and enjoys mountain as well as water sports. He also likes football and playing the piano.
Our DSLC teacher Dr. Katalin Szarvas was born in Hungary but spent part of her childhood in Germany. After her Master's degree in German Studies, she earned a PhD. in Linguistics at the University of Siegen, Germany. She was then teaching German as a foreign language for several years in Germany. After working four years as a lecturer for German in Shanghai, she moved to Hong Kong in 2017 and joined DSLC in 2019. Katalin is interested in foreign cultures and the life of people in Asia. She also enjoys traveling and photography.
