Meet The IMPACT 
Institute

Maryana was born in Ukraine in 1980 and completed her master's degree at the National University of Kyiv. She worked in various positions as a journalist and media manager and for the USAID Go Women Program in Ukraine and has extensive experience in media management and communications. She was also a mentor in the UN Women Program “Gender Equality and the Advancement of Women in National Reforms, Peace and Security”. 

Tetiana was born in Ukraine in 1996 and completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Metrology and Measurement Technologies at the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute” in Kyiv. She worked as a metrology intern and as an administrative management assistant before moving to Austria. She also volunteered in Vienna, supporting Ukrainian schoolchildren with their learning and integration.

Born in the Czech Republic in 1975, Andrea completed her engineering studies at the University of Zlín. She has now lived in Austria for 25 years and worked in the technical industry and in project management. 

Sabrina is an ISO-certified adult education trainer and online tutor. She specializes in German training for executives and academics, offering business communication, conversation training, and exam preparation. With extensive work experience in Spain and Sweden, she has been working as a freelance German trainer in Vienna for several years.

Andriiana is a trainer for German as a foreign language. In 2023, she received a Master's degree in Teaching German as a Second and Foreign Language at the University of Jena (Germany), and afterward, she spent one year as a language assistant at the University of Ostrava (Czech Republic). In the summer of 2024, she moved to Vienna, where she teaches General German and German for the office. 

Zsuzsanna completed her studies in German studies and German language teaching at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. She then worked for over 20 years as a lecturer in business languages (German/Hungarian) and as a speaker on intercultural communication at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, where she also contributed as a textbook author. Since 2004, she has been teaching German as a foreign and second language in adult education at various educational institutions and works as an examiner at ÖSD examination centers.

Mag. Martin Höffinger, born in Linz in 1970, studied Business Administration at the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) and has spent over 25 years in management for international companies such as Greiner, Umdasch, and Bene. In addition to German and English, he speaks French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian. At the Safavi Impact Institute, he teaches courses in Business German and Conversation.

Helge Winkler is a German language trainer and language coach with many years of international experience in adult education. He studied Linguistics, Eastern European Studies, and Jewish Studies at the Free University of Berlin and has been teaching German as a foreign and professional language for over 20 years in Austria, Hungary, and the USA. He specializes in professional German for academics, particularly in the medical field.

Christiane is a DaF/DaZ trainer and ÖSD examiner with many years of experience in adult education. She completed a DaF/DaZ training programme for educators at BFI Vienna and holds ÖSD examiner qualifications for levels A1 to C1. Since 2016, she has been teaching German at various language levels and preparing participants for ÖSD, telc and ECL examinations.

A particular focus of her work is job-specific German in the healthcare sector. Christiane has extensive experience teaching German for healthcare professionals, including courses for nursing staff. At the Safavi Impact Institute, she teaches German for medical professionals, helping participants develop the language skills they need for their professional practice in the Austrian healthcare system.

Madeline Safavi is currently obtaining her bachelor’s degree and working as Intern Fashion Editor at Vogue magazine. She holds an International Baccalaureate degree from Aiglon College in Switzerland and as the Prokuriist member of the Board of Directors, she is responsible for programme success and evaluation.