TUM Ambassador Jonathan C. Onyekwelu

„TUM is my second home”

20. Nov 2025 |

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Dr. Jonathan C. Onyekwelu has been researching sustainable forest management for more than three decades. The tropical tree species, Gmelina arborea, has been a particular focus of his career – from the laboratories in Weihenstephan to reforestation projects in Nigeria. What began as a doctoral thesis at TUM continues to shape Nigeria’s ecosystem and international scientific exchange to this day. In 2025, Jonathan Onyekwelu will be honored as a TUM Ambassador.

Prof. Dr. Jonathan Onyekwelu is one of Africa’s leading forestry scientists. During his career, he has researched many plant species, including Garcinia kola, or bitter kola, and Chrysophyllum albidum, African star apple. But there is one species he keeps coming back to, which is Gmelina arborea. The tree species is a fast-growing tropical plantation tree whose flowers attract bees and butterflies and the wood can be used to make furniture. Gmelina arborea can be used to restore damaged soil to health.

Jonathan Onyekwelu wrote his bachelor’s and master’s theses on this plant species, which was named after the German botanist, Johann Georg Gmelin. It was also because of this tree species that he came to Germany, a country with a century-old forestry tradition. When he first came to TUM in the late 1990s to pursue his doctoral studies, he continued his research on the growth characteristics of Gmelina arborea under his doctoral supervisor, Prof. Dr. Reinhard Mosandl. To this day, he still receives request for these early publications and sought out by forestry organizations for advice.

I am proud to be a TUM Alumnus.

Jonathan C. Onyekwelu
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And to this day, this plant reminds him of how much his time at the Weihenstephan campus in Freising means to him. “Without TUM, I may never have become a professor,” he says. “It’s my second home.” For Jonathan Onyekwelu, that means friends who care for each other, eat together, and speak a common language.

“I am proud to be a TUM Alumnus. I promote the university’s ideas and values wherever and whenever I can,” he emphasizes. Be it as a visiting professor in Freising, as a host for TUM students in Akure, or as the initiator of a memorandum of understanding between TUM and the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), to further strengthen the exchange. His appointment as TUM Ambassador by TUM President Thomas F. Hofmann in December 2025 therefore means a great deal to him: “For me, this award is a formal recognition of what I have done for TUM over the years. It shows that my connection to the university and to Germany is internationally recognized.”

Since 2013, TUM has honored international visiting scholars every year who have made lasting contributions to the university during their stay through their scientific expertise and international experience. TUM Ambassadors serve as links between TUM and the international academic research and industrial community.

A partnership that lives on

TUM Ambassador Jonathan Onyekwelu sees the close cooperation between TUM and FUTA as a long-term project – far beyond his own career. “I want the relationship to continue, even after my time here,” he says. He is already supporting colleagues who are planning research stays in Germany or want to apply for DAAD scholarship programs or Humboldt Research Fellowship. It is particularly important to him to open up opportunities for exchange and further training for young scientists from Nigeria. “This is good for the future of our universities. This cooperation strengthens both sides.” Nigeria can learn a lot from Germany’s long-standing silviculture and forest science, while Germany benefits from Nigerian knowledge about the intricacies of tropical forests.

Between two homes

After completing his doctorate, Jonathan Onyekwelu knew immediately that he wanted to return to his home country, Nigeria, to pass on all the knowledge he had acquired – despite suggestion from his German host professor at TUM to stay. Nevertheless, he has returned more than 15 times since then, as an Alexander von Humboldt research fellow, a DAAD visiting professor or through research collaborations. More than two decades later, his arrival still follows the same pattern: when Jonathan Onyekwelu arrives in Freising, the phone rings the next day at the latest: Jonathan, you’re here! Let’s meet up! “Then we eat together, like we used to,” he says. His colleagues first introduced him to the Bavarian traditions of Weißwurst and Leberkäse in the late 1990s, and it was a hit – on both sides. Jonathan Onyekwelu regularly brings plantains, yams, and dried fish from Nigeria, and sometimes his wife, who sometimes comes along with him to Freising, cooks okra soup, and then everyone gets together.

.If you understand the language, you understand the people.

Jonathan C. Onyekwelu
„

As a mentor, he advises students from abroad to embrace Germany. “Many only connect with their own indigenous communities – but that’s not how integration works. Speak the language, eat the food, understand the culture. Then, at some point, you’ll really feel at home.” That’s what he did with his wife and two children back then, one of whom was even born in Freising.

This openness has shaped Jonathan Onyekwelu – and it is perhaps the secret of his success. “If you understand the language, you understand the people. And if you embrace the country, you can not only do research, but also grow.”

Prof. Dr. Jonathan C. Onyekwelu

TUM Ambassador 2025

Dr. Jonathan Onyekwelu is a professor of forestry at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) in Nigeria, which he left in 1991 as the top graduate in the Department of Forestry and Wood Technology. After completing his doctorate in silviculture at TUM (1998–2001), he returned to the Weihenstephan campus as a Humboldt Fellow in 2004.

This led to a life-long collaboration with TUM, with over fifteen research stays and three DAAD visiting professorships. His research on biodiversity, ecosystem restoration, and carbon sequestration is internationally recognized. Through his projects, he combines scientific excellence with social impact: he transfers research findings into sustainable land use and climate protection measures in Nigeria and builds bridges between science and the local community.

“Being able to improve life for future generations gives me satisfaction,” says Jonathan Onyekwelu. As a mentor and initiator of numerous collaborations, he embodies the spirit of global partnership, for which he will be honored as a TUM Ambassador in 2025.

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