idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
"The business of business is business", economist Milton Friedman once declared. Yet today, many companies aim not only to generate profits, but also to assume social responsibility. How can these two goals be reconciled? Entrepreneur Adina Deacu is exploring this question during a year-long fellowship at RIFS.
"In the face of growing environmental degradation and social inequality, we need to redefine the social role of companies. My project aims to study organisations that are particularly innovative in this regard and to develop a framework for integrating sustainability into business models. In a next step, I would like to support a handful of select organisations in applying this framework," explains Deacu.
Expert for personal development
Recognising potential, making the abstract tangible, building bridges – Adina Deacu has plenty of experience in all three. After completing a degree in Urban Studies at the University of Architecture and Urban Planning “Ion Mincu” in Bucharest, she headed to Shanghai for an internship in 2012. There, she began learning Chinese – a pursuit which she continued during her subsequent Master's degree in Environmental Psychology at the University of Surrey in 2013. While still in the UK, she was awarded a scholarship by Shandong Provincial Government to return to China for a twelve-month Chinese language course in Qingdao. Since then, she has lived and worked in China and has long been fluent in the language.
Driven by a desire for new challenges, she eventually founded her own environmental psychology consultancy and embraced entrepreneurship: " When I was in Qingdao studying Chinese, it felt like not much was happening in the city. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and started organising events." Rather than focusing on specific topics, she had a goal in mind: to enable participants to expose themselves to different ideas and expand their horizons.
“Learning happens anywhere, anytime”
Following the success of her first events, Deacu, under her consultancy company, founded the platform "Tianmei's World Academy". "Tianmei" is her Chinese name but it also represents a set of values: diversity, inclusion, equity, and cross-functional dialogue. The name combines tian (meaning "day", “sky” and “heaven”) and mei, meaning “beautiful". By using Tianmei as the name of her platform, she aims to highlight an important truth: we don’t get to choose the environments we grow up in or the education we receive – yet these factors deeply influence the resources available to us. This reality must be acknowledged when we talk about equality.
The events organized by the academy are held in English and Chinese, with different formats at different times of day, and aim to promote inclusion, diversity, and the idea that “learning happens anywhere, anytime”. The different types of events also provide participants with more opportunities to experience the types of learning methods and environments that are most suitable for their individual needs.
“Potential can’t be measured with KPIs”
After her early years in Qingdao, Deacu moved to Shanghai in 2020 to develop her business in a more dynamic economic environment. Rather than relying on external investors, she reinvests company profits into its development – reflecting her belief that human potential can’t be captured by Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). “Different people have different talents, learning styles and rhythms.” Ensuring access to education for financially disadvantaged groups is a key priority for Deacu. That’s why she shares personal development resources free of charge through her social media platforms.
At RIFS, Adina Deacu holds the Klaus Töpfer Sustainability Fellowship, named after the former German Federal Minister for the Environment, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and founding director of the IASS (now RIFS). The fellowship is awarded to outstanding individuals who build bridges between science, politics, and society
Putting the pieces of the puzzle together
Instead of a bridge, Deacu prefers the image of a puzzle that she wants to help put together: "In Germany, as well as in other European countries and in China, there are so many approaches to social entrepreneurship. It's as if everyone holds a few pieces of a larger puzzle, but they are only playing with their own pieces. To complete the puzzle, you have to collaborate." Her first goal during her stay in Potsdam is to map out these puzzle pieces and build connections. Over the course of the year, she aims to develop a framework for sustainable business practices. Once complete, she plans to share her insights through publications, presentations, and workshops tailored to a range of audiences.
Adina Deacu
adina.deacu@rifs-potsdam.de
Adina Deacu is the 2025/26 Klaus Töpfer Sustainability Fellow.
Bianca Schröder
RIFS@GFZ
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