Zarifa holds an MA in German Philology and Cultural Studies from the University of Copenhagen as well as a Master’s degree in Intercultural Education from FU Berlin. After spending seven years in Colombia, South America, where she taught at the country’s number one business college (as well as writing monthly articles for a local contemporary art magazine), she moved back to Berlin where she started to work in Science Management at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain. At SCIoI, she was responsible for establishing and managing the interdisciplinary doctoral program.