Through his teachers Klaus Ludwig Janert and Albrecht Wezler, students of Paul Thieme, he was influenced by the stringent principles of philological research. He applied these principles when he instituted, in 2000, the new subject of South Asian Studies (Südasienkunde) at his university.
The author's teachers, Klaus Ludwig Janert and Albrecht Wezler, who were students of Paul Thieme, instilled in him a strong emphasis on rigorous philological research methods. This influence led him to establish the new field of South Asian Studies at his university in 2000.