New to the Executive Board:  Prof. Dr. Stephan Trahasch, Rector of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences

Prof. Dr. Stephan Trahasch, Rector of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences, will join the HAfM Executive Board as a new member for the next two years. As the University Alliance for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses explains in a statement, he will replace Prof. Dr. Susanne Weissman, President of Mainz University of Applied Sciences, who did not stand for re-election. Furthermore, Prof. Dr. Kira Kastell, President of Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences, was confirmed as Chair of the Executive Board and Prof. Dr. Andreas Wilms, President of Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences, was confirmed as a member of the Executive Board. Prof. Dr. Peter Ritzenhoff (Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences) will continue to serve as Managing Director.

Prof. Kastell is now entering another term as chair of the HAfM with new ideas and proven formats such as the Berlin Transfer Conference. In 2022, the president of Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences, who has been in office since 2021, was elected chair of the HAfM for the first time. During her professorship in transmission technology in the field of computer science and engineering at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, the doctor of electrical engineering (Technical University of Darmstadt) was already involved as chairwoman of the VDI network Women in Engineering. She studied at Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences and the FernUniversität in Hagen and, as a project engineer, helped to set up a radio network for Deutsche Bahn. "It is particularly important to me to continue to promote the recruitment of skilled workers and the transfer of knowledge in my role as HAfM chairwoman. The Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences, located in a region characterised by small and medium-sized enterprises, is keen to further develop these key issues together with its members nationwide," said Prof. Kastell.

Prof. Wilms will also begin his second term in 2025 as President of Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences and as a member of the HAfM Executive Board. ‘I am very grateful for the trust placed in me and look forward to continuing the successful cooperation with all members,’ said Prof. Wilms. Among other things, special attention will be paid to the area of social responsibility and innovation at universities of applied sciences and small and medium-sized enterprises. Prof. Wilms was appointed professor of general business administration, specialising in financial management, at the Faculty of Economics at Brandenburg University of Applied Sciences in 2012. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant at the Boston Consulting Group from 2009 to 2012, primarily for clients in the consumer goods and energy sectors in strategy, (re)organisation and finance projects. The trained banker completed his studies at the Leipzig Graduate School of Management, where he was also a research assistant from 2004 to 2008.

Prof. Trahasch was newly elected to the HAfM Executive Board. The Rector of Offenburg University of Applied Sciences since 2021, he was appointed Professor of Business Communication Systems and IT Security at Offenburg University of Applied Sciences in 2012 and headed the Institute for Machine Learning and Analytics. He studied mathematics, computer science and German language and literature and earned his doctorate in computer science at the University of Freiburg. After completing his doctorate, he worked for several years as an IT consultant in various companies. ‘My particular interest within the HAfM is to strengthen cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises and universities of applied sciences in dialogue with politicians,’ said the newly elected board member.
The members thanked Prof. Dr. Weissman for her great commitment and her work on the board. The president of Mainz University of Applied Sciences will retire at the end of February next year and is therefore not available for another term of office.

Source: Hochschulallianz für den Mittelstand e.V. (University Alliance for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses)
Press spokesperson Dr. Cornelia Driesen
Email: presse@hochschulallianz.de