Prof. Anja Geigenmüller elected Vice President for Learning and Teaching

Professor Anja Geigenmüller is the new Vice President for Learning and Teaching at the Technische Universität Ilmenau. The professor for Marketing and head of the department of the same name at the Department of Economic Sciences and Media was confirmed today (July 7, 2020) by a large majority of the Academic Senate of the TU Ilmenau as Vice President for Learning and Teaching. The term of office is three years. Prof. Anja Geigenmüller succeeds Prof. Jürgen Petzoldt, who retired as Vice President for Learning and Teaching.

"I will do my utmost to further strengthen the University as an attractive address for students," said Professor Geigenmüller after her election as Vice President. The most urgent tasks are the planning for the winter semester, the reform of the degree programs and the revision of the quality management to maintain the system accreditation.

The Vice Presidents of the TU Ilmenau are proposed by the President and appointed in agreement with the Senate. Professor Geigenmüller was the preferred candidate of the Interim President of the TU Ilmenau, Prof. Kai-Uwe Sattler, who has been in office since 17 June:

    "Anja Geigenmüller, with her many years of commitment at the head of the Department of Economic Sciences and Media, but also on university committees, has recommended herself for this office in a special way. I am particularly pleased that she accepted my proposal for candidacy, because we have already worked together very well in the past in various committees and I have come to appreciate her as a very committed and constructive colleague".

Anja Geigenmüller studied Business Administration at the TU Freiberg and completed her doctorate in 2003, in 2011 she habilitated. From 2003 to 2008 she was a visiting professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration and at the EGADE Business School in Mexico City. In 2012 the TU Ilmenau appointed her as a university professor. Her teaching and research focus on the areas of Marketing of Services, Brand Management as well as Capital Goods and Technology Marketing. Her work also focuses on the Management of Business Relations, especially in Technology Transfer, and Science Communication. She has successfully recruited research projects from the German Research Foundation (DFG), among others. At the TU Ilmenau, Professor Geigenmüller contributes her scientific expertise beyond her own field of study to several inter-departmental, interdisciplinary projects.

In 2019, Professor Geigenmüller was elected Dean of her home department, where she had previously served as Vice Dean. She has been involved in the university's committees for several years, including the Senate and the Senate Committees for Curriculum and Teaching and Research. In addition, she is a member of several non-university scientific committees and thus also has experience in science management.

In her new office, Professor Geigenmüller succeeds the long-standing Vice President (Prorektor) for Learning and Teaching, Professor Jürgen Petzoldt, who retired on 30 June 2020. The term "Prorektor" was replaced by the term Vice President when the new Thuringian Higher Education Act (ThürHG) came into force in 2018. The Presidential Board, the University Management, then consists of the President, the Vice President for Teaching and Learning, the Vice President for Research and the Director of Administration and Finance of the University.

The acting President of the TU Ilmenau, Professor Kai-Uwe Sattler, thanked the retired Vice President for his intensive and varied commitment over the past 16 years. During his many years of service, Prof. Jürgen Petzoldt had successfully led far-reaching processes such as the introduction of the Bachelor/Master system. In 2012, the TU Ilmenau was the first technical university in Germany to be awarded system accreditation for all its degree programs. Professor Sattler made special mention of the fact that Jürgen Petzoldt repeatedly initiated innovative training and teaching models, such as the Basic Engineering School sponsored by the federal government: "His main concern was not only to ensure the high quality of teaching at TU Ilmenau, but also to increase students' motivation to study and reduce the number of dropouts. Professor Petzoldt has thus rendered outstanding services to the continuous development of teaching and studies at TU Ilmenau".