Into their second term of office with commitment, ideas and assertiveness: Vice President and Vice Presidents confirmed in office

The Vice Presidents of TU Ilmenau are proposed by the President and appointed in agreement with the Academic Senate. It is made up of university lecturers, employees and students. In December 2020, the University Assembly of TU Ilmenau elected Prof. Kai-Uwe Sattler as the new President of the university for a term of six years. The following February, the Senate completed the university's Executive Board by approving the appointment of the Vice Presidents, including the newly created position of Vice President for International Affairs and Transfer.

"I was delighted that all three agreed when I approached them about a second term of office and, of course, that the Senate approved the election proposal. This means we can continue our joint work," said the University President:

We see the Senate's approval as a sign of trust, but at the same time also as a mandate to tackle the challenges ahead with commitment, ideas and assertiveness and to further develop the TU together with all members of the university.

Prof. Anja Geigenmüller, Vice President for Teaching and Learning, also sees particular challenges in this area:

A nationwide decline in interest in STEM degree courses and an increasingly heterogeneous student body require new ideas for course content, forms of study and teaching as well as degree courses. In the next term of office, the focus will therefore be on renewing TU Ilmenau's degree course portfolio.

Together with her colleagues and the entire university, the Vice President would also like to work on ideas and concepts for the integration of international students at various levels: "This concerns both course structures as well as study preparation and support during their studies," says Prof. Geigenmüller. The coming term of office will also include system reaccreditation: "This is the direct prerequisite for us being able to implement such an attractive range of courses."

Prof. Stefan Sinzinger, Vice President for Research and Young Scientists, would like to further improve the academic environment for doctoral students, early career researchers and new colleagues in the coming term of office.

I am looking forward to tackling the upcoming tasks with a great deal of optimism and positive energy, supporting the diversity and openness of critical scientific thinking and making the TU Ilmenau even more visible internationally as an excellent scientific location through targeted profiling and prioritization.

said the Vice President.

Prof. Jens Müller was also pleased with his re-election and thanked the Senate for its trust. As Vice President for International Affairs and Transfer, he continues to see internationalization as a key element for the recruitment of young talent and the further development of the university. "One focus of the coming term of office will therefore be the expansion of relations with universities within Europe," said Prof. Müller. However, the transfer measures are also to be continuously expanded and consolidated: "Specifically, once the Ilmkubator funding comes to an end, the aim will be to permanently establish the core elements of our start-up service and create synergies with other available structures." The topic of sustainability is particularly important to the Executive Board.

Together, we want to live up to our role model function in society and develop the university into a sustainable community across all levels of university life

says Prof. Müller.