Dr. Olaf Jacob began his HNU career in 1994 at the newly founded "Neu-Ulm Department of the University of Applied Sciences Kempten/Neu-Ulm" as Professor of Business Informatics. As a founding member, he thus had the opportunity to actively shape the university since its inception and far beyond its independence in October 1998. University President Prof. Dr. Uta M. Feser appreciates Jacob as an "innovative forward thinker who brings ideas to fruition and is always there when you need him." For example, Jacob founded the Information Management and Corporate Communication (IMUK) degree programme in 2001, which is still successful today, the Faculty of Information Management in 2002, of which he was dean until 2017, and the Centre for Digitalisation (ZfD) in 2018. From 2017, Prof. Jacob contributed to the university management as Vice President for Research and Digitisation; he was also a member of the University Council.
In February 2021, Olaf Jacob entered a new phase of his life: retirement. His review of his long time at HNU is positive: "I enjoyed projects that involved exploring new things and moving the university forward - such as founding a faculty or planning and introducing an international Master's programme. Whenever it was a matter of showing "founding spirit" on the way from a small branch of the FH Kempten to an independent, innovative business school."
International commitment: unforgettable experiences in Africa
Prof. Olaf Jacob was instrumental in promoting the internationalisation of the HNU and made particular efforts to establish connections with Africa. His efforts earned him, among other things, the appointment as associate professor at the University of Western Cape, South Africa. He carried out numerous cooperative projects with partners, especially in Africa and South America. In this way, he developed valuable international strategic partnerships for HNU and made a decisive contribution to the university's international profile.
Together with Vice-President Prof. Dr. Thomas Bayer, Jacob conducted a first run of the cooperative international degree programme Health Information Management he developed in Meru, Kenya, in 2014. Prof. Bayer remembers vividly: "The campus of the university there bordered directly on Mount Kenya National Park with its fence and once, despite our captivating content and didactics, we couldn't stop our students from running outside excitedly in the middle of class to enjoy and photograph the sight of elephants grazing right by the fence 100 metres away, which of course we both then did."
"Integral personality": Prof. Jacob as an important advisor
Vice-President Prof. Dr. Julia Kormann vividly remembers her first meeting with Prof. Dr. Olaf Jacob: "I still remember my trial lecture. Olaf Jacob already struck me then as a personality of integrity." Later, Jacob always proved to be a valuable advisor for her, who had the ability to enrich problem solutions with innovative insights and perspectives. Kormann is very sorry that he is now retiring. "I wish him to keep in touch with South Africa," she says. Vice President Bayer also dedicates words of praise to his companion: "What I appreciate most about working with Olaf is his calmness and composure, his farsightedness as well as his structured approach. I have always been able to rely on him, his helpfulness and on agreements and arrangements made."
HNU President Prof. Dr. Uta. M. Feser wishes Prof. Jacob good health and that he can enjoy his retirement. This is to be expected. Because if you ask Olaf Jacob about his plans, he tells you the following: "I would like to visit all the partner universities in the world with which I have built up contacts once again now as a private citizen, in order to have more free time to delve deeper into the culture and history of the countries. Trips are planned to Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Tanzania, South Africa or Kenya, to name just a few examples."
