As part of the Hightech Agenda Bayern, the SPP creates special incentives for outstanding scientists with its “Spitzenprofessur (HaW)” funding line: thanks to attractive, competitive conditions, it should be easier for universities of applied sciences (HAW) to attract renowned scientists from Germany and abroad in order to increase their performance and expand or strengthen their future profiles.
The HNU has successfully completed the SPP selection process and has brought excellent reinforcements on board with the funding: Prof. Dr. Marten Risius moved from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, to the university in Neu-Ulm for the top professorship. “The top professorship is a great and responsible opportunity to strengthen the appeal of HNU,” says HNU President Prof. Dr. Uta M. Feser. “We are very pleased that we have been able to recruit Prof. Dr. Marten Risius, a proven luminary who will ideally complement our research and further advance it with her impressive expertise.” The research focus of the new top professor - “Digital Society and Online Engagement” with a focus on Trust and Safety (T&S) in Social Media - expands HNU research on artificial intelligence and digitization and offers links to the HNU doctoral center “Digital Innovations for the Changing Society” (DIWAG).
Prof. Dr. Marten Risius: outstanding business information scientist with international expertise
Prof. Dr. Marten Risius studied psychology at the University of Osnabrück and completed his doctorate in business informatics at the House of Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt. As a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Mannheim, he managed the “ForDigital” research network between the University of Mannheim and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). His career then took him abroad: an assistant professorship at Clemson University in South California, USA, was followed by a position as Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland (UQ) in Brisbane, Australia, where he was awarded the Discovery of Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) as one of the Australian Research Council's (ARC) outstanding young researchers. The newly appointed top professor will bring his network at UQ to HNU for future research collaborations.
More about the Top Professorship Program
With the SPP as part of the Bavarian High-Tech Agenda, the Bavarian Ministry of Science is promoting research at the highest level. A successful appointment under the program at a state university of applied sciences is endowed with up to 3.5 million euros over a period of five years in addition to the staff position provided by the university. This creates excellent conditions for top-level research by proven luminaries from Germany and abroad. In the years 2021 to 2023, around 43 million euros have been earmarked for the top professorship program.
Further information
To the press release of the State Ministry of Science and the Arts with video interview with Prof. Dr. Marten Risius (opens in a new window)
To the interview on the HNU science blog
