Professor Dr. Jean Meyer commences his term of office as new president of THWS
Leadership handover at THWS: The end of the winter semester 2023/24 marks the end of Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Robert Grebner’s presidency; from summer semester 2024, Professor Dr. Jean Meyer will guide the direction of the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) for the six years to come. THWS invited their employees and professors, as well as representatives from politics, business, society, and Bavarian higher education institutions.
Minister Blume: Ceremonial address via video
After the welcome by the new president Professor Dr. Meyer, Markus Blume, State Minister for Science and Arts, gave his ceremonial address via video: “During your presidency, you have created something permanent,” emphasised State Minister Blume and thanked the outgoing president for his commitment over the past twelve years. “THWS is at an excellent position. THWS actually surfs a wave of success – AI, robotics – I can only put it like this: Lower Franconia breathes the spirit of the Silicon Valley. And it is the Franconian Technology Transfer Center champion with a total of five TTZs.”
Blume continued to acknowledge Professor Dr. Jean Meyer as the youngest president of the Bavarian higher education institutions. His predecessor left big footsteps: “Now you cannot say that you were not aware of the task you are taking on!” But as programme director of the first bachelor's programme in Robotics in Germany, Meyer already demonstrated that you had to be at the forefront in order to achieve something.
Visionary and hands-on
In his address, Lord Major of the City of Würzburg, Christian Schuchardt, paid tribute to the outgoing president as “real doer, as reliable and constructive partner for the Main-Franconian region – not only for Würzburg and Schweinfurt but also for the rural districts”. Sebastian Remelé, Lord Major of the City of Schweinfurt, also acknowledged Grebner as visionary and idealist. “Thanks to his trendsetting ideas and his major initiative, the campus in Schweinfurt has not only grown space-wise but also content-wise. It is thanks to him that young people from all over the world come to Schweinfurt to study and feel good here.” Grebner’s vision of an international higher education institution had surpassed his own imagination back then “but this vision has become reality.”
For the student council, Luise Haberland thanked the outgoing president in particular for not leaving students alone during the corona virus pandemic. She was already looking forward to talks with the new president regarding students’ concerns and named an improved interconnectedness of the two locations as an essential topic for the future.
In her address, Maria Grünewald, chairwoman of the General Staff Council at THWS, compared the University with a steamship. THWS developments required this steamship to “be able to navigate also in international waters and research expeditions.“ She thus said she wished that the new university management would not only look to far-off destinations but also to the ship itself and what needed to be developed there. As “from the bridge, the major part of a ship is invisible,” Grünewald said with a wink.
Packed auditorium
In his review, Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Robert Grebner as former president not only covered the development of THWS, but also linked it with his personal favourite topic, artificial intelligence. He invited the audience of the fully occupied Warema-Renkhoff-Aula to abstract with him: The legal person THWS may well be seen as a person equipped with a virtual artificial intelligence. The major achievements of the past years were mentioned in passing.
Grebner brought to mind the establishment of the TWIN programmes that were first established in German and English in 2014. Ever since, international students have characterised THWS’s image; there is also a lively exchange with over 280 partner universities across the world. To meet future demands, the study offers have been continuously expanded and complemented by innovative degree programmes like Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Hydrogen Technology, or Digital Societies. Now, Applied Mathematics and Applied Polymer Engineering would contribute another two TWIN programmes: “I am very proud of THWS!” The University had shown high innovative power, for example during the establishment of the Center for Artificial Intelligence (CAIRO) in Würzburg and of the Center for Robotics (CERI) in Schweinfurt.
During Grebner’s term in office, the research activities at Bavarian higher education institutions were expanded, which, among others, led to the establishment of numerous research professorships, supported through the Hightech Agenda Bavaria. One of the major milestones was the change from the “University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (FHWS)” to the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (THWS) by 1 January 2023, which was followed by the awarding of an independent right to award doctorates: With the establishment of the doctoral center “Sustainable and Intelligent Systems (NISys)”, THWS can award specialised doctorates together with the higher education institutions in Aschaffenburg, Nuremberg, and Coburg.
Honorary senator Gerhard Eck
The outgoing president closed off his address by wishing his predecessor all the best, and by honouring the man who accompanied the development of THWS over many years: State Secretary a. D. Gerhard Eck was awarded the title honorary senator of THWS. Eck gratefully received the honouring and offered the new president to support him in networking as he did with the former president.
The new president Professor Dr. Jean Meyer thanked his predecessor in his address for his far-sightedness and his courage “through which he defined his objectives for THWS’s development. Many people considered these objectives ambitious or even unobtainable. It was all the more surprising that these objectives slowly but steadily turned reality.”
The new president also shared some insights on THWS’s
future orientation. The topics of AI, robotics, and internationalisation would continue to shape the higher education institution. Meyer named new focus areas, that are also reflected in the newly designated resorts of the university management, which are sustainability, digitalisation, and entrepreneurship. He emphasises the essential role applied research played for the companies in the region, and that the newly awarded right to award doctorates strengthened the institutional understanding of THWS. The planned increase of third party funds to 12 million euros, as laid down in the new higher education contract, posed a challenge. This meant an increase rate of 70 percent which so far was only from start-ups. THWS intended to meet this objective through allocating more freedom to researchers and establishing research-promoting structures. Thanks to its five technology transfer centers, THWS was well-prepared to meet the topics knowledge and technology transfer.
For teaching as core business of a higher education institution, Professor Dr. Meyer estimated an increased importance of online teaching, especially for continuing education. This would mean a higher proportion of flexibility for students and professors. Neither would the increased use of artificial intelligence make a higher education institution obsolete, “because humans make the difference.” AI could only be a tool but never the solution. Instead, Professor Dr. Meyer highlighted the important task of higher education institutions to pass on AI competences: “As a higher education institution, we are called upon to implement AI-tools as soon as possible and as much as possible in teaching.”
Promoting open exchange
Another major challenge was the demographic change and the decrease in student numbers resulting therefrom, according to the new president. To Meyer, the increase from the current 9,300 students to 12,000 students, also stated in the higher education contract, was a “proof of confidence in the potential of THWS”. This also entailed
using means efficiently to keep shaping the programme portfolio in a future-oriented way. Professor Dr. Meyer closed his address on the note of cultural change and the resulting impacts on THWS. He cared about “promoting open exchange and flat hierarchies in the THWS-family. As the new university board of management, we want to embed this mindset at THWS and want to enable everyone to contribute to THWS’s development!”
The new THWS university management
President Professor Dr. Jean Meyer introduced the members of the university board of management, who will start their terms of office with him: Vice president Professor Dr. Achim Förster, who has been a member of the university management since 2021, will be in charge of Internationalisation and Teaching. Vice president Professor Martin Naumann, part of the university management since 2022, will be responsible for Sustainability and Infrastructure. Professor Dr. Kristin Weber will be Vice President for Digitalisation. The Vice President for Research and Entrepreneurship will be appointed shortly. Stefan Hartmann continues to add to the university management as chancellor.
Press contact:
Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt
Angela Kreipl
Münzstr. 12
97070 Würzburg
+49 931 3511-8354
