The office of the 11th president of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will in future be held by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Hanselka, current president of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). At its last meeting in Dresden, the Senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft elected him unanimously. Hanselka succeeds Prof. Dr.-Ing. Reimund Neugebauer, who resigned from his post by mutual agreement after almost eleven years at the helm of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
Discussions are currently underway between all parties with the aim of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Hanselka taking office as soon as possible. Until then, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft will be led on an interim basis by Dr. Sandra Krey, Executive Vice President Finance and Controlling.
Born in Oldenburg in 1961, mechanical engineer Holger Hanselka has headed the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) since 2013, leading it back into the ranks of universities of excellence. Previously, he was, among other things, head of the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF in Darmstadt and a member of the Executive Board of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft from 2006 to 2012.
Internationalization of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
In an initial statement, Hanselka cited the further internationalization of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and the development of a modern mission statement as key tasks at the start of his term.
"We live in a time of massive global change and challenges. Research must also become more global in its focus on needs. This requires innovation, creativity and cosmopolitanism externally and sound knowledge, modern corporate governance structures, new forms of collaboration and a powerful, shared mission statement characterized by trust internally," explained Holger Hanselka.
"As a leader, Holger Hanselka knows how to spur people on to top performance through collaboration. It is precisely this team spirit that will lead Fraunhofer into a successful future," said Hildegard Müller, Chairwoman of the Senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.
With his profound knowledge of national and international scientific organizations, his many years of experience in the transformation and further development of scientific institutions and in the management of institutions, he is the right person for Fraunhofer at the right time in the right office.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Neugebauers
The Senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft thanked Prof. Dr.-Ing. Neugebauer, who as Fraunhofer President had left his mark on Germany as a high-tech location for more than a decade. During his tenure, new research fields such as energy technologies, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence and smart farming were established and expanded. Since Neugebauer took office, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's total budget has risen from 1.9 billion euros to around 3 billion euros, and the number of institutes has grown from 64 to the current 76.
