The University Senate has confirmed the three Vice Presidents in office: Prof Dr Katharina Al-Shamery, Vice President for Research, Prof Dr Gunilla Budde, Vice President for Studies and Teaching, and Prof Dr Bernd Siebenhüner, Vice President for Early Career Researchers and Quality Management.
She is very pleased to be able to continue working with such a highly competent team, said University President Prof Dr Babette Simon. "Over the past few years, we have achieved a great deal together with all members of the University."
Al-Shamery told the University Senate that she would continue to devote a great deal of energy to supporting the development of new research projects and the establishment of junior research groups during her second term of office. The successes of recent years have shown the great potential of this university. The "Hearing4all" Cluster of Excellence, the "Turbulence and Wind Energy Systems" research building, the extension of the "Safety Critical Systems" Collaborative Research Centre, several new research groups and graduate colleges as well as the University of Oldenburg's distinction as a start-up university are just a few outstanding examples, emphasised Al-Shamery. It is important to build on these successes.
Budde, Vice President for Studies and Teaching, explained to the University Senate that her primary goal is to continue to secure and strengthen Oldenburg's attractiveness as a place to study. This includes the further development of the research-oriented teaching and learning profile as well as the more flexible design of degree programmes in view of an increasingly heterogeneous student body. She sees diversity as an opportunity, emphasised Budde. For this reason, the internationalisation of the range of courses is also at the top of her agenda. She considered the biggest current challenge to be the launch of the model degree programme in human medicine in the coming winter semester and the successful participation in the expected call for proposals in the excellence competition for teacher training.
Siebenhüner will continue to represent the "Young Academics and Quality Management" department, which was newly created in 2010, over the next two years. The establishment of the Graduate Academy and a new Graduate School in the humanities and social sciences demonstrates the high value placed on the consistent and professional promotion of young academics at the University of Oldenburg. He will continue along this path consistently. He also described the further expansion of quality management and the strengthening of the university's sustainability as challenging.
The Vice Presidents took up their two-year term of office on 1 October 2010; the second term ends on 30 September 2014.
