The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) held a farewell symposium today for its longtime President, Professor Holger Hanselka. Leading members of the political, business, and scientific communities came together at the event in the Audimax to honor Hanselka for his achievements as head of KIT from 2013 to 2023. During Hanselka’s tenure, KIT regained its University of Excellence title and the 2nd KIT Further Development Act took effect.
Photos of the event can be viewed in this album
During his time in office as president, Holger Hanselka was committed to defining a clear strategy for KIT and forming it into a single entity. The primary aim of the 10-point plan he submitted at the start of his presidency in 2013 was to identify and exploit potential synergies in research, teaching, innovation and operations. To that end, the Joint KIT Statutes were enacted under his leadership in 2014 to define an integrated organizational structure.
In collaboration with his colleagues on the KIT Executive Board, Hanselka developed the KIT 2025 Umbrella Strategy, which was adopted in 2015. It set priorities for the years to come: Cutting-edge research for the benefit of society; a focus on energy, mobility and information; integrating basic research with applications and transfer; research-oriented teaching and strong support for young scientists; a new Executive Board portfolio for Innovation and International Affairs; and further integration of the functions of a major national research institution and a state university.
Operational Success Resulting from Large-Scale Reorganization
Hanselka’s push for a strategic and organizational realignment of KIT laid the foundation for numerous subsequent operational successes. A particularly significant achievement was KIT’s reattainment of the prestigious University of Excellence title in July 2019. In the Excellence Strategy contest organized by Germany’s federal and state governments, KIT proved itself with its research clusters and its strategic concept, “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association | Living the Change,” and won back the title it had lost in 2012.
A further milestone was reached when the 2nd KIT Further Development Act came into force in January 2023 after years of preparation at KIT and at the federal and state levels. The amended act removes numerous administrative restrictions and strengthens cutting-edge research, research-oriented teaching, and knowledge and technology transfer. Having fulfilled Hanselka’s strategic vision of a university that is unified, efficient and strong in research, KIT now enjoys the greatest freedom of action among Germany’s scientific institutions.
At the farewell symposium, Professor Michael Kaschke, Chairperson of the KIT Supervisory Board, praised Hanselka’s contributions: “In his ten years as president, Holger Hanselka has left his mark on KIT. Thanks to the long-term strategic and organizational realignment he envisioned, which included all of KIT’s divisions and functions, KIT has been able to regain its excellence status and become one of the most attractive places in Germany for researchers and students. With the enormous potential stemming from its combination of university and large-scale research, KIT can also move toward the forefront of the international scientific landscape.”
Looking back on his time in Karlsruhe, Holger Hanselka said: “In the ten years I spent at KIT, we turned it into combination of national research center and state university. That was very demanding on everybody here, but we took the path together and I’m very thankful for that.” In his view, KIT is well positioned for the future. “Today I can say that our idea of ‘one KIT’ has borne fruit. KIT has been a University of Excellence again since 2019, and it’s well established in the Helmholtz Association’s program-oriented research. Thanks to its structure, which is unique in Germany, KIT can make major contributions to the solution of global problems by performing cutting-edge research and offering research-oriented teaching.”
Statements about Holger Hanselka’s Tenure as President of KIT
Judith Pirscher, Undersecretary of State at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research: “After ten years of extraordinary service and dedication, Professor Hanselka, the architect of KIT, is leaving Karlsruhe to serve as President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. During his time in office, he transformed KIT into a beacon on the German scientific landscape. His passion for science and research and his tireless dedication have made KIT one of the leading institutions in Europe. For that I extend to him on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research my heartfelt thanks for his work and his extraordinary dedication, and I wish him all the best in his new role.”
Petra Olschowski, Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of Science, Research, and the Arts: “For nearly a decade, Professor Holger Hanselka shaped the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. During his presidency, he was able to strategically position KIT for the future as The Research University in the Helmholtz Association: Holger Hanselka returned KIT to its place among the Universities of Excellence, and he stands for the integration of university and national large-scale research. He has earned immense gratitude for his service at KIT, and Holger Hanselka will continue to shape the research landscape as President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft.”
Professor Oliver Kraft, Vice President for Research at KIT, who represents the KIT President internally and externally during the transition: “The captain has left us, but a properly organized ship like KIT can be steered by the officers for a while without major course changes. In the KIT Executive Board, we see ourselves very well positioned for the upcoming preparations for the federal and state Excellence Strategy competition, the next round of the Helmholtz Association’s program-oriented funding, and further implementation of the KIT Act.”
Professor Otmar D. Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres: “With his in-depth expertise and his impressive understanding of advanced research and knowledge transfer, Holger Hanselka has played an especially important role in shaping energy research at Helmholtz. As Vice President, he worked with our Research Field Energy to guide the transformation of our energy system – always with an eye to the needs of society. On behalf of the Helmholtz Association, I extend my sincere thanks for his efforts and accomplishments. We look forward to a strong partnership with him in his new role as President at Fraunhofer.”
Adrian Keller, Chairperson of the KIT Students Union: “Professor Hanselka had a major influence on KIT’s development, driving the integration of its university and large-scale research activities. In spite of our frequently divergent opinions and positions, which are a function of the roles we have, we always maintained a trusting and constructive working relationship, for which I give him my heartfelt thanks.”
Dr. Frank Mentrup, Lord Mayor of Karlsruhe: “It is very much to Professor Hanselka’s credit that KIT now has a clear strategic vision, is involved in all important fields of pioneering research, and has become a University of Excellence again in 2019. In addition, during the Hanselka era KIT set new standards in communication and discourse with our city’s society, establishing innovative educational formats like the KIT Science Week. He has helped KIT and Karlsruhe to further improve their cooperation and mutually benefit from it.”
Holger Hanselka: a Short Biography
Professor Dr.-Ing. Holger Hanselka, born in Oldenburg in 1961, studied mechanical engineering at TU Clausthal. He took a position as a research assistant at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in 1988, where he specialized in lightweight construction and fiber composites. From 1997, he held the chair of Adaptronics at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg. In 2001 he became Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability in Darmstadt and, concurrently, Head of the System Reliability and Machine Acoustics Research Group at the Technical University of Darmstadt. Hanselka was a member of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft’s Executive Board from 2006 to 2012 and Vice President of the Technical University of Darmstadt from 2010 to 2013. While he was President of KIT, Hanselka was also Research Field Coordinator Energy of the Helmholtz Association. He became President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in August 2023.
More information:
“The Architect of KIT”: an interview with Professor Holger Hanselka in the current issue of KIT’s research magazine, lookKIT (p. 64 ff.)
Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.