New advisory board to help shape future Graduate Research School (GRS)

After Professor Thomas Raab resigned as director of the GRS in December 2023, the new scientific director, Professor Michael Hübner, was faced with the question of how the future strategic direction of GRS should be shaped. Together with the manager of the GRS, Robert Rode, Professor Hübner developed the idea of setting up a new advisory board consisting of external experts. After successful discussions with potential candidates, the university management is pleased to announce the three members of the future »GRS Council«:

• Prof. Dr. Günther Tränkle, former director of the Ferdinand-Braun-Institute Berlin
• Prof. Dr. Ronald Tetzlaff, Chief Officer Technology Transfer and Internationalisation, TU Dresden
• Dr. Birte Seffert, Head of Advisory and Funding Programmes, German Scholars Organization (GSO)

The new GRS Council will meet for the first time in autumn to discuss its tasks and activities. For example, the new advisory board will assist the Vice-President for Research and Transfer in evaluating the results of the GRS funding programmes and the qualification programme to develop ideas for the future strategy. BTU is delighted that the members will be able to contribute their particular expertise and experience. Professor Tränkle, the long-standing director of the Leibniz Institute for High-Frequency Technology, provides the perspective of a leading non-university research institute that has worked with BTU for many years. As a member of the university management of a large technical university, Professor Tetzlaff will provide suggestions for the international positioning of the GRS in the context of the economic transformation of the Lausitz region. Dr. Seffert is no stranger at the BTU. She was the coordinator of the doctoral programmes »Environmental and Resource Management« and »Heritage Studies« for many years. She is now responsible for managing the »Klaus Tschira Boost Fund« at the German Scholarship Organization in Berlin, which supports outstanding postdoctoral researchers in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science.