Organization

Term of Office: September 1, 2024 – August 31, 2027

The University Council is responsible for the University’s development and proposes measures designed to strengthen its profile and enhance its performance and competitiveness. It oversees the administration of the Rector’s Office.

Chairman

• Klaus Erdrich
  , Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Board of Directors | BCT Technology AG | Im Lossenfeld 9 | 77731 Willstätt

Vice Chair

• Prof. Dr. Susanne Weissman
  President | Mainz University of Applied Sciences | Lucy-Hillebrand-Straße 2 | 55128 Mainz

• Prof. Dr. Andreas Bett
  Director | Fraunhofer ISE | Heidenhofstr. 2 | 79110 Freiburg

• Thomas Burger
  Managing Director | CEO of the Burger Group SBS-Feintechnik GmbH & Co. KG | Hermann-Burger-Str. 31 | 78136 Schonach

• Ulrike Kahle-Roth
  , Executive Board Member for “Supply Chain & Fulfillment” | SICK AG | Erwin-Sick-Str. 1 | 79183 Waldkirch

• Dr. Stefan Karrer | Member of the Executive Board of Koehler Holding SE & Co. KG | Hauptstr. 2 | 77704 Oberkirch

• Prof. Dr. habil. Wolfgang Bessler
  , Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering

• Prof. Sabine Burg
  , Department of Media

• Prof. Dr. Eva Decker
  , Department of Electrical Engineering, Medical Engineering and Computer Science

• Prof. Dr. Bernhard Denne
  , Department of Business

• Dr. Ira Pawlowski
  , Campus Research & Transfer

The Senate makes decisions on matters related to research, teaching, academic affairs, and continuing education, unless these matters are assigned by law to another central body or to the departments. 

Term of office for professors and other staff members:
October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2027

Term of office for students:
October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026

The staff council serves as the point of contact for all employees of the University. Under the State Employee Representation Act, it provides advice and information on various topics related to employment. Key areas of focus include issues related to the collective bargaining agreement and the pay scale, occupational safety, health, and labor law.

All important documents (laws, service agreements, and more) related to human resources are available on the Hochschule Offenburg intranet.

Chairperson
Michael Canz

Vice Chair
Vera Vanié

Members
: Marco Klöpfer
, Günther Lienhard
, Christian Merschroth
, Christian Obermann
, Karim Odeh
, Christine Parsdorfer
, Gilbert Seilheimer

The board of trustees is dedicated to providing guidance and support for the University’s development while ensuring ongoing dialogue between the University, the business community, and society.
The board’s distinguished membership—comprising leaders from politics, business, local government, academia, and professional associations—forms the foundation for the University’s multifaceted engagement with the region.

• Werner Mäurer
  , managing director of HIWIN GmbH, Offenburg

• Honorary Senator Dr. Wolfgang Bruder
  , Retired Chairman of the Board

• Hon. Senator Josef Hauser
  , Entrepreneur, Offenburg

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h. c. Albert Albers
  , Karlsruhe University of Technology (TH), Director of the Institute for Product Development (IPEK)

• Prof. Ulrich Bantleon
  Hochschule Offenburg, Gengenbach Campus

• Axel Beck
  , Executive Vice President, Food Equipment Group, Illinois Tool Works Inc., USA/Offenburg

• Alexander Blättner, M.Eng., M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering

• Hanna Böhme
  , Chief Executive Officer of the Baden Association of Industrial Enterprises (wvib), Freiburg

• Prof. Dr. Hubert Burda
  , Publisher
  and Managing Director, Hubert Burda Media

• Markus Dauber, B.B.A., M
  .B.A., Offenburg

• Dieter Domröse
  , Head of the Technical Commercial Training Center (ED/TCT Bue), Robert Bosch GmbH, Bühl

• Nicolas Erdrich
  , managing director of Erdrich Umformtechnik GmbH, Renchen-Ulm

• Thorsten Erny
  , District Administrator of the Ortenau District, Offenburg

• Christian Funk
  , managing director of Christian Funk Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Offenburg

• Dr. Daniel Heid
  , Managing Director, Picea Biosolutions, Offenburg

• Dipl.-Ing. Jens Herdeg
  , Head of the Freiburg Branch of TÜV Süd Industrie Service GmbH, Freiburg

• Dr.-Ing. E. h. Martin Herrenknecht
  , Chairman of the Board of Herrenknecht AG, Schwanau

• 
  Daniel Huber, managing director of Peter Huber Kältemaschinenbau GmbH, Offenburg

• Rainer Huber
  , Spokesperson for the Board of Directors of EDEKA Südwest eG, Offenburg

• Prof. Dr. Jürgen Joseph
  , Managing Director, ECG Energie Consulting GmbH, Kehl

• Werner Kimmig
  , Kimmig Entertainment GmbH, Oberkirch

• Dr. Peter Kirchberg
  , managing director of PRINTUS GmbH, Offenburg

• Markus Kniesel
  , managing director of VEGA Grieshaber KG, Schiltach

• Dr. Jochen Kopitzke
  , Aepikur GmbH

• Dr. med. Peter Kraemer
  , Chief Medical Officer, Ortenau Klinikum, Offenburg

• Carlo Lazzarini
  , CEO of PWO AG, Oberkirch

• Eberhard Liebherr
  , President of the Southern Upper Rhine Chamber of Industry and Commerce

• Thomas Marwein
  , Former Member of the Baden-Württemberg State Parliament

• Alexander Müller
  , Chairman of the Board of Volksbank eG – Die Gestalterbank, Offenburg

• 
  Franz-Friedrich Müller, Chairman of the Board of Directors, MARKANT AG, Pfäffikon, Switzerland

• Sven Müller
  , Mayor of Gengenbach

• Bernd Neugart
  , managing director of Neugart GmbH, Kippenheim

• Prof. Dr. Nicola Osypka
  , CEO of Osypka AG, Rheinfelden

• Dr. Michael Overdick
  , Technology Manager, SICK AG, Waldkirch

• Bernhard Palm
  , Member of the Executive Board of Elektrizitätswerk Mittelbaden AG & Co. KG, Lahr

• 
  Dr.-Ing. Thomas Peukert, CEO of MEIKO Maschinenbau GmbH & Co. KG, Offenburg

• Volker Przibilla
  , Deputy Managing Director, AOK - Die Gesundheitskasse Südlicher Oberrhein, Freiburg

• 
  Jürgen Riexinger, Chairman of the Board, Sparkasse Offenburg/Ortenau

• Hubert Roth
  , durlum GmbH, Schopfheim

• 
  Honorary Senator Helmut Schareck, Chair of the Association of Friends and Supporters of Hochschule Offenburg (VdF)

• Volker Schebesta, Member of the State Parliament

• Dr. Thomas Scheuerle
  , CEO, BadenCampus GmbH & Co. KG, Freiburg

• Bruno Schnekenburger

• Bettina Schneider
  , Managing Director, J. Schneider Elektrotechnik GmbH, Offenburg

• Brigitta Schrempp
  , Managing Director, Schrempp EDV GmbH, Lahr

• Maren Seifert, Member
  of the State Parliament (Offenburg)

• Frank Semling
  , Member of the Executive Board, Hansgrohe SE, Schiltach

• Rico Siefermann
  , Chairman of the Board of Novellus Holding AG, Appenweier

• Fabian Silberer

• Marco Steffens
  , Mayor of Offenburg

• Prof. Dr. Stephan Trahasch
  , President of Hochschule Offenburg

• Andreas Truttenbach
  , managing director of RMA Kehl / Rheinau GmbH & Co. KG

• Dipl.-Ing. Sascha Tschiggfrei
  , managing director of WTO GmbH, Ohlsbach

• Holger Wössner
  , M.Eng., MBA, managing director of MULAG Fahrzeugwerk GmbH & Co. KG, Oppenau

• Roland Zeifang
  , Managing Director, RUCH NOVAPLAST GmbH, Oberkirch

Managing Director
Alfred Isele

Executive Assistant to the Managing Director of the Board of Trustees
Katharina Wißmann-Stadler

The equal opportunities officers support female students, female research assistants, and female professors in fields where women are underrepresented, thereby helping to ensure equal opportunities. In addition to participating in tenure-track and hiring procedures in the academic sector, they serve on self-governing bodies and advise university members on equal opportunities issues.

The Equal Opportunities Officer is responsible for the University’s non-academic staff. She ensures compliance with and implementation of the Equal Opportunities Act and supports University members on issues of equal opportunities and work-life balance.

Further information can be found on the equality page.

If you have any questions regarding data protection, please contact the data protection officer.

The Representative for Employees with Disabilities is responsible for promoting the integration of people with severe disabilities at the University, representing their interests vis-à-vis the employer, and providing them with advice and assistance. If you are a person with a severe disability and have questions, need advice, or require support, you can schedule an appointment.

The Representative for Employees with Disabilities is also happy to assist employees who are seriously ill or whose work is limited due to an illness.

Hochschule Offenburg, together with the Representative for Employees with Disabilities (SBV) and the staff council, has adopted an inclusion agreement (PDF). This agreement both specifies the laws and articulates the goal of equal participation for colleagues with severe disabilities.

Among other things, the agreement addressed a legally very important aspect of this issue: the hiring process involving applications from individuals with severe disabilities.

Please note that in such cases, applicants with severe disabilities must always be invited to an interview whenever their suitability cannot be obviously ruled out. In such cases, the Representative for Employees with Disabilities must always be consulted regarding the process.

The human resources department must send the dates for the interviews to the applicants and the relevant committees at least one week in advance.

The selection must then be made in such a way that the person with a severe disability is chosen if they are suitable for the position. They do not have to be the best applicant; suitability for the advertised position is sufficient. Please also note that the assessment may be based solely on the criteria published in the job posting.

If you nevertheless decide against the person with a severe disability, you must provide a justification. A rejection must be communicated in advance to the SBV (email address: sbv@hs-offenburg.de) so that it can provide its opinion. A final rejection must then be justified in writing by the supervisor and must be recorded in the Application Manager in the applicant’s profile in the comment field under “Submit Evaluation → Suggest Next Step → Reject.”

Hochschule Offenburg promotes equal and trusting collaboration among all members of the university community and values a positive and supportive work and study environment. There is no place for discrimination or sexual harassment in such an environment. You do not have to endure this, and you certainly do not have to accept it. Have the courage to stand up for yourself. If you are unable to find a solution on your own in your specific situation—or if you observe this happening to others—the contact persons for questions related to sexual harassment and anti-discrimination offer confidential help and counseling and will take appropriate action in response to such incidents.

Sexual harassment is any intentional, sexually motivated behavior that is unwanted by the affected person and that is intended to, or has the effect of, violating that person’s dignity. This ranges from verbal remarks to stalking and physical assaults. The most important difference between sexual harassment and a perfectly desirable, casual, friendly interaction is that the former is always one-sided behavior that is unwanted by the affected person. Whether an act constitutes sexual harassment depends solely on the subjective perception of the affected person.

By diversity, we mean fostering an attitude of respect for the differences among various people and groups, for example based on:

• ethnic and/or

• social background

• skin color

• ancestry

• a permanent or temporary disability

• gender

• religious or philosophical orientation

• political views

• sexual orientation

• age

Discrimination refers to the denigration and belittlement of a person through derogatory remarks, jokes, or actions. Such behavior has no place at our University.

Guidelines on Sexual Harassment, Discrimination, and Bullying (PDF)

Other places you can turn to for help include:

AStA student union

equal opportunities

staff council

Rector’s Office

Calls for Proposals

As the central service provider, Campus IT ensures the digital infrastructure for teaching, research, and administration—from modern IT services to technical support.

Information and Help

The bridge between academia and industry: The CRT supports researchers in carrying out their projects and connects the University with local businesses.

A Bridge to the Professional World: Through seminars, workshops, and coaching sessions, the Career Center helps our students refine their profiles and successfully enter the workforce.

CeLT is shaping the future of teaching. Through modern learning formats and innovative teaching methods, the Center ensures high-quality instruction. It helps instructors convey knowledge in an inspiring way and supports students in achieving their learning goals.

Professional Development for Specialists and Managers: CeLLO brings together the University’s part-time programs and facilitates the transfer of the latest research findings directly into professional practice.

Hochschule Offenburg is a global university. The International Center fosters our global partnerships and helps students and staff plan their stays abroad and take the leap into the wider world. It also serves as the central point of contact for our international visitors on campus.

The pepperMINT Foundation is an initiative of Hochschule Offenburg that has been supporting the next generation of STEM talent since November 2023. Together with our educational and foundation partners, we organize projects designed to spark young people’s curiosity about technology. Through hands-on exploration and experimentation, we create key experiences that strengthen their interest in technology. And that is crucial for us as a society: Innovation requires STEM skills—for example, in medicine, digitalization, and climate protection. The need is great, but skilled workers are in short supply because too few young people are choosing technical vocational training or a degree in engineering. And that is precisely why we want to encourage and support young people in helping to shape their future—and ours.

Are you as excited as we are? We would be delighted if you’d like to support the mission of the pepperMINT foundation.

Your donation for our future

With your donation, you’ll help fund educational projects that give students the chance to rediscover their strengths and develop exciting career prospects in the fields of technology and the natural sciences.

Please feel free to contact us regarding your donation.

Support pepperMINT as a partner

As a company, organization, or institution, you can support the work of the pepperMINT Foundation through sponsorship or a project partnership. By doing so, you’ll help make additional STEM projects possible for students and foster the next generation of STEM talent. Please feel free to reach out to us.

The quality management system at Hochschule Offenburg (HSO) is an integral part of the university’s strategic development. It is aligned with the university’s overarching goals and aims to facilitate the continuous, quality-driven development of key areas. The “Academic Affairs” mission statement serves as a guiding principle and defines the premises for excellent educational processes at HSO.

The QM system provides a set of processes and QM tools that are interlinked across the various levels. A focus on dialogue and participation are the connecting elements that bring people and QM together.

Hochschule Offenburg has held system accreditation since 2015 and has been re-accredited since 2021. This means that the suitability of the QM system for the internal accreditation of degree programs is externally reviewed and confirmed at regular intervals.

The central quality management staff unit serves as the point of contact and plays an active role in tasks related to the maintenance and further development of the quality management system. It is active in the areas of system accreditation and internal accreditation of degree programs, evaluations and rankings, key performance indicator monitoring, and process management.

Are you looking for information about Hochschule Offenburg, interested in reporting on our research, or planning a collaboration? The University Communications team showcases what drives Hochschule Offenburg. We translate complex academic concepts into compelling stories and bring people together.

Please contact us if you:

• Planning media coverage: We support the press with up-to-date information, connect you with experts for interviews, and assist you with appointments on our campus. > Latest press releases

• Are planning a collaboration: Would you like to organize an event with us, or are you looking for ways for your company and our University to increase their visibility together? Let’s discuss the details.

Feel free to reach out to us. We look forward to connecting with you!

The library is the University's knowledge center. It offers free access to extensive collections of literature and data, as well as modern study spaces. It also provides support with research and information retrieval.

University Library

Offenburg Library

Hochschule Offenburg
– Bibliothek –
Badstraße 24
77652 Offenburg

Phone: 0781 205-240

Email: bibliothek@hs-offenburg.de

Gengenbach Library

Hochschule Offenburg
– Bibliothek –
Klosterstraße 9
77723 Gengenbach

Phone: 07803 9698-44 13

Email: bib-gengenbach@hs-offenburg.de