Welche Veränderungen hat die Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftliche Fakultät in den letzten Jahren durchlaufen? Welchen zukünftigen Herausforderungen stellt sich die Fakultät? Welche Bedeutung hat die Position des Dekans für ihn persönlich? Welche Aufgaben liegen ihm als Dekan besonders am Herzen? Und was erwartet er von Studierenden?

Professor Dr. Werner Mellis hat diese und weitere Fragen beantwortet.

You have served as the dean of the WiSo Faculty since 2011. Can you tell us a bit about the path that led you to this position?

I studied mathematics at the University of Cologne and also received my doctorate here in 1980. After working for Daimler Benz AG and other companies, I returned to the University of Cologne where I became Professor of Information Systems in 1993.

In 2009 I became vice dean of studies at the WiSo Faculty, and then in 2011 my time as dean began.

What does it mean to you to be dean of the WiSo Faculty?

The enactment of the Higher Education Autonomy Act (NRW-HG) by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in January 2007 significantly strengthened the dean’s position. As the leader of the Faculty, he or she shapes its future. Therefore being dean is an exciting job and it’s an honor to be elected by the Faculty.

Which responsibilities as a dean do you find particularly exciting?

This position allows you to shape and change. You can help to create an inspiring environment for students, researchers, lecturers and staff that enables them to give their best in their studies and jobs. Together with students, faculty, staff, alumni and corporations we work to make a difference and establish the WiSo Faculty as an international brand. That’s a great motivation for me and for the Faculty as a whole. That is why I was confirmed in my position as dean for a second term.

The WiSo Faculty has developed a lot in past years. What are the major changes it has faced?

I am proud to say that the WiSo Faculty of the University of Cologne was re-accredited by the EQUIS Accreditation Board on 27 March 2018. We received the EQUIS accreditation of the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) for the highest possible duration of five years. Institutions that are accredited by EQUIS must demonstrate not only high general quality in all dimensions of their activities, but also a high degree of internationalization and connections to the business community. Only about a hundred schools worldwide have been awarded an EQUIS 5 year accreditation. In order to reach this level of performance, manifold and profound changes were necessary. We improved programme structures, student services, alumni services and professionalized every process of the Faculty’s management. And we are not satisfied to rest on our laurels. We are currently preparing for the next big step.

An important improvement in research was the introduction of six research profile areas, where researchers closely collaborate. Our first research profile area, Design and Behavior, was a great success in the second round of the Excellence Initiative. It raise significant third-party funding and today belongs to the globally most recognized research groups in its field. A second research profile area, Markets and Governments, now has good prospects to be the next success story. The Faculty has also heavily invested in its key research profile areas by hiring many new professors.

As a result, our research output has further increased. According to the Handelsblatt ranking, the Faculty is one of the leading schools in Germany.
Last but not least: It is important to us to stay in contact with our alumni. To improve the possibilities of our alumni to stay in contact and to build a strong network, we have established the WiSo Alumni Management in 2015. It is a pleasure to see that the many possibilities offered by WiSoAlumni are appealing to our graduates. We want to intensify this and are already looking forward to the next events, for example the Annual Alumni Meeting on September 21, along with various new offers for students and alumni that are already in preparation.

What do you think: In which direction is the WiSo Faculty going to develop in the next 10 years?

We want to continue to set high quality standards in research and teaching in the future. Also, internationalization is a top priority for us. We are planning to attract more international students as well as international scientific staff.

In addition, we want to strengthen our value proposition towards students. In our communication with students, we want to emphasize our graduates’ employability and the benefits studying at our Faculty entails for their further personal and professional development.

Let me add one more concrete example of noticeable improvements in the near future: I am really looking forward to the new planned one-stop-shop for students that will open in the course of the year when the new WiSo extension building opens its doors. We will bring together Student Services, WiSo Career Service, Admissions Office, International Relations Centre, Examination Office and WiSo Credit Transfer Centre at one location in the new building. That is going to be a great improvement for our students that we are looking forward to.

Another strategic goal is to enhance our corporate connections that involve links with local, regional, national and international corporate partners. For us, this means advantages at various levels such as practical experience in teaching and gainful research collaborations – to name but two.

How does the WiSo Faculty at the UoC differ from other universities? What makes Cologne so special?

The WiSo Faculty is characterized by diversity in many ways. It is a pleasure to see the many facets under the roof of our Faculty: It is not only Management, but also Economics and Social Sciences, and the multidisciplinary way students can study here is a great achievement. That’s not only a valuable opportunity for students, it is also a gift for our lectures and for our researchers who collaborate across multiple disciplines. By the way – we are the only University in Germany that offers the CEMS Master in International Management, and a founding member of the CEMS alliance.
 
Are there any plans for further internationalization of the WiSo Faculty, e.g. new partner universities abroad?

Although we enjoy a large international network of more than 100 international top partner universities, and offer several double master programmes as well as the international CEMS programme, we are always striving to improve our international profile. Thus, we are always looking for new, excellent partner universities around the globe. Currently we are seeing growing demand from our students for new exchange opportunities within Europe and also with Latin America, so we will focus on these two regions. In addition, we are planing a new programme in Hong Kong, similar to the WiSo@NYC summer school in Manhattan.

What do you expect from students at the WiSo Faculty?

I am convinced that only intrinsically motivated students are truly able to reach extraordinary achievements. So I want to tell everyone: Please stay curious. It is one of the most important things in life to keep your curiosity and to stay interested in what you are doing. If you are motivated and not only learn or study because you want to earn good grades, success will certainly follow.

Naturally, not everything is pure pleasure during young people’s university training. But I think it is crucial to be able to study and later work in a field that is really the one that you want to be in.

Fortunately I see that passion for knowledge in many of the students I meet: There are so many extraordinary people studying at our Faculty. It is inspiring and an honor, in my position as a dean, to create the basic conditions in which they can study and grow – and by doing so to empower them to embark on a career in a company, to start a business of their own or to become a researcher. Here again, our Alumni Management WiSoAlumni is an important platform to stay in touch with graduates working in these different areas. That is why we want to further develop our alumni engagement in the coming years.

Dieses Interview erschien im Juli 2018 zuerst im PIM & CEMS Club Magazin (IN).