Professor Dr. rer. nat. Werner Mellis

(1951) studied mathematics and physics, and gained his doctorate in Mathematics in 1980 at the University of Cologne with a thesis from the field of basic mathematical research. Until 1984, he continued to work at Cologne University as a research assistant, focusing on the computer simulation of mathematical skills alongside his basic research. In 1984, he accepted a post at the Nixdorf Computer Corporation in the branch of artificial intelligence. From 1989 to 1992, he headed various research departments at Daimler Benz AG. He was also responsible for a series of national and international research projects from 1984 to 1992.
Since 1993, Professor Mellis has been Director of the Department of Information Systems and Systems Development at the University of Cologne, where he is devoted in particular to the subject of software development management. In addition, he has chaired the supervisory board of the SQS Group in Cologne since 2000. In the course of his work, he has advised numerous companies in questions of software development management and was a long-time member of the board of trustees of the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering (IESE), in Kaiserslautern. Since 2009, he has been Dean of Studies at the WiSo Faculty.
His activities within the scope of software development management have centred on quality management and software process configuration. He is specifically interested in the way strategies employed by software manufacturers influence the design of software processes as well as in empirical studies on the success of software projects. His scientific publications include works of basic mathematical research, mathematics education, artificial intelligence and software development management. He is moreover the author of three textbooks on the subject of software development management.

To the website of Professor Dr. Werner Mellis

Prof. Dr. Frank Schulz-Nieswandt

(1958) studied social sciences at the University of Bochum. He obtained his doctorate in 1986 and his postdoctoral lecture qualification (habilitation) in 1991. His research assistance term was spent at the Universities of Bochum, Cologne and Regensburg. Following visiting and interim professorships in Constance, Regensburg, Göttingen, Kassel, Bielefeld and Bochum, he accepted the post as Scientific Director of the German Centre of Gerontology (DZA) in Berlin. He declined the offer of a Chair for Health Policy in Kassel, rather accepting the Chair for Social Policy in Cologne in 1998.
Professor Schulz-Nieswandt was a member of the Second and Third Commissions for Reporting on Ageing instituted by the German Federal Government. Since 1998, he has been the president of the Association for Social Progress. He is a member of the scientific advisory boards of the DZA and the Gesellschaft für Öffentliche Wirtschaft (GÖW); he is moreover a member of the International Scientific Commission on Social and Cooperative Economy of the International Centre of Research and Information on the Public, Social and Cooperative Economy – CIRIEC.

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Prof. Dr. Detlef Buschfeld

ist seit 2003 Professor für Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik und Direktor des Instituts für Berufs-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialpädagogik an der Universität zu Köln. Nach einer Ausbildung zum Industriekaufmann studierte er in Köln Wirtschaftspädagogik und promovierte dort 1994. Er absolvierte das Referendariat für das Lehramt an beruflichen Schulen an einer kaufmännischen Berufsschule in Neuss und legte 1995 die 2. Staatsprüfung ab. Als akademischer Rat war er von 1995 und 2002 an der Universität zu Köln tätig, habilitierte in Köln 2002. Er nahm einen Ruf auf eine Professur für Wirtschaftspädagogik, insbesondere Mediendidaktik und Weiterbildung an der Universität Paderborn im Jahr 2002 an. Seit 2003 ist er in Köln Professor, seit 2008 auch als Direktor des Forschungsinstituts für Berufsbildung im Handwerk an der Universität zu Köln sowie seit 2009 Mitglied im Vorstand des Deutschen Handwerksinstitutes in Berlin.

In den Jahren 2004 bis 2007 hat er als Fakultätsbeauftragter die Arbeiten zur Reform und Akkreditierung der Studiengänge auf das konsekutive Bachelor- und Masterstudiengangssystem koordiniert, danach wirkte der bei der Reform der Lehrerbildung und bei Aufbau des Professional Centers der Universität zu Köln mit. Seit April 2012 ist er Studiendekan der Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Fakultät.

Seine Forschungsarbeiten beschäftigen sich mit Organisation, Didaktik und Evaluation von beruflichen Bildungsgängen des Berufskollegs sowie der betrieblichen Berufsbildung in Klein- und Kleinstbetrieben. Zahlreiche Erfahrungen in Modellversuche und Evaluationen von Bildungsmaßnahmen (zum Übergang Schule-Beruf, der Lernortkooperation und Ganztagsberufsschule, zur beruflichen Weiterbildung) geben einen Einblick in die Praxis der Berufsbildung, der durch frühere Tätigkeiten als Dozent, Trainer und Prüfer in der beruflichen Weiterbildung ergänzt wird. Die Moderation und Beratung der Beteiligten bei der Entwicklung von beruflichen Curricula ist ein weiteres Arbeitsgebiet, in dem Forschungsinteressen und praktische Anwendungen im Bereich beruflicher Bildung verknüpft werden.

Professor Achim Wambach, Ph.D.

did his doctorate in Theoretical Physics at Oxford University. After gaining his Master of Science in Economics at the London School of Economics, he completed his postdoctoral lecture qualification (habilitation) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. Since 2001, he has been engaged as a university professor, initially at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität in Erlangen-Nuremberg, and, since 2005, as holder the Chair for Economic Governance & Public Policy at the University of Cologne, where he is also Director of the Institute for Economic Policy
Professor Wambach is a member of the scientific advisory board at the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, as well as of the DFG Senate Committee on Collaborative Research Centres. His academic interests focus on the application of game and contract theory to research on “market design”, with a particular view to auction, health and insurance markets. He has published a number of articles on these themes in such leading periodicals as the Journal of Economic Theory, the Journal of Health Economics, as well as in the journal Games and Economic Behavior.

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Prof. Ulrich Thonemann, Ph.D.

(1965) studied industrial engineering and management at the Universities of Berkeley, Paderborn and Stanford. He gained his Ph.D. at Stanford University in Management Science and Engineering. After that, he worked there for three years as an assistant professor, followed by another three years as a consultant with McKinsey & Company in Cologne. He started his academic career in Germany at the Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, before coming to Cologne. Here in Cologne, he heads the Department of Supply Chain Management at the WiSo Faculty. Meanwhile, he has declined offers for chairs from the University of Mannheim, the Technische Universität Darmstadt, the University of Vienna, and the Technische Universität München.
As Vice Dean for International Relations since March 2010, Professor Thonemann is responsible for the internationalization of teaching and research at the WiSo Faculty. His research work is devoted to the field of supply chain management, with a prime focus on incentive systems, stock optimization and service management. He is among the most published authors in the domain of Business Administration in Germany and co-edits a number of international scientific journals, as well as being the author of several textbooks. Professor Thonemann is moreover a member of the Academy of Sciences of North Rhine-Westphalia and of the Verein für Socialpolitik.

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Prof. Dr. Franziska Völckner

is Director of the Department of Marketing and Brand Management at the University of Cologne. After taking her degree in Business Administration, she did her doctorate at the University of Hamburg, where she went on to gain her postdoctoral lecture qualification (habilitation). Research stays abroad took her to the Australian Graduate School of Management, the University of Technology Sydney, the Waikato Management School and Georgia State University, among others.
According to the May 2009 ranking of business researchers by the German daily paper Handelsblatt, Professor Völckner’s current achievements have placed her among the top 25 (out of 2,100 scientists from Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland). Her research and interest priorities focus on brand and price management as well as on market and consumer research. Her academic accomplishments have received numerous awards, including 1st prize of the German Brands Association (Markenverband) and the research prize of the Deutsche Marketing-Verband. In 2008, she was awarded the prize for junior scientists by the German Academic Association for Business Research. Professor Völcker is moreover a member of the jury for the German Marketing Prize conferred by the Deutsche Marketing-Verband, and of the board of trustees of G.E.M. (Gesellschaft zur Erforschung des Markenwesens).

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