Holger Hanselka is the new President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Holger Hanselka takes office as President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft on 15 August. Hanselka moves from the position of President of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), which he held for more than ten years, to the head of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. Prior to his work in Karlsruhe, the 61-year-old headed the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability LBF in Darmstadt and was a member of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's Executive Board from 2006 to 2012.

The Senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft unanimously elected Holger Hanselka on 25 May 2023. »With his experience, scientific reputation and his approachable and hands-on manner, Holger Hanselka is the right person to lead the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft into the future," says Hildegard Müller, Chairwoman of the Senate of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. »As an engineer, company founder and university lecturer, Holger Hanselka has experienced all facets of business, science and research in his professional career in management positions and has acquired precisely the skills that are now needed at the head of Fraunhofer: Leadership, a willingness to engage in dialogue, integrity and entrepreneurial thinking and action.«

Holger Hanselka is stepping up to further advance the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft's mission to strengthen the economy and help shape a future worth living, to strengthen its role in the science system and to further expand its position as an essential supplier of innovation for small, medium-sized and large companies. »The trust of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in electing me to the office of President is an honour, a responsibility and an incentive at the same time. Together with the more than 30,000 experts at Fraunhofer, I will work to develop sustainable solutions for the pressing issues of our time. In a world of constant change and new challenges every day, it is science and research in particular that can give humanity hope in the fight against climate change, in dealing with concerns about artificial intelligence and digitalisation and the questions of nutrition or even the mobility of the future," says Holger Hanselka, the new President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. He pointed out that Fraunhofer's most urgent task is to further accelerate the application of new technologies in close cooperation with partners from the federal and state governments, industry, science and society, thus strengthening the competitiveness and future viability of Germany and Europe.

Change through dialogue
Professor Holger Hanselka continues: »Change always occurs first within an organisation. That is why I will enter into an intensive dialogue with employees, committees and stakeholders in politics, business and society right at the start of my term of office. This is the only way we can jointly develop a modern corporate culture and transparent, results-orientated forms of cooperation that will be of decisive importance for the future viability of Fraunhofer and also in the competition for the best employees.

About the person
Professor Holger Hanselka, born in 1961, studied general mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Clausthal. In 1988, he joined the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as a research assistant, where he specialised in lightweight construction and fibre composites. After a professorship at Otto von Guericke University in Magdeburg, he moved to Darmstadt in 2001 as Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability and Head of the Department of System Reliability and Machine Acoustics at TU Darmstadt. From 2006 to 2012, Hanselka was a member of the Executive Board of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft and held the office of Vice President of TU Darmstadt from 2010 until his move to Karlsruhe.

Source: LABO from 14 August 2023