On 27 April 2023, Dr Oliver Locker-Grütjen, President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, was awarded an honorary professorship in ecology, specialising in sustainability transformation through participation, at Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences (H-BRS). The professorship is affiliated with the Centre for Responsibility and Ethics (ZEV), a key academic institution at the university.
“The H-BRS is a university active in more than 60 fields of research in total. Among other things, it focuses on the topic of sustainability, which has also been growing in importance at the HSRW for years,” said Locker-Grütjen. “Particularly against the backdrop of the sustainability transformation at the HSRW, I hope that the honorary professorship at the H-BRS will provide an opportunity to expand collaboration between the two universities in this field.”
The award of the honorary professorship is, on the one hand, a recognition of his achievements to date in the fields of ecology, sustainability, educational sciences and community engagement. On the other hand, it comes with the expectation that he will foster closer ties with the H-BRS and contribute to its teaching and research programmes.
At an institutional level, the professorship thus serves as a bridge between the two universities, whilst simultaneously contributing to the expansion of the HSRW’s expertise in sustainability. – All this takes place against the backdrop of strategically far-reaching initiatives at the HSRW: the finalisation of the University Development Plan 2030, the establishment of a European Centre for Sustainability Transformation (EUZENT), and the ‘Transformation of the Lower Rhine Region’ project – Innovation, Sustainability, Participation (TransRegINT), funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the ‘Innovative University’ initiative.
Locker-Grütjen is looking forward to the opportunity to engage with the topic of sustainability transformation from an academic perspective as well: “The fact that I have now been given the opportunity to contribute to this field in line with my academic background is a particular source of joy for me personally. I am confident that, through our work to date at the HSRW and my honorary professorship, we can continue to advance the cause of sustainable change together.”
