At the 49th Senate meeting, Professor Kehrein was re-elected as Chair of the Senate of Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. Tolgay Özdemir, a student in the Faculty of Society and Economics, was appointed Deputy Chair.
Professor Dr Achim Kehrein – Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Faculty of Technology and Bionics – has served as an elected representative for the academic staff group since the Senate was established. Born in Goch, Professor Kehrein has strong ties to the region whilst also possessing international experience. In addition to studying mathematics with a minor in physics at the University of Duisburg, which included a one-year Erasmus placement at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, he spent three years working towards his PhD at Auburn University in the USA. He subsequently held posts at, amongst others, the University of Hohenheim in Stuttgart, Dortmund Technical University and Wildau University of Applied Sciences before returning to his home region in 2011 following his appointment at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences.
Alongside his role as a professor, he is a liaison lecturer for the German National Academic Foundation and a voluntary lecturer at the annual summer academy organised by the North Rhine-Westphalia State Association for Mathematics Competitions in Kranenburg (www.soak-nrw.de). He is also involved in a partnership between the university and Goch Grammar School, through which pupils take part in the university’s lectures and examinations as ‘junior students’. Last summer, he also served as a lecturer at the Faculty of Technology and Bionics’ Girls’ STEM Summer School 2017, which introduced schoolgirls to the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in a way tailored to their needs and with a practical focus.
Tolgay Özdemir, born in Emmerich am Rhein, has been studying International Business and Social Sciences at the Faculty of Society and Economics since the 2012/13 winter semester, having previously obtained his university entrance qualification with a specialisation in Economics and Administration. Özdemir has been an elected representative on the Student Parliament since 2014. From 2015 to 2017, he was head of the Social Affairs Department within the General Student Committee, where he championed the social interests of the student body. In addition, he is active in the DGB university group at HSRW and on the executive committee of the Juso university group at HSRW. Since 2018, Özdemir has served as an elected student representative on the Senate.
As the university’s central body, the Senate is entrusted with various tasks. Together with the University Council, it forms the University Electoral Assembly, which elects the members of the Executive Board and comments on the Executive Board’s annual report. It is responsible for enacting the university’s constitution and other regulations. Furthermore, it issues recommendations and statements, for example on the draft university development plan or the university agreement between Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences and the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
