At the 7th University Electoral Assembly of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences on 25 February 2025, the current Vice-Presidium was re-elected for a second term of office. The candidates standing for election were the incumbent Vice-President for Studies, Teaching and Academic Continuing Education, Prof. Dr Jörg Petri; the Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer, Prof. Dr-Ing Peter Kisters; and the Vice-President for International Affairs and Diversity, Prof. Dr Tatiana Zimenkova.
All three were confirmed in their posts for a further six years until 2031. Following the re-election of Prof. Dr Oliver Locker-Grütjen, President of Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, last November, the team of Vice-Presidents who will support him in the coming years is now also in place.
Before the election, Locker-Grütjen introduced the members of the Executive Board, thanked them for their work and campaigned for their re-election. “Our team works together excellently and successfully. The past few years have demonstrated this,” explained the university president. He subsequently expressed his delight at the election result: “I am very pleased to be able to continue this trusting collaboration in the future. As is well known, the further development of our university is already set out in our University Development Plan 2030.”
The University Electoral Assembly is responsible for electing all members of the Executive Board. Half of its membership consists of all members of the Senate, and the other half of all members of the University Council. The seventh meeting of the University Electoral Assembly of Rhein-Waal University began at 2.30 pm in Room 5A EG 001 on the Kleve campus. The meeting was open to the university community.
About the individual
Prof. Dr Jörg Petri has been Professor of Media Production at the Faculty of Communication and Environment at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences since 2010 and was elected Vice-President for Studies, Teaching and Academic Continuing Education in 2019. His objectives at the university include establishing a quality management system in the area of studies and teaching, which is intended to contribute continuously to improving the quality of study programmes and study conditions at both of the university’s campuses. To this end, he has, amongst other things, launched the ‘Quality Dialogue’ in collaboration with the Centre for Quality Improvement in Studies and Teaching, in which degree programmes and study conditions are scrutinised together with the faculties and quality improvement measures are developed. The cultural integration and academic inclusion of international students is a key priority for him in this regard.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Kisters has been Professor of Mechanical Engineering, specialising in product design, at the Faculty of Technology and Bionics at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences since April 2011. Since September 2019, he has served as Vice-President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge Transfer. His objectives at the university, which has campuses in Kleve and Kamp-Lintfort, include integrating research and knowledge transfer into teaching, as well as further strengthening interdisciplinary research and knowledge transfer in business and society. To this end, Kisters coordinates various programmes within the ‘PRO4-HSRW’ project, which promote academic career paths through collaboration between research and industry. In addition, together with the Centre for Research, Innovation and Transfer (ZFIT), he carries out the Stifterverband’s transfer audit and, as part of the ‘Innovative University’ funding programme, coordinates the ‘Transformation of the Lower Rhine Region – TransRegINT’ as part of the ‘Innovative University’ funding programme – a project that prepares not only the region but also the university itself for the challenges of the future. He is particularly keen to establish research priorities that take into account the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, thereby further sharpening the university’s profile.
Prof. Dr. habil. Tatiana Zimenkova has been Vice-President for International Affairs and Diversity since September 2019 and has been Professor of Sociology at the Faculty of Society and Economics at Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences since 2018. Her objectives at the university, which has campuses in Kleve and Kamp-Lintfort, include further strengthening and supporting the university’s international character, as well as raising the profile of diversity-related issues. To this end, she has, for example, been organising the Days of Antidiscrimination and events surrounding the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia in collaboration with student representatives since 2020. Her vision is of an inclusive university where everyone can achieve their goals. At the same time, the aim is to enable all members of the university community to participate in university processes and university life.
