In early July, Professor Dr. Verena Rieger, Representative for the Promotion of Early Career Researchers, and the School's PhD student representatives extended an invitation to welcome new doctoral candidates and celebrate the end of the semester together with other PhD students and postdocs.

Neue Promovierende willkommen heißen und gemeinsam mit anderen Doktorand:innen und Postdocs den Semesterabschluss feiern - dazu hatten Prof. Dr. Verena Rieger als Beauftragte zur Förderung von Nachwuchswissenschaftler:innen und die Promovierendenvertretung der Fakultät Anfang Juli eingeladen.

40 economics students participated in a hackathon, applying their knowledge of game theory to a real-world problem. Their task was to develop a solution for the economically efficient eradication of Hepatitis C, optimizing both the costs and success of an eradication initiative. The seminar was supervised by Prof. Dr. Vitali Gretschko and PD Dr. Jörg Lingens, Chair of Sustainable Market Design; Prof. Dr. Martin Watzinger, Chair of Innovation Economics and Entrepreneurship; and Claas Westendorf, Project Manager at the consulting firm TWS Partners.

Rund 40 VWL-Studierende hatten im Rahmen eines Hackathons die Möglichkeit, ihr Wissen zur Spieltheorie praktisch anzuwenden. Ihre Aufgabe bestand darin, einen Lösungsansatz zu finden, wie Hepatitis C wirtschaftlich effizient ausgelöscht werden kann, also Kosten und Erfolg der Beauftragung zur Beseitigung von Hep C zu optimieren. Betreut wurde das Seminar von Prof. Dr. Vitali Gretschko und PD Dr. Jörg Lingens vom Lehrstuhl für Nachhaltiges Marktdesign, Prof. Dr. Martin Watzinger, Lehrstuhl für VWL, insbesondere Innovationsökonomik und Entrepreneurship, und Claas Westendorf, Projektmanager bei der Unternehmensberatung TWS Partners. 

In einem Artikel auf Focus-Online ordnet Prof. Gernot Sieg, Leiter des Instituts für Verkehrswissenschaft und Vorsitzender des Wissenschaftlichen Beirats beim Bundesminister für Verkehr, die aktuellen Planungen zur Finanzierung von Fernstraßen ein. "Effizient und schnell, das wird beides nicht gehen", so seine Einschätzung zur konkreten Umsetzung von Sanierungs- und Bauvorhaben. Als Gründe hierfür führt er u.a. an, dass eine schnelle Nachfrageerhöhung bei Material und Bauunternehmen in steigenden Preisen münden könnte.

In einem Beitrag für die Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung analysieren Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Berens, Seniorprofessor an der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät, und Walter Schmitting, Akademischer Direktor derselben Fakultät, die Wiedereinführung der degressiven Abschreibung als Teil des „Investitionsboosters“ der Bundesregierung. Der rechnerische Vorteil für Unternehmen beträgt laut ihren Modellrechnungen nur rund 1,2 % der Investitionssumme. Dennoch kann die Maßnahme durch Steuerstundung und psychologische Effekte zusätzliche Investitionen auslösen.

From July 5 to 11, the science festival “SchlauRaum” is taking place, transforming the city of Münster into a vibrant campus. Under the theme “Why? How? Healthy?”, the festival focuses on the theme of health – organized by the University of Münster, FH Münster, Münster University Hospital (UKM) and Münster Marketing.

During the opening weekend, one of the highlights was a pavilion dedicated to “One Health – the health of humans, animals, and the environment.” At the booth, researchers Prof. Stephan Ludwig, Dr. Friederike Jansen, Johannes Ponge, Prof. Benedikt Heuckmann, and Dr. Ulrich Hobusch presented interactive, real-life examples illustrating the interconnection between human, animal, and environmental health. They demonstrated how scientific insights can help identify and combat risks at an early stage.

Johannes Ponge, a research associate at the Chair of Information Systems and Logistics, showed how simulations can support understanding, predicting, and containing disease outbreaks. The simulation models a virtual representation of the German population to test which interventions (e.g. social distancing or vaccinations) may help slow the spread of infectious diseases.

The One Health Platform brings together more than 1,300 researchers from various disciplines.

As part of the graduation ceremony on June 27, 2025, not only were numerous graduates of the 2024/25 winter semester bid farewell, but outstanding achievements from students of the School of Business and Economics were also honored.

In the field of Information Systems, Lars Heimann received the CHECK24-AlumniUM-Bachelor-Award for his outstanding achievements in his Bachelor's degree. Vanessa Twickler was honored with the REMONDIS-AlumniUM-Master-Award for her excellent results in her Master's degree. Both awards were presented in cooperation with the alumni association AlumniUM e.V. and CHECK24 or REMONDIS. They underline the high standard and practical relevance of the Information Systems program and recognize the dedication and commitment of the students.

A highlight of the event was the presentation of the “Preis der jungen Wirtschaft – Master Edition“ (Young Economy Award) to Enno Knollmeyer, awarded by AlumniUM e.V. in cooperation with the Wirtschaftsjunioren Nord Westfalen. His master's thesis, entitled ‘Addressing Institutional Voids in Childcare Emergency Staffing Processes: A Digital Social Innovation Approach,’ deals with the structural challenges faced by childcare facilities in the event of short-term staff shortages. As part of his thesis, Enno developed a digital tool that automates emergency planning, ensures legal compliance and improves communication with parents – with impressive results: planning time has been reduced by over 90%. His work is based on a research-based approach that combines design science research with the principle of digital social innovation.

We congratulate all award winners on their well-deserved recognition – and of course all graduates on their successful completion their studies. We wish them all the best and much success for the future!

This year, the Teaching Award of the Student Council of Business and Economics was presented to Dr. Thomas Haskamp and Prof. Felipe Scavarda. The award recognizes outstanding commitment to teaching and is based on the results of student course evaluations. 

As part of the graduation ceremony, two faculty members from the Department of Information Systems were honored: 

Dr. Thomas Haskamp received the award for his master’s seminar “Digital Product Innovation with Design Thinking” offered in the winter semester 2024/25.

For the first time, a visiting professor was also honored with the award this year. Felipe Scavarda (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro) received the award – together with Prof. Bernd Hellingrath – for the Bachelor’s seminar “Supply Chain Logistics Management”, which was also offered in the winter semester 2024/25. The Brazilian visiting professor has been regularly teaching at the University of Münster for many years and also collaborates closely with the Department of Information Systems on research projects.