PIONEER graduate Jonathan Grundmann wins Materna Graduate Award
Jonathan Grundmann’s master’s thesis, titled “Decoding Bureaucracy: Towards a Process Mining Method for Public Administration,” has been awarded first place in the Materna Graduate Award. The Materna Graduate Award recognizes outstanding theses in the field of digitalization and supports young talents as well as innovative solutions for the digital transformation of public administration.
In his thesis, Jonathan Grundmann examines why process mining holds great potential for public administration but has rarely been used in a systematic way. The focus is organizational, technical, and structural challenges that hinder broader adoption. His analysis shows how data-driven process analysis can make administrative workflows more transparent, uncover optimization potentials, and thereby contribute to more efficient and modern administrative structures.
The thesis was supervised by Michael Räckers and Sandro Franzoi from the Department of Information Systems at the University of Münster.
Jonathan Grundmann is a graduate of the Erasmus Mundus Master of Science in Public Sector Innovation and eGovernance (PIONEER). This interdisciplinary program is a joint degree offered by KU Leuven (Belgium), Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia), and the University of Münster (Germany), and combines expertise in public administration, public management, information systems, and eGovernance.
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Münster ranks among the top 5 “Best Business and Management Universities in Germany”
The School of Business and Economics at the University of Münster is once again ranked among the leading institutions for Business and Management in Germany. In the latest “Best Business and Management Universities in Germany Ranking 2026” by Research.com, it ranks 5th nationwide and is thus among the top tier of German Business Schools, alongside other renowned institutions such as the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management.
Two professors from the Department of Information Systems are listed among the “Leading Scientists”: Prof. Jan vom Brocke and Prof. Jörg Becker rank 12th and 20th nationally and 348th and 585th globally. A total of 9,829 researchers specializing in business and management were analyzed for inclusion in the ranking. It is based on bibliometric data and takes into account the number of publications and citations by top researchers.
Further information on the methodology and all results of the ranking can be found here.
CHE Ranking 2026/27: Information Systems Receives Very High Ratings
The latest CHE University Ranking shows that students at the School of Business and Economics are highly satisfied with the general conditions at the University of Münster. More than three quarters of the students rated their study experience with 4 or 5 out of 5 stars – in Information Systems, the figure is as high as 93.6 percent.
The School of Business and Economics performs particularly highly in supporting students at the beginning of their studies. A wide range of services specifically for prospective students and first-year students makes the transition to university life easier and places the School among the top performers in this category.
Students rated the Information Systems program with more than 4 out of 5 stars in the categories overall study situation, teaching quality, support from lecturers, academic support, library facilities, learning and working spaces, and digital learning. The program performed especially strongly in study organization, achieving a score of 4.6 out of 5 stars. In almost all categories, the program scores above the average of German universities.
The CHE University Ranking is the most comprehensive comparison of higher education institutions in the German-speaking world. This year, around 35,000 students at 265 universities and universities of applied sciences (HAW) provided feedback on their study conditions in the subjects of Law, Business Administration, economics, business studies, business informatics, industrial engineering, business psychology, business law and social work.
All the results of the ranking will be published in the ZEIT Study Guide 2026/27 and online at HeyStudium.
Girls’Day 2026
At this year’s Girls’Day on April 23, 2026, 19 schoolgirls gained exciting insights into the world of Information Systems.
Staff members from various areas of the department put together an engaging program: Following an informal icebreaker game to get to know each other, participants were introduced to the field of Information Systems and potential career paths. They then experienced how software development works firsthand in a LEGO Scrum workshop. A rallye across the Leonardo Campus also gave them the opportunity to explore the surroundings.
A particular highlight was the programming course, where participants were able to gain their first hands-on experience with Scratch. In the subsequent quiz, they had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and discover further aspects of Information Systems.
The day concluded with a joint lunch, where participants could also try out VR headsets. In this way, Information Systems was not only explained in an accessible way but also experienced firsthand.
Girls’Day is a nationwide orientation day in Germany that enables girls from grade 5 onwards to explore professions and fields of study in which women are still underrepresented, particularly in technology, IT, skilled trades, and the natural sciences. The aim is to break down gender-based career stereotypes and open up new perspectives for the future.
data:unplugged 2026
On March 26 and 27, the Department of Information Systems, together with the Professional School, participated in data:unplugged – Europe’s largest event dedicated to data and artificial intelligence.
The event provided a central platform for exchange between academia, industry, and society. The Department of Information Systems took the opportunity to present current research projects and engage with professionals, researchers, and data enthusiasts from a wide range of disciplines. The focus was particularly on innovative approaches at the intersection of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and practical application areas.
The numerous conversations at the booth highlighted the strong interest in applied research as well as in collaboration opportunities between research and practice. The open dialogue once again highlighted the importance of connecting cutting-edge research with practical applications to drive innovation forward.
Annual portraits “Twelve months, twelve people” featuring Jan vom Brocke
The University of Münster has published its 2025 annual portrait series “Twelve Months, Twelve People”. With this publication, the Communications and Public Relations Office highlights the diversity of the university and presents several outstanding personalities from the past year.
Among them is Prof. Jan vom Brocke, Director of the Department of Information Systems, Chair of Information Systems and Business Process Management, and Director of the European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS). He is internationally active in the field of Information Systems and currently serves as President of the Association for Information Systems (AIS). In the annual portrait, he reflects on his journey from being a student in Münster to becoming an internationally connected researcher. He also discusses his research on business processes, artificial intelligence, and the responsible use of these technologies. The full portrait offers insights into his work and motivation.
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Portrait of Jan vom Brocke “Information systems: making the world a better place”
Read the other articles from the brochure “Twelve Months, Twelve People” here
Future Digital Towns – Mercator Fellow Prof. Dorothea Kleine
In February, the DFG research unit “Future Digital Towns” at the Department of Information Systems welcomed its Mercator Fellow, Prof. Dorothea Kleine.
Dorothea Kleine is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Sheffield (UK), Director of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development (IGSD), and head of the research group “Digital Technologies, Data and Innovation”. Her research focuses on sustainable human development, global justice, and the role of digital technologies in advancing these goals.
Within the research unit, she contributes her expertise on the Capability Approach, which serves as a central theoretical framework for the group. In doing so, she provides important impulses for shaping digital measures in socially inclusive and public-interest-oriented ways.
Over the course of the year, Prof. Kleine will visit three times for one month each, working closely with the research unit on current and future topics.
Funded by the German Research Council (DFG), the research unit "Future Digital Towns" investigates how medium-sized towns can address the challenges of digitalization. Its aim is to develop digital tools that strengthen their liveability.
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ECHOSAT: First Global Tree Height Map
How do forests grow in different regions of the world? With ECHOSAT, this question can now be systematically answered on a global scale and over multiple years.
While previous tree height maps only represented individual years, ECHOSAT (Estimating Canopy Height Over Space and Time) tracks forest growth, disturbances, and regrowth over multiple years, providing important data for CO₂ monitoring and climate protection efforts.
Jan Pauls, Dr. Karsten Schrödter, Sven Ligensa, and Prof. Fabian Gieseke from the Chair of Machine Learning and Data Engineering at the Department of Information Systems develop ECHOSAT together with international partners: Martin Schwartz and Philippe Ciais (Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE), France), Berkant Turan and Max Zimmer (Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB)), Sassan Saatchi (Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California Institute of Technology, USA), and Sebastian Pokutta (Technical University of Berlin).
The research team combines multi-sensor satellite data with a specialized vision transformer model. A self-supervised growth regularization ensures that the estimated tree heights follow biologically plausible growth curves, including gradual increases as well as abrupt declines due to fire or deforestation.
For example, in Les Landes (France), ECHOSAT clearly reveals the cycles of logging and regrowth, while large parts of the Amazon rainforest remain stable over the observed period. Both patterns are detected automatically, without additional post-processing.
ECHOSAT is part of the AI4Forest project, a German-French research cooperation. Recognizing the critical importance of forest ecosystems for climate and biodiversity, the initiative investigates how state-of-the-art artificial intelligence methods can be used to better understand, monitor, and respond to climate-driven environmental changes.
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Access the full paper here.
The maps are publicly available here.
More information about the AI4Forest project can be found here.
Students Participate in the German American Conference at Harvard
In mid-November, ten students of the School of Business and Economics took part in the German American Conference (GAC) at the Harvard Kennedy School. The GAC is the largest student-organized conference focusing on transatlantic relations and annually brings together students, academics, and representatives from politics, business, and society. The aim of the conference is to strengthen transatlantic dialogue and to examine current global challenges from multiple perspectives.
Participation took place as part of the interdisciplinary seminar “Leadership for Digital Entrepreneurs in a Global Society”, led by Dr. Thomas Haskamp with the involvement of Raphaela Kuhlmann, which was designed for bachelor’s and master’s students in Information Systems as well as related economics and business programs. The seminar was complemented by a cooperation with the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI), where David Hahn supervised the HPI students, who also participated in the seminar and the conference. As part of the academic preparation and reflection, participants visited the campuses in Münster and Potsdam. The seminar focused on a reflective engagement with the topic Leadership, which was stimulated through conducting interviews and ultimately deepened in academic seminar papers.
The highlight and central element of the reflection process was the active participation in the German American Conference itself, including involvement in the Essay Competition, participation in discussion rounds, and interactive workshops. As part of their preparation, students also visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) prior to the conference, where a lecture with a discussion component was held as part of the seminar. Under the theme “Transatlantic Relationship at a Crossroads,” the GAC began with an opening event and initial keynotes in the Harvard Yard (Memorial Church), featuring contributions by Hazel Brugger (comedian), Wendy R. Sherman (former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State), and Dmytro Kuleba (former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine). Over the following two days, the main program took place at the Harvard Kennedy School, where keynotes, panels, workshops, and informal exchange formats such as Coffee Chats and Conversation Tables provided numerous opportunities for academic discussion and networking. The conference concluded with a reception at the Prudential Tower overlooking Boston.
Participation was made possible thanks to the support of Alumni e.V., the Department of Information Systems at the University of Münster, and HPI Engine at the Hasso Plattner Institute under the direction of Dr. Frank Pawlitschek, Managing Director of HPI Engine.
New Department Secretary at the Department of Information Systems
Since January 2026, Marieke Schwarz has been working as Department Secretary at the Department of Information Systems, succeeding Monika Rohe. After successfully completing her vocational training as an Office Management Specialist at the University of Münster, she has now joined the department as a permanent staff member.
Marieke completed her training in a shortened period of two and a half years. During this time, she gained experience across several units of the University of Münster, including the Institute of Egyptology and Coptology, the Faculty of Law’s Dean’s Office, and the Rectorate’s Office. In addition, she worked temporarily at the Department of Information Systems, allowing her to become familiar early on with the department’s structures and processes.
In her new position, she is responsible for tasks at both department level and at the Chair of Information Systems and Business Process Management, headed by Prof. Jan vom Brocke. Her responsibilities include room bookings, catering, and financial transactions for the department, as well as the organization of appointments, travel expense reimbursements, and expense claims at the chair. She is also involved in the organizational preparation of conferences and events.
She is particularly interested in the further development and digitalization of internal processes. Among other things, she aims to promote the increased use of Confluence and contribute to the optimization of existing procurement processes. Working full-time allows her to focus on theses tasks.
“I am very happy to now be working permanently at the department after completing my training. I particularly appreciate the variety of tasks and the direct interaction with people,” says Marieke Schwarz.
The Department of Information Systems warmly welcomes Marieke Schwarz and looks forward to working with her in the future.