Jury

Career and Roles:
Since 2002: Professor (C2) of Knowledge-Based Systems (Artificial Intelligence, Intelligent Agents, Data Mining) at Harz University of Applied Sciences, Wernigerode
Since 2022: Vice-Rector for Research and Equal Opportunities, Harz University of Applied Sciences
Since 2021: Deputy Head of the Doctoral Center for Engineering and Information Technologies at Anhalt, Harz and Merseburg Universities of Applied Sciences
2012–2024: Deputy Speaker of the Cognition specialist group of the German Informatics Society (GI)
2007–2012: Vice-Rector for Research and Knowledge Transfer, Harz University of Applied Sciences

Awards:
2018: Prize for Most Technologically Feasible Poster Contribution for “The Power of Linear Recurrent Neural Networks,” Cognitive Computing, Hannover
2017: Third place in the Most Innovative Alliance category of the Hugo Junkers Award for Research and Innovation from Saxony-Anhalt
2016: Second place in the Most Innovative Alliance category of the Hugo Junkers Award for Research and Innovation from Saxony-Anhalt

Qualifications:
2006: Habilitation on “Multiagent Systems and RoboCup: Specification, Analysis, and Theoretical Results,” University in Koblenz
1998: Doctorate (magna cum laude) on “Disjunctive Logic Programming with Constraints and its Applications”
1992: Diplom in Computer Science (with distinction, grade 1.1)

Jan Alberti has been a member of the Management Board of bmp Ventures AG and jointly responsible for managing the IBG funds in Saxony-Anhalt since 2017. The IBG funds are venture capital funds financed by the state and the EU. They invest in small and medium-sized innovative technology companies in Saxony-Anhalt.

He joined bmp as an Investment Manager in 2013, after building a high-tech incubator in Potsdam (GO:INcubator GmbH) from 2007 to 2013, serving as its General Manager from 2010 to 2013. There, he supported more than 60 early-stage high-tech start-ups with business development and raising capital.

At bmp Ventures AG, he and 17 other employees are responsible for a portfolio of around 50 companies. His own investment focus is primarily on enterprise software, mobile apps, mobility, automotive and energy technologies.
Jan Alberti completed his doctorate at the University of Potsdam in 2010, following several research and professional placements in the US and China. These included a DAAD scholarship at Beihang University in Beijing (2009), work as a Financial Analyst at HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt (2006) and a placement at Siemens Healthcare USA (2004–2005). 
 

1980–1984
Studied Sports Science at the German College of Physical Culture (DHfK) in Leipzig

1984–1988
Postgraduate research at the DHfK in Leipzig

1988
Doctorate in Education (Dr. paed.)

1988–1992
Research Associate at the DHfK in Leipzig

1993–1997
Research Associate on the pilot degree program in Health Promotion and Management at Magdeburg University of Applied Sciences

1997
Research visit to San Diego State University (USA), Institute for Behavioral and Community Health

1998–2011
Lecturer at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences

2011–2013
Acting Professor of Health Sciences, specializing in the theory and methods of health promotion, at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences

Since 2014
Professor of Health Sciences, specializing in the theory and methods of health promotion, at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences

Since 2018
Vice-Rector for Research, Development and Transfer at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences

Emrah Düzel trained as a neurologist in Germany, in Bonn and Magdeburg. His work in cognitive neurology focuses on the functional anatomy of human episodic memory networks and neuromodulatory circuits, their clinical and mechanistic changes in aging and neurodegeneration, and their potential for plasticity. He heads the Institute of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia Research and the Memory Clinic at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg.

As Speaker of the Magdeburg site of the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE, Helmholtz Association), he supports the implementation and analysis of imaging and cognitive methods in Alzheimer's disease. He is also a part-time group leader at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London, a fellow of the Max Planck School of Cognition and a co-founder of the digital health start-up neotiv. Within the newly established German Dementia Care Network, he coordinates a working group on digital health and telemedicine. Emrah Düzel is Speaker of the newly established Collaborative Research Center 1436, Neural Resources of Cognition.

1978–1983
Studied Chemistry with a focus on Biochemistry at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg

1983–1986
Postgraduate research at VEB Berlin Chemie, Peptide Active Ingredients Division

1987
Doctorate in Natural Sciences (Dr. rer. nat.) with distinction at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg; Adam Kuckhoff Prize

1986–1996
Research Associate at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Bioactive Compound Biochemistry Group

1995–1997
Worked in the office of the Advisory Council for Science and Research at the state's Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs

Since 1997
Professor of Biochemistry and Phototrophic Biotechnology at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

Since 2000
Established and heads the Competence Center for Algal Biotechnology

2004–2011
Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Teaching; Head of the Senate Committee for Academic Affairs and Teaching

2004–2019
Deputy Director of the Center of Life Sciences at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

Since 2009
Member of the DECHEMA Advisory Board for Algal Biotechnology

Since 2009
Member of the DECHEMA Advisory Board for Algal Biotechnology

2010
Theme Ambassador for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's Science Year, The Future of Energy

Since 2011
Head of the Biosolar Center (HSA & GICON GmbH) at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

Since 2012
Jury member for the German Environmental Competition (BundesUmweltWettbewerb)

2013
Hugo Junkers Award for Research and Innovation in two categories:

• Algal compounds for the prevention of Alzheimer's dementia; partners: Leibniz IPB, Fraunhofer IZI (Most Innovative Projects in Basic Research)
• Christmas tree reactor – an innovative system for microalgae cultivation; partner: GICON GmbH (Most Innovative Alliance)

Since 2014
Senator and member of the Senate Committee at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

Since 2015
Head of the State Academy for School Students

Since 2019
Established the Center for Natural Product-Based Therapeutics at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in cooperation with Fraunhofer IZI-MWT; jointly heads the group Innovative Methods for Identifying New Lead Compounds, Small Molecules and Biologicals (Fraunhofer cooperation program with universities of applied sciences)

Since 2019
Appointed to the Substance List Working Group by the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety

Since 2020
Executive Director of the Center of Life Sciences at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

Dr. Sandra Hagel studied Law at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. From 2002 to 2003, she worked and conducted research at the environmental agency TCEQ in Houston, Texas, and at the University of Houston. In 2007, she completed her doctorate on legal instruments for incorporating nature conservation into the acquisition of rights to federally owned mineral resources in the US and Germany.

Dr. Hagel has worked in the state administration of Saxony-Anhalt since 1999. Her positions have included roles at the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, at the State Administration Office in Halle, where she headed the Circular Economy and Soil Protection unit, and as a division head at the Southern Office for Agriculture, Land Consolidation and Forestry.

Dr. Hagel has been President of the State Office for Environmental Protection of Saxony-Anhalt since June 2017.

Since August 2011
Policy Officer for Research Funding, Technology Transfer and Cooperation Between Science and Industry at the Ministry of Economy, Science and Digitalization of Saxony-Anhalt

July 1994 – August 2011
Policy Officer for Science Policy, Press and Public Relations, and Research Funding at the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt

July 1992 – July 1994
Policy Officer for Science Policy at the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of Brandenburg

1989–1992
Second State Examination in Law; legal traineeship at Bonn Regional Court

1983–1987
First State Examination in Law, Public Administration, University of Bonn

1980–1983
Banking apprenticeship at Bank für Gemeinwirtschaft, Bonn

Olaf Höhn 

Personal Details: 
- Year of birth: 1949 
- Place of birth: Berlin 
- Grew up in Berlin-Neukölln 
- His parents owned a bakery, which inspired his passion for food and craftsmanship from an early age 
- Entrepreneur and owner of Florida Eis Manufaktur 

Education: 
- Degree in Mechanical Engineering 

 
Early Career: 
- Became self-employed immediately after graduating 
 
1985: 
- Decided to produce ice cream and founded Florida Eis 
- Recognized the potential of regional ice cream production through a partnership with the small, high-quality ice cream producer Café Annelie 
 
Sustainability: 
- Developed Germany's first carbon-neutral ice cream production operation 
- Combines ice cream production with the use of solar energy during the summer months 
 
Philosophy: 
- “We turn sunshine into ice cream” – a belief in the synergy between nature and technology 
- Sustainability as a driving force 

 
A committed entrepreneur with a passion for sustainable production and regional craftsmanship, rooted in the food industry and dedicated to an environmentally friendly future. 

1995–1997
Master of Science, University of Virginia (USA)

May 1997 – November 2006
Various management roles at the BMW Group plants in Dingolfing and Regensburg

December 2006 – April 2010
Head of Motorcycle Assembly, BMW Group Plant Berlin

May 2010 – December 2013
Head of Body Assembly and Final Assembly, BMW Group Plant Regensburg

January 2014 – November 2015
Head of Assembly, BMW Group Plant Oxford

Since November 2015
Plant Director, BMW Group Plant Leipzig

• Managing Director of the State Energy Agency of Saxony-Anhalt (LENA) since 2013
• Employed at the Ministry of Finance of Saxony-Anhalt (2012–2013)
• Employed at the Representation of Saxony-Anhalt to the Federal Government in Berlin (2010–2011)
• Member of the German Bundestag for constituency 66, Altmark (2005–2009)
• Employed at the State Construction Agency of Saxony-Anhalt (2002–2005)
• Employed at the Ministry of Housing, Urban Development and Transport of Saxony-Anhalt, in the office of Minister Dr. Jürgen Heyer (2000–2002)
• Employed in the state administration in Stendal (1998–2000)
• Qualified as a State-Certified Environmental Protection Technician
• Qualified as an Industrial Electronics Technician specializing in production technology (1994)

Since January 2012
Technical Managing Director of the Pergande Group (Pergande GmbH, VTA GmbH, IPT Pergande GmbH)

May 2008
Offered the Chair of Particle Process Engineering at Graz University of Technology, Austria

March 2008 – January 2012
Junior Professor of Particle-Forming Fluidized Bed Processes and Head of the InnoProfile Junior Research Group for Fluidized Bed Technology, NaWiTec

April 2005 – February 2008
Senior Research Assistant at the Institute of Process Engineering, Chair of Thermal Process Engineering

January 2005
Doctorate in Process Engineering (Dr.-Ing.)

Since February 2004
Head of the Product Design and Modeling project group at the Fraunhofer Institute IFF, Magdeburg

October 2001 – October 2004
Research Associate at the Institute of Equipment and Environmental Engineering

Since 2022 
Member of the Foreign Trade Advisory Board of Saxony-Anhalt

Since April 2022 
Vice-Rector for Research, Knowledge Transfer and Entrepreneurship (PFWE)

April 2021 – March 2022 
Vice-Dean of the Department of Business Administration and Information Sciences

October 2016 – March 2022
Member of the Departmental Council

Since April 2016
Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, Professor (W2) of General Business Administration, Marketing and International Business

May 2016
Freie Universität Berlin, School of Business and Economics, Habilitation in Marketing

October 2015 – March 2016
Merseburg University of Applied Sciences, Acting Professor (W2) of General Business Administration, Marketing and International Business

May 2009 – March 2016
Freie Universität Berlin, Marketing Department, Junior Professor (W1) of Business-to-Business Marketing, Berlin

October 2011 – September 2013
Ruhr University Bochum, Acting Professor (W3) of B2B Marketing

October 2004 – January 2008
University of Münster, Doctorate in Marketing

September 2000 – June 2001
University of Parma, Parma (Italy)

October 1996 – January 2002
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Diplom degree in Business Administration, specializing in retail marketing, management accounting and international economic relations

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sylvia Rohr was Managing Director of the Graduate School of Excellence advanced Manufacturing Engineering at the University of Stuttgart (GSaME) from 2008 to 2019. The institution has received excellence funding since 2007.

After studying Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and completing a doctorate in superconducting materials, she pursued a long career in research. Since 1991, her work has focused on national and international research management and technology transfer.

Following a role at Baden-Württemberg's EU Office, she held senior positions at the Steinbeis Foundation for Economic Promotion (StW) in Stuttgart: Head of the international network of Steinbeis enterprises, Deputy Chair of StW's Executive Board, and Managing Director of Steinbeis GmbH & Co. KG and Steinbeis Forschungszentren GmbH. She also held a full-time professorship in Technology Management at Steinbeis University Berlin GmbH and headed the Institute for Technology and Innovation. She was Chair of the Executive Board of TUDAG Dresden and Managing Director of GWT Gesellschaft für Wissens- und Technologietransfer at TU Dresden, and for many years she served on numerous working groups and committees at the interface between industry and science at state and federal level.

Professor Rohr is a recognized expert in knowledge and technology transfer, innovation and research, and works as a consultant and assessor.

Ralf B. Wehrspohn studied Physics at the University of Oldenburg and completed his doctorate in Materials Science at the École Polytechnique in France in 1997. In 2003, he became a professor at Paderborn University. In between, he worked in industry at Philips Research in London and completed his habilitation at the Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics in Halle. Ralf B. Wehrspohn has been Professor of Microstructured Materials Design at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg since 2006. Since 2021, he has also been Managing Director of ITEL, the German Lithium Institute.

From 2006 to 2021, he also worked for the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, most recently as Executive Board Member for Technology Marketing and Business Models.
Ralf B. Wehrspohn's work focuses on nanotechnology and microstructural characterization and, increasingly in recent years, on the digitalization of materials.

He has received the German Research Foundation's Heinz Maier-Leibniz Prize, the DOW Chemical Science Association Prize and the Innovation Prize of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Financial Times Deutschland named him one of Germany's 101 most innovative minds in 2004.
In 2021, KENTECH in South Korea appointed him its first Distinguished Adjunct Professor.

Professor Wehrspohn was a member of the German Federal Government's Coal Commission. He serves on the Presidial Board of the German Institute for Standardization (DIN) and is the honorary Chair of the Executive Board of Forum Rathenau e.V.

1986–1991
Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Business Administration studies
Specializing in electrical and mechanical engineering
University of Tübingen, visiting semester 1990/1991, focusing on banking and business administration (management accounting)
Qualification: Diplomingenieurökonom (degree in engineering economics)

1991–1993
DZ Bank Deutsche Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main
General trainee program, specializing in corporate banking

1994–1995
Bankakademie, Hamburg, Banking and Finance studies; qualification: Bankbetriebswirtin (banking management specialist)

Since January 1, 1995
NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, Hamburg
Credit Specialist in Corporate Banking until December 1995
Corporate Relationship Manager for upper mid-market clients until May 2003

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, Schwerin
Management role in Corporate/Retail Credit Risk Management until March 2007

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, Hannover
Basel II Collateral Project Manager in Credit Risk Controlling until February 2008

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, Hamburg
Senior Relationship Manager in Ship Finance until May 2012

NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale, the State Bank for Saxony-Anhalt, Magdeburg; Head of Corporate Clients North-East since June 2012

Academic and Professional Career

Since 2011
Professor of Behavioral Economics, University of Cologne

Since 2019
Senior Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods, Bonn

Since 2018
Director, Reinhard Selten Institute, University of Bonn and University of Cologne

2012
Visiting Professor, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA

2000–2011
Professor of Microeconomics, specializing in Industrial Organization, University of Erfurt

1999–2000
Visiting Professor, CentER for Economic Research, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands

1999
Habilitation and venia legendi in Economics, University of Bonn

1994–1999
Research Assistant to Nobel Laureate in Economics Prof. Dr. Reinhard Selten, University of Bonn

1993
Doctorate in Economics, University of Bonn

1993, 1992
Visiting Associate, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, USA

1988–1993
Research Associate with Prof. Dr. Reinhard Selten and Head of the Laboratory for Experimental Economics, University of Bonn

1988
Diplom in Mathematics, with minors in Economics and Computer Science, University of Bonn

Awards and Elected Memberships

Since 2013
Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

1999
Hendrik Casimir–Karl Ziegler Research Award, North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Netherlands

1995
Heinz Sauermann Prize for the best dissertation of 1993/1994, Society for Experimental Economic Research (GfeW)

Project Coordination and Collaborative Research

Since 2019
Principal Investigator, Cluster of Excellence (EXC) 2126, ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy, Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments

2015–2018
Subproject Leader, DFG Research Unit FOR2150, Relativity in Social Cognition: Antecedents and Consequences of Comparative Thinking

2006–2010
Project Leader, DFG research project RO3071, Endogenous Institutional Choice in Social Dilemmas

1999–2000
Project Leader, Hendrik Casimir–Karl Ziegler-funded research on regulatory mechanisms in energy markets, North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Netherlands

1988–1999
Member of DFG Collaborative Research Center 303, Information and the Coordination of Economic Activities, University of Bonn

Roles on Scientific Committees and Advisory Boards

Since 2024
Chair, Advanced Grant Peer Review Panel (SH1), European Research Council (ERC), European Commission (EC)

Since 2020
Member, Advanced Grant Peer Review Panel (SH1), ERC, EC

Since 2019
Deputy Senator, Economics and Empirical Social Sciences Section, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina

2021–2022
Ombudsperson for Ethical Affairs, Verein für Socialpolitik, Berlin

2020–2023
Member, Scientific Advisory Board, ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, Mannheim

2018–2022
Member, Extended Executive Board, Verein für Socialpolitik, Berlin

2014–2017
Member, Senate, German Research Foundation (DFG)

2012–2018
Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Graduate School of Decision Sciences, University of Konstanz

2012–2017
Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)

2010–2011
Chair, Social Sciences Committee, Verein für Socialpolitik, Berlin

2010–2011
Member, Extended Executive Board, Verein für Socialpolitik, Berlin

2004–2008
European Vice-President, Economic Science Association (ESA), USA

2000–2008
Founding Director and first elected Director, Center for Empirical Research in Economics and Behavioral Sciences (CEREB), University of Erfurt

2000–2011
Established and headed the Laboratory for Experimental Economics (eLab), University of Erfurt

University Management and Academic Governance

2015–2023
Vice-Rector for Research and Innovation and First Vice-Rector, University of Cologne

2012–2015
Vice-Dean for Research and Early-Career Researchers, Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences, University of Cologne

2008–2011
Vice-President for Research and Early-Career Researchers and First Vice-President, University of Erfurt

2006–2008
Dean, Faculty of Economics, Law and Social Sciences, University of Erfurt

2005–2008
Member, Senate, University of Erfurt

2001–2005
Chair, Extended Senate, University of Erfurt

2000–2006
Member, Faculty Council, Faculty of Economics, Law and Social Sciences, University of Erfurt

1997–1999
Member, Faculty Council, Faculty of Law and Economics, University of Bonn

Research Interests
Bettina Rockenbach is a German economist. Her research focuses on designing mechanisms to promote cooperation in social dilemmas and frameworks for socially responsible economic behavior. Cooperation between stakeholders is essential to resolving pressing challenges in human coexistence, such as resource distribution, climate protection and global health. The divergence between individual and collective interests – the social dilemma – presents enormous challenges to cooperation. 

Using game theory and empirical behavioral economics, Bettina Rockenbach examines the conditions for successful cooperation. 
Her work contributes both to basic research and to applying scientific findings to current problems.
Among other achievements, Bettina Rockenbach and her sometimes interdisciplinary teams have demonstrated the importance and interaction of trust, reciprocity, reputation and opportunities for social sanctions in sustaining cooperation. They have contributed to a better understanding of the market conditions for moral and socially responsible behavior, and have successfully developed and implemented mechanisms for the more sustainable use of natural resources.