Prorectorates

Professor of Applied Polish Linguistics and Cultural Studies in the Faculty of Managerial and Cultural Studies

Prof. Dr. Małgorzata Maćkowiak studied German language and literature at the University of Wrocław, where she earned her Ph.D. in 1996. She taught at several colleges and universities in Poland, Germany, and Switzerland and worked as a lecturer, academic advisor, and department chair before joining the University of Applied Sciences Zittau/Görlitz in 2010. In 2015, she was appointed professor of Applied Polish Linguistics and Translation Studies; since 2021, she has been professor of Applied Polish Linguistics and Cultural Studies.

Her research focuses on the cultural and literary history of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, with a particular emphasis on the regional character and cultural heritage of Silesia. For her scholarly and pedagogical achievements, she has received, among other honors, the Rector’s Award from the University of Wrocław (2000) and the Academy of Applied Sciences in Jelenia Góra (2009).

In addition to her academic work, she is involved in cultural studies projects and collaborates with museums and academic institutions in Germany and Poland.

Professor of Business Administration, specializing in Production Management and Logistics, at the Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management

Since December 2017, Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Sophia Keil has been a professor of business administration, specializing in production management and logistics, at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences. From December 2018 until early May 2020, she served as Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration and Engineering Management. From March 2020 through February 2025, she served as Vice President for Education and International Affairs at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences.

A native of the Baltic Sea island of Rügen, she studied business administration at Stralsund University of Applied Sciences. From 2005 to 2006, she pursued a part-time doctoral program at the Technical University of Dresden. Throughout her professional career at the semiconductor manufacturer Infineon Technologies Dresden GmbH, the Chair of Business Administration, specifically logistics, at Dresden International University (DIU), and at Stralsund University of Applied Sciences, she acquired comprehensive technical, practical, and leadership expertise in the fields of business process, production, supply chain, and logistics optimization.

In 2011, she received her Ph.D. (Dr. rer. pol.) from the Technical University of Dresden with a dissertation titled “Flow-Oriented Design of Production Systems Using the Example of Semiconductor Factories.” In 2015, she was offered a professorship at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany (NY, USA), which she declined.

Her research focuses on developing approaches to shaping the digital transformation of the economy and society; developing innovative teaching/learning methods and educational formats for people of all generations; and developing methods for the effective and efficient design of production systems and supply chains, as well as the human-centered design of the future world of work.

Prof. Keil is an active researcher and heads the Science Center Oberlausitz-Technology Transfer-Innovative ( SCO-TTi) research group. She currently leads four research projects, including two BMBF-funded projects — “Perspektive Arbeit Lausitz” (PAL) and “Factory for Future” (F4F) —as well as the EU projects “AIMS 5.0” and “ENERGY-SELF-SUFFICIENT COMMUNICATION & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FROM SAXONY” (EKI Saxony). Her work focuses in particular on shaping the workplaces of the future in the context of Industry 5.0. She is a member of the program committees for the Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference (ASMC) and the European Advanced Process Control and Manufacturing Conference (apcm), and the author of over 30 publications. She is also actively involved in research monitoring and serves as chair of the advisory board for the WIR federal project Artifarm.