We have had a new dean's office at our faculty since last month. In this interview, the three professors reveal how they envisage their term of office, what changes we can expect and how they prefer to spend their free time.
Author: Salimato Liesa Timm
In September 2021, Prof. Maiwald, Prof. Kaspar and Prof. Knoll took office as the new Dean, Vice Dean and Dean of Studies. In this article, they introduce themselves and tell us what they have planned for their term of office.
What all three have in common is that they form the new Dean's Office of our faculty. Apart from that, the three are very different, as are their respective careers.
Prof. Dr. rer. pol. Falk Maiwald, a native of Görlitz, completed his degree in business administration at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences and then worked in a regional bank. He began teaching at our university in 2001. After completing his doctorate at IHI Zittau in 2012 and holding a management position for several years, he was appointed to the Chair of Business Administration, in particular Management and Organization for Service Companies, at the Faculty of Managerial and Cultural Studies in 2017. Since 2018, he has been involved in the management of the faculty, first as Dean of Studies and then as Vice Dean.
Born in Munich, Prof. Dr. Michael Wolfgang Kaspar studied law and completed his legal clerkship in his home town. He then went to Frankfurt (Oder) as an assistant at the European University Viadrina. After working as an independent lawyer for some time, he joined the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences in 2013 and has been responsible for almost everything to do with law lectures here ever since.
The registered nurse Prof. Dr. rer. medic. Martin Knoll is also a qualified nursing scientist, qualified health scientist and qualified health economist. From 2008 to 2014, he was Professor of Clinical Nursing Research and Evaluation at the University of Applied Sciences in Saarbrücken and from 2014 to 2020 Professor of Nursing Science at the Catholic Foundation University in Munich. Since April 2020, he has been a founding professor at our university for the new "B.Sc. Nursing" course.
In response to my question as to what goals, visions and expectations the Dean's Office is striving to achieve in its legislative period, Prof. Maiwald replies that the university's goals are being pursued and that expectations, goals and tasks for the faculty are derived from this. These relate in particular to stabilizing or increasing the number of students at our faculty, which is to be achieved through high quality in studies and teaching. In addition, the aim is to achieve even closer cooperation between lecturers, in which the daily tasks in teaching and research as well as the organizational challenges of the coming years are approached with joy, enthusiasm and fun. It is also important to him that the university and the faculty's degree programs network more closely with the regional economy and thus become even more visible in the region.
Prof. Kaspar adds that he is concerned with modernizing and making more flexible what takes place at the university, both in terms of content and technology.
"We must not fall behind the state of the art that we once achieved in times of corona."
Prof. Knoll believes it is important for the university and faculty to become even more attractive to students through such flexibility and concludes the question with the words:
"Away from school thinking, towards university thinking."
The most important change that awaits us is the new "B.Sc. Nursing" degree program, which will be part of our faculty from next year. This will be accompanied by an increase in the number of students at our faculty, new lecturers and additional, sometimes very special teaching rooms such as SimLab and SkillsLab.
The Dean of Studies, Prof. Knoll, would like to act as a point of contact for students in addition to his duties under state law. Transparency, communication and exchange are very important to him.
"A university lives from its students."
Prof. Maiwald adds that he would like to see increased student involvement, which is currently still dependent on a small number of players. Hence the appeal to you: If you are motivated and want to help shape the Faculty, then get involved in the Faculty Student Committee.
Prof. Kaspar tells me that he spends a lot of his free time with his family and playing handball and loves cycling through the Alps on vacation.
On his perfect Saturday evening, Prof. Maiwald prefers to have friends over in his house or garden, with whom he can chat and socialize. He also enjoys going to the theater or concerts with his wife and daughters from time to time.
After the stresses and strains of his first month as Dean of Studies, Prof. Knoll is currently trying to rebalance his work-life balance, which has suffered greatly in recent weeks.
