WISNA Professorships at the UDE
Making academic career paths more transparent and more accessible to plan
As part of the WISNA programme, the University of Duisburg-Essen established 23 tenure-track professorships from 2018 to 2020. Learn more about the programme and our WISNA professors on this page.
The WISNA programme
The “Tenure-Track-Programm zur Förderung des wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchses” [Tenure Track Program for Promoting Early Career Researchers] (in short: WISNA Programme) aims to offer promising researchers reliable career prospects and better planning opportunities through tenure-track professorships. The programme was established in 2016 by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German states. The federal government is providing one billion euros to support 1,000 additional tenure-track professorships.
The University of Duisburg-Essen applied very successfully for a total of 23 professorships within the WISNA programme. The professorships were advertised in three cohorts in 2018 (9 positions), 2019 (7 positions), and 2020 (7 positions). Particular importance was attached to fair and transparent appointment procedures. The criteria for evaluating applicants and the tenure track evaluation criteria were communicated clearly and early.
The WISNA professors receive support and guidance through a personnel development concept tailored to their needs in the newly established TT Academy.
The WISNA programme is funded by
Coordination
The Vice-Rector for Research and Early-Career Researchers is responsible for the WISNA programme at the UDE.
The Tenure Track working group, with colleagues from the Rectorate, numerous areas of the administration and the Science Support Center, is involved in shaping the programme.
Contact
Jasmin Sawicki
Science Support Center
jasmin.sawicki[at]uni-due.de
If you have questions about ongoing appointment procedures, please contact the Appointment Management (in German).
Our WISNA professors
Prof. Dr. Corina Andronescu
Junior Professorship in Electrochemical Catalysis
Dr. Corina Andronescu conducts research at the NanoEnergieTechnikZentrum (NETZ) and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Center (ZBT) on the electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide to usable fuels such as methanol, called the "Dream Reaction".
Prof. Dr. Cläre von Neubeck
Junior Professorship in Translational Particle Therapy
Dr. Cläre von Neubeck researches at the Clinic for Particle Therapy of the West German Proton Therapy Center Essen (WPE) at the University Hospital Essen and focuses on investigating the biological efficacy of particle radiation in cell cultures, tissue sections, or in animal models.
Prof. Dr. Doris Segets
Junior Professorship in Process Technology of Electrochemical Functional Materials
Dr. Doris Segets is based at both the NanoEnergieTechnikZentrum (NETZ) and the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Center (ZBT) and is investigating suitable processing methods for the industrial production of nanoparticles.
Prof. Dr. Daniel Kühnle
Junior Professorship in Economics, with a Focus on Labor Markets and Health
Dr. Daniel Kühnle's research at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration includes the consequences of parenthood for the employment histories of mothers and fathers and how health measures such as smoking bans and shock images on cigarette packs affect health and smoking behavior.
Prof. Dr. Doris Hellerschmied-Jelinek
Junior Professorship in Mechanistic Cell Biology
Dr. Doris Hellerschmied-Jelinek investigates protein quality control in cells and how their Golgi apparatus responds to stress at the Center for Medical Biotechnology (ZMB). She uses experimental approaches from biochemistry, cell biology, and chemical biology.
Prof. Dr. Manuel Gruber
Junior Professorship in Imaging of Condensed Matter in the Time Domain
Dr. Manuel Gruber's research at the Faculty of Physics includes how ultrafast processes of individual nanoobjects can be represented. He is particularly interested in how the shape and spin of molecules that are about one nanometer in size change on a time scale of a few picoseconds to a few nanoseconds.
Prof. Dr. Christina B. Karsten
Junior Professorship in Vaccine Development
Dr. Christina B. Karsten analyzes how antibodies interact with the HI virus at the Institute for HIV Research at the University Hospital Essen. On this basis, she and her team are developing new immunogens for a vaccine against HIV with optimized sugar trimming to induce protective antibodies.
Prof. Dr. Franziska Muckel
Junior Professorship in Electroenergetic Functional Materials
In the Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Franziska Muckel develops, among other things, innovative material systems and components for photosensors and light emitters that convert light into electronic signals and vice versa (electro-optical energy conversion).
Prof. Dr. Tobias Schroedler
Junior Professorship in Multilingualism and Social Participation
In the Faculty of Humanities, Dr. Tobias Schroedler investigates the value of languages and how this affects their preservation. In addition, he wants to provide student teachers with competencies for language-sensitive subject teaching.
Prof. Dr. Eva Gredel
Junior Professorship in German Linguistics: Digital Communication in Contexts of Learning and Teaching
In the Faculty of Humanities, Dr. Eva Gredel researches how university teaching is conducted on digital learning platforms. Further areas of her research are the data-driven analysis of internet-based communication and gender issues in the world wide web.
Prof. Dr. Judith Purkarthofer
Junior Professorship in German Linguistics with a focus on Linguistic Integration
In the Faculty of Humanities, Dr. Judith Purkarthofer studies how language socially includes or excludes. She is particularly interested in language use in foster families and how it is politically determined which languages are used in public and private media.
Prof. Dr. David Wiesche
Junior Professorship in Digital Teaching and Learning in a School Context
Dr. David Wiesche does research in the Faculty of Education in the field of learning and teaching processes in a society influenced by digital media. The focus is primarily on the analysis of digital media in learning/teaching processes and virtual realities in the school context.
Prof. Dr. Rouven Schur
Junior Professorship in Production and Logistics Planning
Dr. Rouven Schur's research at the Mercator School of Management focuses on the mathematical modeling and solution of business decision problems using operation research methods.
Among others, he analyzes how buyer behavior can be controlled by suitable incentives.
Prof. Dr. Sebastian Otten
Junior Professorship in Economics, with a Focus on Labor Markets, Migration, and Integration
Dr. Sebastian Otten, based at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, is investigating the impact of so-called "labor supply shocks" caused by immigration on various factors such as labor market development and the attitudes of natives towards immigrants.
Prof. Dr. Irene-Angelica Chounta
Junior Professorship in Computational Methods in Modeling and Analysis of Learning Processes
At the Faculty of Engineering, Dr. Irene-Angelica Chounta investigates how teaching-learning processes take place on online platforms. Her research includes mapping and assessing the knowledge level of learners. In addition, the computer expert offers practical projects and research seminars on topics of learning informatics, educational technologies and Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED).
Prof. Dr. Maida Kosatica
Junior Professorship in Urban Semiotics and Semantics
Dr. Maida Kosatica researches how inequality, power, and ideologies affect human communication and practices in politics at the Institute for Anglophone Studies in the Faculty of Humanities. She also aims to discover how empathy is visually represented and produced in mass media.
Prof. Dr. Kai S. Exner
Junior Professorship in Structure Analytics of Inorganic Materials
Dr. Kai S. Exner researches electrochemical reactions on solid-state catalysts at the Faculty of Chemistry. Such processes take place, for example, in a fuel cell or in an electrolyzer, which splits water into oxygen and the energy carrier hydrogen.
Prof. Dr. German Neubaum
Junior Professorship in Psychological Processes of Education in Social Media
At the Faculty of Engineering, Dr. German Neubaum investigates how social media change educational processes and which psychological mechanisms promote or prevent these processes. The junior professorship is located on the research platform "Bildung in der digitalen Welt" (ForBILD).
Prof. Dr. Anzhela Galstyan
Junior Professorship in Nanomaterials in Aquatic Systems
Dr. Anzhela Galstyan conducts research at the Faculty of Chemistry on the behavior, application, and ecotoxicological effects of synthesized inorganic nanomaterials and their composites in aquatic environments.
Prof. Dr. Johannes Sprang
Junior Professorship in Algebra and Number Theory
At the Faculty of Mathematics, Dr. Johannes Sprang studies the properties of integers and their mathematical connections. He is interested in the so-called L-functions of number theory and also researches Eisenstein classes, the irrationality of zeta values, and p-adic cohomology theories.