After eleven years, the criticized President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is resigning from his post. Holger Hanselka, head of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, is to succeed Reimund Neugebauer, who was elected in 2012. The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft announced this on Thursday in Munich.
The Senate unanimously elected the current President of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Dresden and thanked Neugebauer for “his commitment at the top of society”.
The Federal Court of Auditors had accused the Fraunhofer leadership of inappropriately high expense accounts and other misconduct. in one February report It said: “Overall, there was an inappropriate use of tax funds due to excessive travel, company vehicle and representation costs.” In the Fraunhofer communication it saidNeugebauer lay down his business “amicably”.
The focus of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with its more than 30,000 employees is research focused on practical application. During Neugebauer’s term of office, the budget increased from 1.9 billion euros to around 3 billion euros a year, and the number of institutes grew from 64 to 76. Hanselka is to take up his new post as soon as possible, interim boss will be Chief Financial Officer Sandra Krey.
The 61-year-old Hanselka has headed the KIT since 2013. The research facility was created in 2009 from the merger of the University and Research Center Karlsruhe. The new President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft sees “international positioning and the development of a modern mission statement for Fraunhofer” as his main tasks. We live in a time of massive global changes and challenges. Research with a clear profile must also become more global in line with demand,” the KIT quoted its President as saying.
Before moving to KIT, Hanselka had already headed the Fraunhofer Institute for Structural Durability and System Reliability in Darmstadt for twelve years. Between 2006 and 2012 he was a member of the Executive Committee of the Fraunhofer Society. He is regarded as an expert in knowledge and technology transfer, in cooperation between science and business and in spin-offs.