MCI professorship to Antje Bierwisch

In recognition of her achievements in research and teaching, the exemplary translation of research achievements into practice, and her contributions to the further development of the MCI and the higher education sector in general, the MCI has recently awarded Professor Dr. Antje Bierwisch the title of Professor. MCI Rector Andreas Altmann awarded the professorship along with with Claudia Mössenlechner, Vice-Chair of the MCI Collegium, and Maria Rabl, Head of the Department of Business Administration Online. The following inaugural lecture of FH-Prof. Antje Bierwisch was dedicated to the topic "Everything stays different. Shaping the future with strategic foresight".

Antje Bierwisch, a renowned expert in the field of technology and innovation management as well as futurology, began her scientific career with a degree in law from Halle-Wittenberg, followed by a degree in political science from Erfurt and then attained a doctoral degree in economics and social sciences  from the University of Kassel. Her dissertation entitled "Patents in Innovation Cooperations - Strategic Functions, Contractual Design and Requirements for Innovation Management" bridges the gap between law and economics. Already during her doctoral studies, Antje Bierwisch started her more than 10 years of cooperation with the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI) with a special focus on future research and "foresight" (strategic perspective). Eventually, in March 2018, she was appointed as lecturer in the Department of Business Administration Online at the MCI. Her research and teaching focuses on innovation and technology management, organizational development, strategic management and corporate foresight.

Here the circle closes with the exciting inaugural lecture around the question of how to shape the future in times of immense and complex global challenges and increasing dynamics. Previous experience, assessments and models, or one-dimensional strategic planning is not sufficient in order to be prepared for future challenges. The answer lies in "strategic foresight", which means the structured examination of complex futures within stakeholder groups. In practice, a large number of methods are linked for this purpose, which are selected depending on objectives, time horizon, stakeholders involved, and resources. With the use of concrete examples, Antje Bierwisch could demonstrate how this multi-method approach can be applied. In the public sector, the objectives are to foresee future developments in science, technology, business, politics and society. In the same way, the methodology can also be applied in the private sector, e.g. for strategic tasks of associations, or at company level in strategic management, research & development or think tanks.