Join a first-class faculty
About the faculty
The heart of any higher education institution with a strong background in research is its academic staff. This is certainly the case at WHU – a business school with university status, which has been entitled to award post-doctoral degrees since 1984. Since it was founded, the business school has seen 25 researchers awarded a WHU post-doctoral degree and has become acclaimed amongst renowned research institutes both at home and abroad. For early-stage researchers, there is also an alternative path into research: becoming an assistant professor. By doing this, candidates become qualified without having to obtain a "Habilitation" to become a professor, as is traditionally the case in Germany. All our assistant professors are offered a "tenure track" option. To be eligible for tenure, candidates must meet the WHU tenure-track requirements (e.g., excellence in research). As part of this scheme, a process of professional development is launched which includes, in particular, a detailed peer review. This allows early-stage academics with an outstanding doctoral thesis to carry out research and teach independently, while getting mentoring and support by experienced colleagues.
The high level of research capability at WHU is the result of three research principles: Quality and internationality as well as practical and academic relevance. Only the interaction of these three principles can, in our opinion, bring about outstanding research. This is the reason why our research findings are regularly published in the leading journals of the respective field.
Guaranteeing academic freedom whilst still keeping a finger on the pulse of the economy – the close interlinking of these two factors is illustrated by the existence of our many WHU centers, one of the key components of our practice-oriented applied research. These centers are largely funded by renowned companies.
An international atmosphere is part of daily life at WHU, as we are convinced that diversity is the key to progress. That is why colleagues come here from different countries, bringing with them the experience of varying backgrounds. This sense of internationalism can, however, also be observed in our intensive collaboration with internationally recognized educational and research institutes, as well as the numerous international guest professors and speakers who regularly make their way to WHU. We also strongly encourage researchers to take the opportunity to visit international conferences and research partners.
As a campus business school, WHU provides the opportunity for colleagues from different fields of research to work closely together both in Vallendar and in Düsseldorf thanks to the relatively small distances between our research centers. This close working relationship is further fostered by our group structure. This structure facilitates cooperation and communication between individual academics active in similar fields.
Furthermore, good transport links mean that family members of colleagues in Vallendar can also easily get to work in Bonn, Frankfurt, and Cologne. As a family-friendly university, WHU recently opened its own childcare facility, WHU Toddlers, close to the campus in Vallendar.
The research conditions at WHU are extremely favorable, which is certainly one of the reasons why our faculty members have already been able to make a name for themselves in the world of science by way of a multitude of national and international research projects and research publications. This is made possible not least by the provision and self-administration of a dedicated budget for chairholders. Unlike in state universities, chairholders at WHU have relatively free reign over their projects and budgets.
Our academic staff are divided into six faculty groups, in which chairs and institutes are combined. The aim of this structure is to create synergies between research and the business school’s practice-related activities, as well as to improve coordination between the degree programs in the units involved. We also provide our faculty members with a stimulating environment for research and teaching by way of the facilities and resources we have to offer. This includes digital tools and infrastructure like a modern IT equipment for our professors, the latest technologies in our lecture halls, or advanced video solutions.
In general, digitalization plays an important role in all areas of the School. For WHU, digitalization is not an end in itself, but is supposed to add value for teaching, learning, research, and/or internal processes. WHU’s Center of Digitalization acts as a platform and offers faculty consulting and support based on individual needs and teaching styles.
We possess an extensive collection of academic literature as well as company and financial databases, and our library collection at present contains more than 30,000 books, 120 journals and newspapers in print form, 68,000 e-journals, and 35,000 e-books. With more than 70 databases on offer and working closely with professors to ensure all materials related to courses are available online, the library maintains around 80% of its volume and content online.
The WHU Research Seminar forms an integral part of the research done at WHU. Through academic lectures, critical reflections, and discussions, participants are able to learn about research currently taking place within various business-related and economic disciplines. In general, the defining features of WHU are its intensive cooperation with researchers from a host of academic institutions and the large quantity of guest lecturers and speakers from the fields of science, politics, and the business world.
WHU is on the lookout for outstanding scientists and scholars with a passion for their research field who are committed to integrity, fair-mindedness, and honesty – not just academically speaking – and who respect the dignity and the rights of others. We are looking for professors with proof of scholarly success in their teaching career (with a strong emphasis on courses taught in English) and in their research career, who also have personal and professional experience of working in an international, diverse environment.
Our friendly atmosphere, the relatively small size and the location of our business school, our culture and general "open-door policy" encourage integration and facilitate the transition to a new working environment. Our Assistant Professors in particular benefit from special mentoring and orientation from more senior faculty members or the relevant Group Speaker.
The Faculty Review forms the basis for our internal system of incentives in the form of the Merit Increase and Research Support Model. This system enables faculty members with outstanding performance in teaching and research to further expand their research activities to the highest level with the help of various financial and human resources.
Finally, we encourage our professors to regularly take sabbatical semesters and to play an active role in academic bodies and scientific organizations.