The new President of accadis Hochschule is the former one
Prof. Florian Pfeffel, President of accadis University of Applied Sciences in Bad Homburg since 2016, was appointed for a second term by the Senate at the end of November on the recommendation of the sponsoring body. "I am pleased about the re-election, because I am not yet finished with what I want to contribute to the development of accadis," explains Prof. Florian Pfeffel with a smile. He celebrates his 50th birthday today, so he has time for his plans until he is 55. In accordance with the statutes, multiple re-election is also possible, but the President waves it off: "After a second term in office, it should be the end for me in this capacity. Permanent presidencies usually lead nowhere, and at some point it's time for younger ideas and a breath of fresh air. There are enough other tasks at accadis."
Ten-year accreditation by the German Council of Science and Humanities as a milestone of the first term of office
accadis has developed in many areas over the past five years under Prof. Florian Pfeffel: New degree programs, growth in the number of professors, expansion of international business. A major milestone in the development of the Bad Homburg educational institution, however, was the institutional reaccreditation awarded by the German Council of Science and Humanities in 2020 for ten years, which is the maximum period that can be awarded. "What matters here," says Prof. Florian Pfeffel, "is not first and foremost the formal seal, but the developments that led to its award. Especially when it comes to research, we've traveled an impressive distance in the past five years." This included the decision to focus on selected research areas in order to concentrate capacities in these and thus also be able to play on an equal footing with the major international players. Here, we are talking about sports management, digital business and entrepreneurship. In addition, the establishment of the joint doctoral program with the partner university from Newcastle (England) was an important step in establishing an academic mid-level faculty at accadis Hochschule. And last but not least, the integration into a partner network is an important factor for success. For example, the accadis Institute of Entrepreneurship is supported by the city of Bad Homburg, the Taunus Sparkasse and the groundr Unternehmernetzwerk.
From consulting expertise to pedagogy - an exciting program awaits the new old President in the next 5 years
Now that the framework conditions in the main research areas have been created and both the scientific conference activities of the research groups and the transfer of know-how through consulting projects have been anchored, the focus in the coming years will be on the growth of consulting activities. In addition, the new department of pedagogical degree programs has started its work, which - due to now two more independent areas of study with divergent target groups and only a small overlap in terms of content - requires a further organizational development of accadis University of Applied Sciences. And finally, the partnership-based networking will be further driven forward. "It also corresponds to our self-image in the personal development of our students that we place great emphasis on the team idea instead of ego. This is also reflected in our networks!" So, too, in the research focus areas - e.g., sports management. The new team management certificate for clubs in German professional soccer is offered together with the DFB Academy, the university partnership with Mainz 05 is being expanded, and research partnerships with clubs and associations are being strengthened. It is in these areas that Prof. Florian Pfeffel intends to leave his footprints in accadis development. So things are sure to remain exciting in the next five years - for the accadis Hochschule team and for the President.