Prof. Dorothea AlewellNew Program Director for the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

24 September 2025

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Following her position as Vice-Dean for Education, Prof. Dorothea Alewell will take over as Program Director for the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration on 1 October. The Professor of Human Resources Management succeeds Prof. Wolfgang Brüggemann, who is moving to the management board of the University of Hamburg Business School as vice-dean for education.

Find out more about the new program director in a short interview.

Business School: What are your tasks as program director of the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration?

Prof. Dorothea Alewell: At the University of Hamburg Business School, the tasks of program director and chair of the examination board are carried out by the same person. In this respect, the jurisdiction is quite broad: Together with the academic office team made up of degree program coordinators and subject advisors, course and examination managers, course lecturers, the vice dean for education at the Business School, and a number of central offices such as the Campus Center, we take care of all issues relevant to the degree program. These range from syllabus planning and courses for the respective semester to all decisions made by the examinations board for given examination regulations, admission of new students, offering orientation sessions for first-semester students and advising students who are already in the middle of their studies. However, study reform and any necessary adjustments to examination regulations are also part of our remit, to ensure our degree programs are up to date in terms of subject matter and didactics. 

How does your experience as vice-dean for education help you in this new challenge?

As vice dean, I have already worked closely with those responsible for degree programs. Together we have improved and modernized our degree programs and provided the best possible support for ongoing processes. We still want to do that, except that some of us have changed roles. The knowledge and experience we have for each other’s roles help us work closely to make good decisions for everyone.

What are your most important concerns for the degree program?

There is a need for some reforms in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, which we should tackle together. This need for reform has to do with various factors—with the rapid development of digitalization and AI, but also with global political developments and the internationalization goals of the University of Hamburg Business School and the University as a whole. The need for reforms also came up in the EQUIS report on the updating of teaching and examination formats. In these times, I personally am particularly concerned about how we, as a University, can contribute to educating responsible citizens of strong character and professional education, who have a high level of self-reflection, resilience, and very good democratic skills. Such people will in turn help to make our country more democratic and stable against populist and authoritarian political tendencies. 

What are you most looking forward to in your new position?

I really enjoy working with the students and colleagues as well as the team at the Office of Student Affairs on training our graduates as well as possible to make them responsible decision-makers in society. My aim is that they later say: “studying at the University of Hamburg Business School was a great experience—I would do it again at any time.” For me personally, one of my guiding principles is to give students “roots and wings.”  I want to help shape a place where they feel they belong, and can develop themselves, their talents and their ideas in the best possible way. This also corresponds to our values as the University of Hamburg Business School—Excellence, Impact, Responsibility, Connectedness and Openness.