Jörg Kreiker is to become the new university president

The future president of Fulda University of Applied Sciences has been confirmed: on 17 June 2026, the university’s extended senate chose Prof. Dr Jörg Kreiker by a clear majority in the first round of voting. The 49-year-old is currently Vice-President for Learning and Teaching and Digitisation. He will take up his post on 1 December 2026, succeeding Prof. Dr Karim Khakzar, who has led Fulda University of Applied Sciences for 18 years. A total of four candidates stood for election, following a recommendation by a selection committee.

“I am relieved and looking forward to the new task – despite the challenges that lie ahead,” says the president-elect. Kreiker sees the greatest challenges in budget consolidation and the digital transformation of teaching, research and administration. He approaches his new role with respect, but also with great confidence: “As vice-president, I have already been managing part of the university for almost five years. I am familiar with the president’s schedule. I know what lies ahead.”

He is clear about what drives him: “I want to devote all my energy to the university as a whole. We at Fulda University of Applied Sciences have achieved a great deal – and I want us to go even further.” His vision is to maintain student numbers at between 8,500 and 9,000 by 2032: “However, academic success is more important to me than sheer numbers,” he emphasises. 
When it comes to budget constraints, the 49-year-old favours dialogue over confrontation: “Many difficult topics lie ahead. But I won’t play one topic off against another. I stand for involvement and participation.”

One of his goals for his upcoming six-year term is to create an even more vibrant, greener campus – and he wants to do more to counteract the absence of many students caused by hybrid study options. “Of course, we have many modern study formats and are continuing to develop them. But we are, and will remain, a university that prioritises on-campus learning. That is very important to me. Because we need to strengthen ourselves in various ways: against loneliness, against the consequences of climate change, and also against the influence of extreme political forces.” It is clear here that the topic of resilience is particularly close to the computer science professor’s heart.

Another of Kreiker’s plans is to transition Fulda University of Applied Sciences to an efficient, largely digitised and, as far as possible, paperless university administration. “We are already at the forefront of digitisation across Hesse. But as a subordinate body of the Hessian Ministry of Science, we are subject to regulations and are also obliged to maintain records – though this should be done electronically wherever possible.” A call for a paperless approach that he himself takes seriously.

Shortly after the election, Hesse’s Minister for Science, Timon Gremmels, sent his congratulations: “I warmly congratulate Prof. Dr Jörg Kreiker on his choice as the new president of Fulda University of Applied Sciences. As a professor, vice-president and committed champion of digital transformation, he has already played a key role in shaping the university’s development. Through his commitment to modern study conditions, digital innovations and junior researchers, he has provided important impetus for the higher education landscape in Hesse. I look forward to collaboration with him and wish him every success in his new task.” Gremmels added: “At the same time, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Prof. Dr Karim Khakzar for his outstanding work, which has enriched Hesse’s higher education and research landscape. Under his leadership, Fulda University of Applied Sciences became the first university of applied sciences in Germany to be granted the right to award doctoral degrees independently; it responded to the demand for skilled workers with unique study programmes such as physiotherapy and midwifery; and it established successful offers such as the dual study programme. He was a president, a mediator and a unifier.”
President Khakzar expressed his great delight at the decision regarding his succession: “With the choice of Jörg Kreiker, the extended senate of Fulda University of Applied Sciences has today clearly and unequivocally opted for experience and continuity. Jörg Kreiker enjoys high recognition within the university and has demonstrated his professional and leadership skills in his role as vice-president over the past few years. I am firmly convinced that he will lead Fulda University of Applied Sciences excellently in the years to come.”

A brief profile 
Prof. Dr Jörg Kreiker was born in Saarland in 1976. He studied computer science at Saarland University, spending a year abroad at Aarhus University (Denmark). In 2006, he obtained a Dr.-Ing. degree from Saarland University. This was followed by a year as a post-doctoral student at the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby, near Copenhagen; in 2011, he completed his habilitation at the Technical University of Munich.

From July 2011 to June 2016, Kreiker worked as a software architect at a leading solar technology enterprise and undertook teaching assignments at the University of Kassel.

In July 2016, he accepted a post at Fulda University of Applied Sciences as Professor of Programming in the Department of Applied Computer Science (AI). From 2018 to 2021, he served as dean of studies in the AI department. Since October 2021, he has been vice-president – initially for digitisation, and since October 2024 for Student Affairs, Learning and Teaching.