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Dekanat

Dr. Christina Okoutsidou Receives the University of Münster Dissertation Award

The Rectorate of the University of Münster honored 13 early-career researchers with the 2025 Dissertation Award at a ceremonial event in the Festive Hall of the Schloss. The awards were presented by Rector Prof. Dr. Johannes Wessels and Prof. Dr. Maike Tietjens, Vice-Rector for Academic Career Development and Diversity. The award for the School of Business & Economics was given to Dr. Christina Okoutsidou for her dissertation “Decoding AI Influencer’s Effectiveness: Multimodal Insights for Social Media Marketing”, supervised by Prof. Dr. Manfred Krafft. In addition, the Rectorate recognized the best doctoral theses of 2025.

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Two Information Systems Graduates and a Strong Idea: How better bites Uses AI to Optimize Processes in Large-Scale Kitchens

How can processes in large-scale kitchens be made more precise, sustainable, and efficient? This was the question tackled by Nico Nonnen and Mattis Sippel, two Information Systems graduates from the University of Münster, laying the foundation for their start-up, better bites. Their AI-driven software solution helps kitchen managers plan ingredient usage more accurately, reduce food waste, and optimize processes.

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Student council awards teaching prizes on behalf of students

The Economics Student Council has presented awards for outstanding teaching on behalf of the students. In the three subjects of business administration, economics and business informatics, three courses each were nominated in the bachelor's and master's programmes, from which the teaching award committee selected the winners. The teaching award has been presented by the Economics Student Council since 2010. It rewards lecturers in the department for outstanding achievements in teaching.

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SBE bids farewell to around 250 students

Around 250 Bachelor's and Master's students received their degree certificates at the end of November. The graduation ceremony organised by the WiWi student council provided a fitting festive setting for the occasion. After a welcome address by Prof. Dr. Thomas Langer, Dean of the School of Business and Economics, the certificates were presented and numerous photos were taken. At a champagne reception, the graduates had the opportunity to toast with family and friends.

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Dombret Doctoral Prize celebrates anniversary

This year marked the 20th presentation of the Dr. Andreas Dombret Doctoral Prize, which has honoured outstanding work at the interface between academia and practice since 2007. To celebrate the anniversary, the donor, Hon. Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Andreas Raymond Dombret, current and former award recipients, and their doctoral supervisors gathered at the A2 by Lake Aasee, where they exchanged views in a festive atmosphere on their career paths in companies, ministries, and universities.

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“Asking the Pope for Help”: Academies’ Union funds project with participation from Information Systems for 25 years

The Joint Science Conference of the German federal government and the German states has announced that the University of Münster will be involved in two research projects within the new Academies Programme. One of them is the project “The Vatican and the Persecution of Jews in Europe”, led by church historian Prof. Dr. Hubert Wolf, theologian Prof. Dr. Michael Seewald, and information systems scholar Prof. Dr. Jan vom Brocke.

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Dekanat

Doctoral Graduation Ceremony

At the doctoral graduation ceremony on 19 November 2025, six early-career researchers from the School of Business & Economics celebrated the successful completion of their doctorates. The formal presentation of the doctoral certificates was carried out by the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Dr. Thomas Langer.

As part of the ceremony, Jens Böke, Nils Burchardt, Leander Gayda, Janina Wiebringhaus, Carl Philipp Wolff and Yahya Yilmaz were awarded their doctorates.

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Dr. Katharina Hennes receives Dombret Doctoral Prize

This semester, the Dr. Andreas Dombret Doctoral Prize is being presented to Dr. Katharina Hennes. Her summa cum laude dissertation entitled ‘Thriving amid change: An empirical investigation of business adaptation to physical climate risks’ at the Institute for Entrepreneurship under Prof. Dr. David Bendig impressed with its outstanding combination of economic theory and practical implications. The Dr. Andreas Dombret Doctoral Prize, worth €3,000, is funded by the Dr. Andreas Dombret Foundation under the umbrella of the University Foundation of Münster.

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New Alumni Story: Dr. Ute Paukstadt from Evonik

In part 22 of our Alumni Stories, we introduce Dr. Ute Paukstadt. After completing her studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen, she pursued a PhD in Information Systems at the University of Münster. Following her doctorate, she began her professional career as a lecturer in IT systems and IT management at the University of Applied Sciences for Police and Public Administration in North Rhine-Westphalia, while also working as an IT/ERP consultant. In 2021, she joined Evonik, initially as Senior Manager Digitalization, and from 2022 onward she served as Product Owner for Digital Business and Generative Artificial Intelligence. Since April 2025, Ute Paukstadt has been leading an international GenAI team at Evonik, where she is responsible for developing internal AI solutions such as “EvonikGPT” and shaping strategic frameworks and governance structures for the responsible use of generative AI within the company.

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