For his outstanding research achievements, Professor Dr. David Bendig, Head of the Institute for Entrepreneurship, was awarded the SBE Research Prize on 28 October 2026. At the celebratory award ceremony, the Dean, Professor Dr. Thomas Langer, welcomed around 70 guests at Heereman'scher Hof, alongside the prize winner and his family. With the Award the School honours professors for their outstanding research work and makes the first-class results achieved in the School even more visible.
How can we ensure a sustainable electricity supply, and what can Germany and Brazil learn from each other? This question connects Germany’s energy transition with an electricity system in which hydropower has traditionally played a major role. An opportunity to explore these questions arose during the visit of PD Dr. Jörg Lingens from the Chair of Sustainable Market Design at the University of Münster to the Universidade Estadual de Maringá (UEM). From 1 to 16 September, Lingens visited the Departamento de Economia, hosted by Prof. Dr. Carlândia Brito Santos Fernandes. During his stay, he taught a short course on energy economics and exchanged ideas with students and colleagues.
According to the latest Stanford/Elsevier ranking, three professors from the School of Business and Economics at the University of Münster are among the world’s most cited researchers in their respective fields. Alongside Jan vom Brocke and Thorsten Hennig-Thurau, David Bendig also features on this year’s prestigious list, which honours the world’s most influential academics each year.
The Scientific Advisory Board to the Federal Ministry of Finance has elected a new chair. Prof. Dr Nadine Riedel, Head of the Institute for Public and Regional Economics at the University of Münster, will take up the role of Deputy Chair of the independent advisory body from January 2027. She has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board since 2015. Alfons Weichenrieder from Goethe University Frankfurt will take over as Chair.
Which tasks can be entrusted to artificial intelligence, and when should humans remain involved in decision-making processes? Prof. Jan vom Brocke and Dr. Thomas Haskamp from the Department of Information Systems at the University of Münster, together with Dr. Ina Sebastian and Prof. Peter Weill from the MIT Center for Information Systems Research (CISR), have developed a framework to help companies address this question. The “AI Decision Matrix” enables executives to determine, based on two dimensions, the extent to which humans and autonomous AI agents should be involved in decision-making processes.
B2B sales professionals in the Dutch-German border region meet their financial targets, but score below the European average on CRM systems, artificial intelligence, sales automation and data-driven decisions. Their willingness to pick up new technology also sits below that average. That is the outcome of a first measurement by the University of Twente and the University of Münster among 25 sales professionals on both sides of the border.
As part of the PRISM Conference 2026 “AI as Researcher, Resource, and Rival,” more than 80 students, researchers, founders and professors from Münster, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Braunschweig, Magdeburg and Bonn gathered at the Juridicum on September 23. The panel was moderated by Dr. Matthias Kiel (REACH). The conference was organized by Prof. Dr. David Bendig and Prof. Dr. Verena Rieger.
The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved a joint research project by Prof. Dr. Markus Dertwinkel-Kalt and Prof. Dr. Christian Wey from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). Over the next three years, the two economists will investigate how current energy and climate policy measures affect markets, companies and consumers.
At the Falling Walls Lab Münster 2026, Dr. Lea Püchel from the Department of Information Systems placed second. On September 11, eight early-career researchers presented their research and startup ideas in three-minute pitches in English at the REACH – Euregio Start-up Center. In her research, Lea Püchel examines how digital documentation software in childcare centers affects trust between educators and parents. Building on this, she is developing software designed to provide educators with guidance and greater legal certainty when handling data.
