Professor Dr. Dr. Alexander Prange is to become the new Rector of the South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences. The long-standing Vice President for Research and Transfer at The Hochschule Niederrhein (HSNR) was elected on Monday afternoon at the university election meeting in Meschede. His term of office begins in the coming winter semester. He succeeds Professor Dr. Claus Schuster, who has been Rector in South Westphalia for many years and was most recently in temporary charge. A week earlier, HSNR professor Marion Halfmann was elected as the new President of Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences.
"In his 14 years as Vice President, Alexander Prange has built up the Research and Transfer division to what it is today. Our third-party funding has grown extraordinarily during this time, and we were recently delighted with another record result. The Hochschule Niederrhein's good reputation among companies in the region is largely thanks to Alexander Prange. He and his motivated team have repeatedly succeeded in bringing major research projects such as the D-NL-HIT or Leuchtturm Niederrhein to the Hochschule Niederrhein. He deserves my thanks and the thanks of the entire university. On behalf of the Executive Board and the Hochschule Niederrhein, I wish him all the best and every success in his new role in South Westphalia," says Dr. Thomas Grünewald, President of the Hochschule Niederrhein.
Alexander Prange holds a doctorate in microbiology and a doctorate in agricultural science. He also completed his habilitation at the Faculty of Health at Witten/Herdecke University in 2009. In 2005, he was appointed Professor of Microbiology and Food Hygiene at the Faculty of Food and Nutrition Sciences at Hochschule Niederrhein. In 2010, he was promoted to the position of Vice President for Research and Transfer, which he initially held on a part-time basis and has held full-time since 2014.
During his time in office, the Sauerland native from Brilon has consistently expanded The Hochschule Niederrhein's expertise in the area of research and transfer. For several years, The Hochschule Niederrhein has been among the best universities of applied sciences in North Rhine-Westphalia when it comes to attracting third-party funding for research and transfer.
The Hochschule Niederrhein achieved a record result in third-party funding in 2023. Around 24.4 million euros were acquired last year. The previous record was set in 2021 (23.3 million). After 2017 (20.1 million) and 2021 (23.3 million), the 20 million mark was surpassed for the third time in 2023. At the beginning of his term of office, third-party funding was still at 4.6 million euros (2010).
