Sügis tõi TalTechi hulga uusi professoreid. Küsisime kõigilt neli küsimust. Rahvusvahelise taustaga töötajate vastused jätsime rahvusvahelisse keelde usus, et lugejad mõistavad: TalTechis on töötajaid 51 riigist ja 61% teadusartiklitest valmib rahvusvahelises koostöös.

Wolfgang Gerstlberger

Ärikorralduse instituut, Äriprotsesside juhtimise professor

Esimene tööpäev: 01.09.2019.

Please introduce yourself in five sentences.

My field of research and teaching at TalTech is Operations Management with a focus on sustainable and innovative OM. Currently I am working in particular on digitalization topics with regards to OM like Industry 4.0 and Big Data Management. Furthermore, I try to combine this digitalization focus with a long-term life cycle perspective on new products, services and production processes. Improving material and energy efficiency is my main area of interest in the wider field of sustainable OM. My current research interests refer to European and North American countries as well as to emerging markets like Brazil and Russia.

What kind of knowledges and experiences you bring to TalTech from your previous jobs?

Before joining TalTech I held for more than 15 years positions as assistant professor/senior researcher, endowed chair professor and associate professor in Germany, my country of origin (Kassel University, Technical University Dresden), and Denmark (University of Southern Denmark). Close university-industry relations played an important role for all my previous positions, both as support for research and students’ projects. In terms of research methodology, I had the chance to experiment with different types of mixed quantiative/qualitative methods such as surveys, secondary data analyses, interviews, and focus groups during all my previous jobs. Regarding my teaching experience, I have so far taught a wide variety of operations and innovation management courses for all levels of student and executive education mainly in Germany, Denmark, Poland, and Brazil.

What are your goals in your position in TalTech?

My main goals for my position at TalTech are (1) making a contribution to the further development of the Operations Management profile in teaching and research, (2) strenghening of the sustainability and innovation components of this profile, and (3) contributing to the further improvement of the student and especially PhD education in economics and management field at TalTech. Furthermore, developing close university-industry relations in the wider area of operations, innovation and sustainability management is also an important goal in my position at TalTech.

One surprise that you have had within your time in TalTech?

Already before I joined TalTech, I knew that this university has a strong international focus in teaching as well as in research. However, I am still surprised seeing every day how many different countries are represented at TalTech. This counts for both students as well as teachers and researchers. ■