100 days Chair for Wood Technology and Bioeconomy

100 days Chair for Wood Technology and Wood-based Bioeconomy (Interview)

Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfriem has held the newly appointed Chair of Wood Technology and Wood-Based Bioeconomy at TUD Dresden University of Technology for 100 days. The new appointment was accompanied not only by a reorientation in terms of content, but also by a change of location to Dresden. In this interview, Prof. Dr. Pfriem talks about his first few months in office, the strategic direction of the Chair and his personal fresh start in new surroundings.

Professor Pfriem, you have now been in office for 100 days. What is your initial assessment?

Positive. I've met staff here who have welcomed me openly and warmly and who have a great desire to shape the future of the Chair together. That made it much easier for me to get started.

The Chair was not only newly appointed, but also renamed. What does the new title express?

The Chair has a very broad base. With the addition of wood-based bioeconomy, we are able to consider topics such as paper technology, sustainability and the circular economy even more systematically and comprehensively. The new title reflects this broader approach very well.

How will students benefit from the Chair's realignment?

The course will also be realigned and expanded to include the subject area of bioeconomy. This will be done by developing new courses and also by further developing the existing degree programs. The aim is to provide students with an up-to-date and future-oriented profile.

What substantive or structural steps have you already taken in the first 100 days?

The Chair is already very well positioned in terms of content and structure. It is particularly important to me to promote a working culture based on trust, cooperation and open communication. In my view, this shared understanding shapes successful work and sustainable results.

What experiences from your career to date have particularly shaped your approach in this Chair?

That communication is very important. I worked in university management for 13 years and learned how important it is to get people on board and get them excited about issues. Especially when changes are imminent.

Where do you want the Chair to be in five years' time - in terms of content and structure?

In five years' time, we will be the Chair that deals most comprehensively with the topic of the wood-based bioeconomy and also communicates this research nationally and internationally.

What message would you like to give to external partners, students or early-career researchers with regard to this Chair?

We see ourselves as a reliable partner and we work on long-term relevant issues of great social importance. Keyword: the green transformation of society. This applies equally to external partners, students and early-career researchers.

The Chair also involved moving to a new city. How did you experience this personal new beginning?

It was a real feat of strength. For me, but also for my family. Within a short space of time, we had to "wind down" our lives in Eberwalde and reorganize our lives in Dresden. Only now, during the Christmas break, did we have the feeling that we had arrived here and now!

Professor Pfriem, thank you very much for the interview and the insight into the first 100 days of the new Chair. We are looking forward to its further development and the impetus it will provide in research, teaching and practice.

The interview was conducted by Dr. Herwig Hackenberg.