Bernd Reissert

In April 2010, political scientist and professor Bernd Reissert became president of the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR). In this interview, Reissert, who now lives in Berlin, explains which projects have special importance to him, what he considers to be the HWR’s strengths and how he supports the exchange between science and business.

What do you like about Berlin?

Bernd Reissert: Berlin has always been a great city for culture and science. For me as a political scientist, the city has become even more interesting since 1990. It’s the proximity to political events that make it so exciting.

Why, exactly?

B.R.: I find it exciting to not only observe political processes from the sidelines, but to get actively involved in public debates. For example, I worked on the welfare reforms known as the “Hartz-Reformen.”

Are there any points of contact to business in your scientific work?

B.R.: Definitely. The focus of my work lies in the field of labor-market and social policy. This means that I perform research with direct reference to business. In particular, I deal with the lack of qualified employees and the demographic transformation on the labor market. As labor market researchers, our contact with companies and business federations goes in both directions. We carry out surveys in companies and make our results available to them at a later date.

Is there one project that you are particularly fond of?

B.R.: The current redesign of the organization of Germany’s Hartz IV system. I was part of the debate because I had performed research on certain relevant points and had analyzed their effects.

And what is your most important project as president of the Berlin School of Economics and Law?

B.R.: The answer to that question is easy: making one school out of two. In April 2009, the Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft (FHW) Berlin and the Fachhochschule für Verwaltung und Rechtspflege (FHVR) Berlin merged to form the Berlin School of Economics and Law.

What have been the benefits of this merging?

B.R.: We are now able to offer our students management qualification for both the private and public/non-profit sector. Both areas can learn and profit from each other. For me, this is the greatest strength of our school.

What are the HWR’s other strengths?

B.R.: We are one of the most international university-level schools in Berlin. Almost all our master’s programs are in English. Roughly 40 percent of our master’s students come from abroad. This creates a very comfortable environment. Plus, this experience helps our students in their subsequent careers.

How do you encourage a productive exchange between your school and hands-on market practitioners?

B.R.: We encourage our professors to keep up the contacts they have to the business world.  They are encouraged to perform practice-oriented research and to carry out other activities – of course, within certain boundaries, for example, as a consultant at companies and federations. Both the school and the students profit from these connections. Indeed, our high level of scientific research would be useless to us if we didn’t constantly test it out in practice.

What does this look like in practice?

B.R.: For example, we invite employees from companies and federations to give talks at our school, and many of our own professors are employed full-time in the business community. And we work on development projects together with many small and middle-sized companies in Berlin and Brandenburg. And we’re also always looking beyond the borders of our region, as well.

Let’s take a quick look at the future. How do you see Berlin developing in the coming years as a location for science?

B.R.: Berlin is already well positioned as a location for science. In order to maintain this status, science in Berlin needs stabile financial and political conditions. This would profit both the regional and national economy, especially seeing as education and science are key for economic development.

About Professor Bernd Reissert:

In 1974, after completing his studies at the University of Constance, Professor Reissert came to the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB) and in 1984 received his doctorate at the Freie Universität Berlin. In 1993, he became a professor of political science at Berlin’s HTW University of Applied Sciences. In 1998, he took over the office of first president at the HTW. After a stay at Georgetown University in Washington, USA, Bernd Reissert was named founding director of the University of Applied Labour Studies of the Federal Employment Agency (HdBA). In April 2010, Professor Reissert took up the position of president of the Berlin School of Economics and Law (HWR).

You will also find Bernd Reissert in the Who's Who Berlin: Capital of Science