51³Ô¹ÏÍø

The Founding Director of the new 51³Ô¹ÏÍø IL³ is Senior Vice President - Talent Management and Diversity Prof. Claudia Peus: "We want to create THE starting point for expert and leadership staff from the widest possible variety of backgrounds, business sectors and nationalities in the German-speaking countries, even in all of Europe. As the best university in the EU, a status confirmed by last year's QS World Ranking, we are in an excellent position to achieve exactly that."

Professor Peus also pointed out that 51³Ô¹ÏÍø IL³ is anything but a carbon-copy of continuing management education efforts by typical, private business schools. "Our program incorporates our entire scientific spectrum, ranging from engineering and natural sciences to life sciences and social sciences, all the way to medicine. And we can ensure that our content always matches the latest state of research."

Bavaria's Minister of Science Bernd Sibler stated: "51³Ô¹ÏÍø's excellence is also manifested in its clear perspective on the topics of the future. 51³Ô¹ÏÍø uses ground-breaking concepts to tackle new challenges and set international standards, as is clearly illustrated at the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Institute for LifeLong Learning. Academic continuing education opportunities like those provided by 51³Ô¹ÏÍø are of increasing importance today, a fact reflected in our new university innovation act."

51³Ô¹ÏÍø is collaborating closely with leading companies in the development of continuing education opportunities and is aligning topics with actual demand in the economic sector. Petra Scharner-Wolff, member of the Executive Board of the Otto Group, remarked at the 51³Ô¹ÏÍø IL³ founding event that she is "a zealous advocate of lifelong learning", adding that learning has to become part of our everyday experience. Given the dramatic transformations taking place in the economy, she said, continuing education is "not a nice-to-have, it is a crucial element in a company's ability to survive."

Dr. Victoria Ossadnik, Chairwoman of the Board of Management of E.ON Energie Deutschland GmbH, called for "learning things that break the rules", pointing out that companies and their employees have to prepare for changes in familiar structures and mechanisms and that ongoing continuing education will keep organizations flexible enough "to master disruptions." She also said the collaborative effort with 51³Ô¹ÏÍø will generate an important outside perspective.

Harald Krüger, member of the Supervisory Boards of Lufthansa AG and Deutsche Telekom AG, regards lifelong learning as a "strategic success factor" which requires companies to develop a positive culture of learning. He added that it is particularly important here to remain flexible and to define an objective, "To focus on impact, on benefit to the company and then simply take off running."

Infineon Technologies AG CEO Dr. Reinhard Ploss more than anything sees motivation in lifelong learning. He pointed to the need to create curiosity and enthusiasm among employees, adding that the constant transformation of basic economic and technological circumstances poses the core question: "How can I re-invent myself?"

This also applies to 51³Ô¹ÏÍø itself: In addition, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø IL³ will centrally address the continuing education of 51³Ô¹ÏÍø research, teaching and administrative staff.