The University Council of Jade University of Applied Sciences
The University Council operates on a voluntary basis and its tasks include advising the Executive Board and the Senate and commenting on development and financial plans. Furthermore, the University Council is involved in the appointment or nomination of members of the Executive Board (see also Section 52 of the NHG).
Enquiries relating to the University Council should be addressed directly to the Executive Board.
The members of the University Council
After studying engineering as well as the humanities and social sciences at the universities of Hanover, Frankfurt am Main and Darmstadt, Dr Jochen Holzkamp completed his PhD at RWTH Aachen University on an interdisciplinary topic.
Dr Jochen Holzkamp has been a freelance science policy consultant for many years. His professional career, spanning more than 25 years, has given him extensive knowledge of the German and international higher education systems and a wealth of experience in dealing with institutions of particular significance in science policy.
Dr Jochen Holzkamp has been a member of the University Council of Jade University since 2015 and has served as its Chair since January 2021.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Gerd Buziek studied geodesy at the Universities of Braunschweig and Hanover. He was awarded his doctorate in 1993. Following research stays at ETH Zurich and Penn State University in the USA, he completed his habilitation in the subjects of cartography and Geoinformatics at Leibniz University Hannover. He recently transferred his habilitation to the Technical University of Munich.
He has been working for Esri Germany since 2004; currently as Business Relations Executive and company spokesperson. In this role, Buziek represents the company in digital policy forums such as the German Government’s National Digital Summit and the digital industry association Bitkom e.V., where he initiated the ‘Geoinformation and Digitalisation’ working group, which he heads. Preparing the next generation of academics for the requirements of a digital professional world is a particular priority for him.Prof. Dr Gerd Buziek has been a member of the University Advisory Board of Jade University of Applied Sciences as its Deputy Head of Senate since the university’s foundation. Prior to this, he was already a member of the University Advisory Board of the Oldenburg/East Frisia/Wilhelmshaven University of Applied Sciences. From 2017 to 2021, he served as Head of Senate of the University Advisory Board of Jade University of Applied Sciences, and as Deputy Head of Senate from 2019 to 2017 and from 2021 to 2024.
After completing her A-levels, Christiane Goodfellow studied Business Administration in Göttingen and economics at the University of California, Los Angeles. From 1999 to 2001, she worked at the Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt am Main and from 2001 to 2003 at the Bank of England in London. Goodfellow subsequently completed her PhD at the University of Münster, specialising in empirical capital market research. Following a period of parental leave to care for her two children, she took up a professorship in statistics at the Faculty of Economics and Society at Jade University of Applied Sciences on the Wilhelmshaven campus. There, she initially headed the Insurance, Banking and Finance degree programme and coordinates international activities.
Prof. Dr Christiane Goodfellow has been the member of the University Advisory Board elected by the University of Applied Sciences’ Senate since March 2020.
Haferkamp has headed the Department for Universities of Applied Sciences and Vocational Academies at the Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (MWK) since April 2024 and is therefore the Ministry’s point of contact for the state’s six universities of applied sciences. Prior to this, he was Budget Officer at the MWK and, before that, Head of the Budget and Financial Planning Division at the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection.
The District Administrator of the Ammerland district worked at Wilhelmshaven University of Applied Sciences from 1994 to 2009, heading the departments of ‘Operations, Organisation and Planning’ and ‘Student Affairs’; following the merger to form Oldenburg University of Applied Sciences, East Frisia and Wilhelmshaven in 2000, she has overseen all five campuses (Wilhelmshaven, Elsfleth, Oldenburg, Emden and Leer). This period saw, for example, the transition from diploma programmes to Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes.
From 2009 to 2021, she served as deputy managing director of the Oldenburg District Association (BVO). The association’s members are the independent cities of Oldenburg, Wilhelmshaven and Delmenhorst, as well as the districts of Ammerland, Cloppenburg, Friesland, Oldenburg, Vechta and Wesermarsch. Among other things, the BVO manages 17 specialist facilities for people with disabilities. During this time, Karin Harms served as deputy to the association’s managing director and as head of human resources for more than 1,100 staff members.
She has been a member of the University Advisory Board since February 2018.
Jan Müller has been a managing partner of J. MÜLLER AG since 1992 and its Chairman of the Board since 2010. He is responsible for the group’s corporate strategy and management, as well as for the development of the transport and port infrastructure at the company’s own terminals in Brake and Bremen.
The medium-sized J. MÜLLER Group is now in its sixth generation (founded in 1821) of ownership by the Müller family. Specialising in the operation of seaport terminals and the associated port and shipping-related services, the group employs around 500 staff and has a turnover of 120 million euros.
In July 2021, the business graduate was elected President of the Oldenburg Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
Jan Müller has been a member of the University Council at Jade University of Applied Sciences since August 2017.
The Swiss neuroscientist taught and conducted research at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg until his retirement; he served as the university’s Vice-President from 2005 to 2008. He founded and headed the Neurosensorik Research Centre, and was spokesperson for a Collaborative Research Centre and a research group of the German Research Foundation (DFG). He initiated the establishment of the European Medical School Oldenburg-Groningen and the founding of a Faculty of Medicine, and is Chair of its Scientific Advisory Board. From 2008 to 2018, he was Rector of the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg, an Institute for Advanced Study which appoints international fellows from the fields of science and the arts. As a member of the University Council of Ruhr University Bochum and various international commissions, he advises higher education institutions and universities on their further development.
Prof. Dr Reto Weiler has been a member of the University Council of Jade University since February 2019 and has served as its Deputy Chair since 2024.