Mainz University of Applied Sciences appointed Thorsten Wübbena to the first joint professorship with the Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG), effective July 1, 2026. Through this professorship in Digital Cultural Heritage, the two institutions are strengthening their longstanding collaboration in research and teaching in the field of Digital Humanities.
The professorship is based at the School of Engineering at Mainz University of Applied Sciences. Thorsten Wübbena will teach and conduct research there on data, process, and project management in the humanities. He will also continue to head the Digitality of Historical Research research group and the DH Lab at the IEG.
“I am thrilled to further expand the long-standing collaboration between the IEG and Mainz University of Applied Sciences in this new role. My aim is to strengthen critical reflection on the methods, practices, and theories of digital humanities, and to make their important contribution to addressing the central questions of a digital society more visible. My work will focus on the specific challenges of working with data on the one hand, and on the complex processes and organizational tasks arising from the multilayered nature of digital projects on the other. These areas will also shape my future teaching priorities, which lie in decentralized and modular research infrastructures for cultural heritage, the modeling of cultural heritage data, and process and project management,” explains Thorsten Wübbena.
Collaboration strengthens research and teaching
The joint professorship deepens the collaboration between Mainz University of Applied Sciences and the IEG in the field of Digital Humanities and Digital Cultural Studies. It builds on their longstanding cooperation through the Mainz Centre for Digitality in the Humanities and Cultural Studies (mainzed) and creates new opportunities for joint research, teaching, and knowledge transfer.
With this joint professorship, Mainz University of Applied Sciences and the IEG are deepening their collaboration in the field of Digital Humanities and Digital Cultural Studies. They are building on their long-standing collaboration through the Mainz Center for Digitality in the Humanities and Cultural Sciences (mainzed) and creating new opportunities for joint research, teaching, and knowledge transfer. Specifically, the collaboration is reflected in their shared commitment to the cross-institutional master’s degree program “Digital Methods in the Humanities,” whose further development has been actively supported by the IEG. Kai-Christian Bruhn, Degree Program Director and Director of mainzed, emphasizes: “Through this professorship, the valuable practical input from the IEG has not only been made a permanent part of the program; its scope has also been expanded. Students can look forward to an even more attractive, application-oriented curriculum.”
At the same time, the appointment underscores the potential of cross-organizational collaboration within the Leibniz Association, whose institutes are closely networked with universities and with regional and international partners.
Prof. Dr. Johannes Paulmann, Director of the IEG, emphasizes: “I am pleased that we were able to attract a colleague like Thorsten Wübbena for this professorship, a colleague whose extensive experience in digital humanities research and outstanding network within the digital humanities research community will significantly enrich our collaboration.”
About Thorsten Wübbena
Thorsten Wübbena studied art history, cultural studies, and history. After working as a research associate at the universities of Frankfurt, Saarbrücken, and Heidelberg and founding a company specializing in database technology, he headed the Digital Humanities Department at the German Forum for Art History in Paris from 2014 to 2019. Since 2019, he has headed the Digitality of Historical Research research group and the DH Lab at the Leibniz Institute of European History.
