Congratulations, Dr. Heike Schulze

In September, Heike Schulze, currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Economics at Mainz University of Applied Sciences, successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on the topic “Ensuring sustainability in supply chains: A competence model for purchasing professionals.” The dissertation was completed as a joint doctoral program between Mainz University of Applied Sciences and London South Bank University (LSBU). Professor Dr. Lydia Bals served as Heike Schulze’s advisor at our university, while Professor Dr. Jon Warwick served as her advisor at LSBU. The doctoral program took three years to complete, all while she was working full-time on the EU project PERFECT (www.project-perfect.eu), freelancing, and serving as a visiting professor. The thesis topic is more relevant than ever: What do you actually need to learn, be able to do, and know in order to implement sustainable procurement management in organizations and companies? As part of her doctoral thesis, Heike Schulze has already conducted an initial pilot of a sustainability training program at our university. She has also trained procurement professionals at two companies. The clear conclusion: The topic is becoming increasingly relevant, and students would be best served to prepare for its practical application while still studying at the university. But the topic is also of interest to the research community— the first publications are now online!