Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Klauer has been elected Vice President, Studies and Teaching at Mainz University of Applied Sciences. On Wednesday, November 4, 2026, the Professor of Applied Informatics was elected to the Executive Board by a large majority, on the proposal of the University President. Prior to this, the University Council and the Academic Senate unanimously endorsed Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klauer. He will begin his four-year term on March 1, 2027. He succeeds Prof. Kerstin Molter, who held the office until August 2026 and is now once again devoting herself more intensively to teaching. In the interim, the area of Studies and Teaching is being led by the University President.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Klauer is currently director of the two bachelor’s degree programs Applied Informatics and Applied Informatics (dual), working jointly with a colleague from the School of Business, and is solely responsible for the master’s degree program in Applied Informatics. His teaching and research focus on software engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), and digitalization. Among other things, he has carried out projects with third-party funding and was the advisor for two cooperative doctorates. The 51-year-old is also managing director of the i3mainz Institute for Spatial Information and Surveying Technology, a member of the School of Engineering Executive Council, and Vice Dean of the School of Engineering. He previously served on the university’s Academic Senate and was a member of the library committee for seven years. When he takes office, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klauer will hand over his roles as director of the bachelor’s degree programs, as Vice Dean, and as head of i3mainz to his colleagues in the School of Engineering.
Direct integration of AI in teaching and learning processes
During his term as Vice President, Studies and Teaching, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klauer intends to particularly focus on artificial intelligence by integrating it directly into teaching and learning processes. In the area of studies and teaching, he sees AI having a significant impact on the creation and use of content. AI offers great opportunities to support teaching and learning processes, but it also brings challenges and risks, says the Professor of Applied Informatics, emphasizing: “Faculty and students should be empowered to use AI competently and responsibly. AI competency encompasses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable people to understand artificial intelligence, critically reflect on it, and use it responsibly in studying, teaching, and during their careers.” Equally indispensable, he says, is the development of AI-resilient forms of assessment that enable meaningful and fair evaluation of performance even under these changed conditions.
Keeping in mind how AI will change future fields of study and professions
In addition, he is convinced that degree programs must generally be designed to be future-proof in the age of AI. This concerns teaching and exam formats, and especially the curriculum itself and the question of how AI is changing the respective fields and future professions. “This further development should be systematically taken into account in quality management and in program accreditation,” says Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klauer, who played a key role in initiating and establishing all three programs in applied informatics and shared responsibility for their initial accreditations and reaccreditations. His goal is an accreditation process that is effective, legally sound, and at the same time streamlined and practice-oriented, one that supports the continuous development of the degree programs.
About Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Klauer
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Klauer has been a professor at Mainz University of Applied Sciences since 2013 and today represents the field of applied informatics. He studied civil engineering with a specialization in building informatics at the Technical University of Darmstadt, where he earned his doctorate in 2005. Before being appointed to Mainz University of Applied Sciences, he worked in the private sector for several years, most recently as a manager and senior consultant in management consulting, specializing in IT operations, software engineering, and management. In that role, he worked in the medical technology, information technology, and energy supply sectors in particular.
