Anja Westphal

Digitalization at German universities: Transformative processes in HR management

German universities and their organizational structures have constantly evolved as a result of various reforms. Some of these changes are increasingly affecting the administrative area of universities, in particular HR management, which has only become more relevant in recent years. The diverse intersections within the structures make personnel management a central field of activity in university development. This is because it has a direct and far-reaching influence on all levels of organizational development and its procedural design. Another influence is the emergence of digitalization. This not only affects the skills development of students and employees, but also work processes, fields of activity and applications of new technology-supported programs or processes. The studies and research published to date have mainly analyzed the methodological application of technologies, competence requirements or the change in the student-teacher perspective. For this reason, this doctoral project is dedicated to analyzing the process landscape, the implementation and the establishment of these digital processes in personnel management at German universities. The core question of the doctoral project will analyze the impact of digitalization on the process landscape of HR management at German universities.

Anja Westphal completed her Master's degree in Management at the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau and the University of the West of Scotland. Her academic career focused on management, marketing and project management. After completing her studies, Anja Westphal worked as a product manager for a regional energy supplier. Since December 2021, she has been a research assistant in the ProfiZ project at the University of Applied Sciences Zwickau and supports the accompanying scientific research team. Her main field of activity in the ProfiZ project is publishing, conducting surveys and implementations as well as evaluating the project results. Anja Westphal has been doing her doctorate at the Faculty of Business and Economics of TU Dortmund University since August 2024.