Department Council and Commissions
The most important committee of a faculty is the Department Council, which has the final say in all important decisions. On this page, we explain how the Dempartment Council is connected to the Student Council and what all these commissions are. We also have some information about the election procedures here.
The Department Council (Fakultätsrat)
The Department Council is where the threads of teaching and research come together. This is where the work of the faculty is controlled and the dean's office is elected. Central issues are debated and decisions are made. To ensure that there is time for the big questions, various commissions work alongside the Department Council. The student Department Council members are always elected for one year. They have the task of proposing the other student commission members to the Department Council, where they have to be confirmed. The Student Council prepares these proposals beforehand, as the student commission members, like the student Department Council members, have to report to the Student Council.
Department Council Members:
- Department Professors Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Rehtanz, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Wietfeld, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Timm Faulwasser, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Frei, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Torsten Bertram, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Pfost (Studiendekan), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Hoffmann, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Palzer. All other professors are substitutes.
- Academic staff: Dr.-Ing. Ulf Häger, Jawana Gabrielski, Daniel Schauten.
- Substitutes for academic staff: Michael Jakubowsky, Kerstin Friebe, Sarah Emiliy Beck, Katharina Bartsch, David Mariadasa.
- Employees in technology and administration: Peter Resch
- Substitution of employees in technology and administration: Joachim Berns, Philipp Czyba, Sabine Winterhoff
- Dean's office: Dr.-Ing Klemens Uekoetter, Dunja Wagner, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Krummrich (Dekan), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Jenau (Pro-Dekan)
- Student members: Clara Sophie Nagel, Nora Maria Dabringhaus, Anna Katharina Fenzl
- Substitution student members: David Ronschka, Felix Valentin Glatzel, Lasse Wegener
The Dean's Office is responsible for the management of the Faculty. The dean determines the guidelines for research and teaching, represents the faculty externally and is responsible for communication with the rectorate and with other faculties at TU Dortmund University and in the UA Ruhr. The dean has personnel responsibility for all employees, although only the rector has supervision over the professors.
In addition to the Dean, who is elected from among the professors every four years according to the rotation principle, the Faculty's management supports the committee work and the organisation of activities such as study coordination, finances and public relations. The Managing Director chairs the Faculty Council meetings.
The Vice Dean is primarily responsible for research and finances, while the Dean of Studies looks after matters of study and teaching.
The student members of the department council are elected every year, for which the election officer discusses an election list with the student council, so if you are interested, it is best to contact the student council directly. The Faculty Election Officer can also help you with other matters. The Department Council and student parliament are elected together in a general, direct, free, equal and secret election.
Staff members and professors are elected to the Department Council every two years by the respective group of people.
Commissions
In the commissions, topics for the Department Council are prepared and worked out in detail. Would you like to take part in a commission? Open positions are advertised by the student council. The applications are then discussed in the Student Council, which finally proposes candidates to the student members of the Department Council, which elects the commissions. Normally, you remain a member until the end of your studies or until you resign. In the student council, the student members report on the work in the commissions.
The purpose of this committee is to discuss the future direction of the faculty. Which degree programs will be offered, how should the faculty's research be oriented in the coming years. For this purpose, a faculty development plan is discussed at regular intervals, which is then approved by the faculty council. The orientation of new professors is also worked out here and proposed to the Faculty Council.
Members:
- Professors: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Wietfeld (Chair), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stephan Frei, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Palzer, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Timm Faulwasser,
- Faculty Staff: Mara Holt, Rajkumar Palaniappan, Dunja Wagner
- Student Members: Leon Gerigk, Niklas Wagner
Attempt to deceive? Error in the examination procedure? Objection in the assessment? Writing in and rewriting under special conditions? Definitely cases for the examination board. These cases are discussed here and corresponding statements and instructions for action are written. Exceptions and special cases in final papers are also discussed. Very central to the work is the examination regulations (often just called PO). Have you ever looked at your examination regulations? The examination regulations know the answers to many questions in the degree programme and are discussed by the advisory board.
Members:
- Professors: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Tappertzhofen (Chair), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Jenau (Stellv. Vorsitz), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Wietfeld, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Pfost
- Faculty staff (voting): Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Endemann, Mara Holt (subs.)
- Faculty staff (non-voting): Dr.-Ing. Daniel Schauten, Dunja Wagner
- Members of the Rectorate (non-voting): Dirk Ogermann, Marc Rölleke
- Examination Office: Daniela Schikorra
- Student members: David Ronschka, Niko Meiselbach, Mattes Sievers (subs.)
This commission manages funds for the improvement of teaching and research, e.g. for additional tutors or modern laboratory equipment. New hardware and software purchases are approved by this commission.
Members:
- Professors: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Pfost, Prof.-Ing. Dr. Frank Hoffmann, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Tappertzhofen, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Wöhler.
- Faculty staff: Robert Novak, Saskia Frobin, Dunja Wagner (Faculty ET)
- Student members: Julian Beck, Anna Fenzl, Clara Nagel, Berkin Cinar, Nora Dabringhaus (subs.)
The advisory board discusses module handbooks and adjustments to the degree programme and its courses. For example, additional exercises are discussed. So students can actively shape a lot of their studies. However, professors also have certain freedoms in their teaching. Current topics include the transition from digital to face-to-face teaching and what progress should be made, new modules by new professors and admission requirements for the Master's programme. The examination regulations are also discussed and approved in the advisory board.
Members:
- Professors: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Martin Pfost (Chair, Dean of Studies), Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stefan Tappertzhofen, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Wöhler, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Hoffmann, Robert
- Faculty staff: Novak, Saskia Frobin, Dunja Wagner
- Student Members: Anna Fenzl, Clara Nagel, Berkin Cinar, Nora Dabringhaus (subs.), Julian Beck (subs.)
In this faculty, you don't have to attend many events to find out that the distribution between women and men is anything but balanced. To this end, projects and programmes for women in STEM degree programmes are actively encouraged and promoted. This commission is also responsible for all forms of reported discrimination. Corresponding complaints are naturally taken seriously by all members, who can also be written to personally in case of doubt.
Members:
- Faculty: Dunja Wagner (Chair), Till Stramm
- Student members: Nora Dabringhaus, Anna Fenzl (subs.)
Even if the appointment and immediate tenure of a professor does not depend exclusively on sympathy, we students have an influence in the sometimes lengthy appointment process. A candidate must meet various criteria, including publication quantity and quality, subject expertise and contacts for acquiring funding. We are allowed to watch the candidates' presentations and ask our questions in the interview, followed by our opinions. In the end, students vote and have a voice.
The student representatives for quality assurance in teaching design the evaluation questionnaire and advise teachers on the evaluations. The overall grade of each course is available to them, whereby the comments are only accessible to the respective lecturers.
Members:
- Faculty: Prof. Wietfeld (Chair), Dunja Wagner
- Scientific staff: Andre Kosak, Mirza Arnaut, Robert Novak
- Student members: Leon Marcel Gerigk, Halil Büyüköztürk (subs.), Felix V. Glatzel (subs.)
Not shown above in the figure is the doctoral committee, which supervises the procedure and thus assumes the role of the examination board for doctoral students. The committee is also called upon in cases of plagiarism in dissertations. There are no student members on it.
Members:
- Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christian Rehtanz (Chair)
- Dr.-Ing. Daniel Schauten, Katharina Bartsch, Robert Nowak (Subs.)