Field of Work
Hölzle has headed the Institute of Human Factors and Technology Management (IAT) at the University of Stuttgart and the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering (IAO) since April 1, 2022.
Her research areas include technology and innovation management, digital transformation, and sociotechnical systems in startup and innovation. Among other things, she focuses on people and their role in technology development and innovation.
At the University of Stuttgart, Hölzle focuses on the topic of working environments of the future, especially in the context of product development. A laboratory on the topic of “Hybrid Working in Product Development” is to be set up at the IAT. This will bring together internationally leading scientists from different disciplines (engineering, economics, and humanities as well as design thinking, psychology, and creativity research) in order to jointly research new technologies and ways of working as well as the effects of digitalization and the use of AI-based technologies in everyday research and development. The focus will be on people and their role in product development. Testing and implementation will be carried out together with and within the extensive IAT and ILO network.
Personal Information
Prof. Dr. Katharina Hölzle is one of Germany's leading innovation experts on digitalization, disruptive technologies, and their consequences for humans and organizations.
Since April 2022, she has been professor and institute director of the Institute of Human Factors and Technology Management IAT at the University of Stuttgart and institute director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO. From April 2023, she is the Baden Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs’ technology counselor. From 2019 – 2022, she was head of the IT Entrepreneurship department at the Hasso Plattner Institute at the University of Potsdam and spokesperson of the Potsdam Graduate School. From 2011 - 2019, she was Professor of Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship at the University of Potsdam.
Prof. Hölzle has been Deputy Chair of the Expert Commission for Research and Innovation (EFI), advising the German government on Research and Innovation policy questions from 2018 – 2022, and a member of the German government's High-Tech Forum. She was the editor-in-chief of the journal 'Creativity and Innovation Management' (Wiley) for many years and Visiting Professor at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing and Macquarie University in Sydney.
Her research areas are disruptive technologies and innovation, (digital) transformation of the organization, human factors, and entrepreneurship. She teaches technology and innovation management, entrepreneurship, and human factors at Bachelor, Master, and Executive levels at national and international universities. She advises young and established companies in the areas of technology and innovation management, human-machine interaction, digital transformation, foresight, business models, and organizational development.
Katharina Hölzle is particularly concerned with developing a sustainable and resilient research and innovation system and the associated research, education, and training in the context of technology, innovation, and human factors. Here, she sees major gaps in Germany and is committed to the context of entrepreneurship in academic education, increasing the proportion of women in STEM professions (e.g., she is co-founder of the #shetransformsIT initiative) as well as in interdisciplinary teaching and research projects, especially in engineering. She is convinced we can only overcome our challenges today and tomorrow with various expertise, experiences, and backgrounds. This requires a common language, interdisciplinary and heterogeneous teams, and organizations willing to take risks and move forward courageously.
Education:
- PhD in (2008) and Habilitation (2011) in Management, TU Berlin
- Master of Business Administration University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 1997
- Diploma Industrial Engineering Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 1998
Highlights Work Experience:
- Strategic Consultant for Technology and Innovation Management
- VP Business Development for an American Startup in the semiconductor industry
- Senior consultant eCommerce at Cap Gemini Consulting
- Team Lead Business Process Engineering Siemens AG / Infineon Technologies