Rector Martin Paul has been nominated for a prestigious award.
Higher Education Manager of the Year
Rector Martin Paul Nominated
Fingers crossed for the Rector: Martin Paul is one of six nominees for the title of “Higher Education Manager of the Year 2025”.
The heads of six universities have been nominated as Higher Education Manager of the Year. These include the Rector (President) of Ruhr University Bochum, Professor Martin Paul. Now we are crossing our fingers until 20 November 2025, when the CHE Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung and the weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT will announce the winner.
The nominees were decided in a multi-phase process. The heads of 40 universities with particularly strong development dynamics, including Ruhr University Bochum, were surveyed on their concept of leadership, their university management, and treatment of the highly topical matter of artificial intelligence.
Culture of trust and dialogue
Martin Paul values a culture of trust and dialogue. “Since he took over as Rector of Ruhr University Bochum in November 2021, he has shaped the university with a concept of leadership that he refers to as ‘horizontal management’ – a type of high-trust leadership based on openness, transparency, and the power of joint processes,” says the group of assessors in its decision.
I’m happy that my work is being externally recognized in this way.
“Regardless of whether I’m standing on the winners’ podium at the end, I feel very honored by the nomination. I’m happy that my work is being externally recognized in this way,” says Paul.
“The six nominees this year have impressed the jury both through their understanding of leadership that they use to shape their university, and their forward-facing, concrete approach to the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence,” explains jury member Frank Ziegele, Director of the CHE Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung. The CHE presents the candidates in detail on its website (German). You can find the portrait of Martin Paul here (German).