Academia & Administration: Driving Innovation (WiVII)
In cooperation with the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers (DHV), the IHF is carrying out the project “Academia & Administration: Driving Innovation (WiVII).”
The project focuses on how the quality of work and collaboration between professors and the administration at German universities is perceived, and in which areas collaboration can be improved. Additionally, the project aims to examine the extent to which new technologies, such as AI, can improve internal university structures and processes, thereby enabling efficiency gains. The goal is to identify factors that promote or hinder this collaboration. The findings can provide valuable insights for the internal governance of universities, helping to align research and administrative processes better.
The project’s results are relevant for higher education and science policy, university leadership, senior administrators in university administration, and researchers in the fields of university governance, the digitization of (university) administration, and work culture in universities.
 | "This study is important for academic excellence and Germany's position as a hub for research, because it demonstrates for the first time how the quality of collaboration between academia and public administration determines the performance, innovative capacity, and international competitiveness of universities. It also highlights where this collaboration works particularly well, where it stalls, and what structural, cultural, and procedural factors are responsible for these outcomes." Prof. Dr. Isabell M. Welpe, wiss. Direktorin des IHF |
 | "This study is important for academic excellence and Germany's position as a hub for research, because it demonstrates for the first time how the quality of collaboration between academia and public administration determines the performance, innovative capacity, and international competitiveness of universities. It also highlights where this collaboration works particularly well, where it stalls, and what structural, cultural, and procedural factors are responsible for these outcomes.“ Dr. Yvonne Dorf, Geschäftsführerin des DHV |
Project Design
Mixed-Method-Design:
- Focus groups with university administrative staff and university professors
- Online survey of professors at universities in Germany
Focus Groups
Between October and December 2025, four focus groups were conducted:
- Focus group on central administration with university chancellors
- Focus group on faculty administration with university deans and department heads
- Focus group on digitalization/AI with representatives from decentralized and centralized university administration, as well as university data centers
- Focus group on academia with university professors
The results of the focus groups will be incorporated into the online survey and will also be evaluated through content analysis.
Online-Survey
The online survey focuses on the following topics:
Project Team
 |
Prof. Dr. Isabell M. Welpe | ||||
|
Dr. Susanne Falk |
|
Dr. Thorsten Lenz | ||
 |
Ria Grimmelsmann, M.Sc. |  |
Moritz Beyer, MA |
