The Senate of TU Bergakademie Freiberg elected three new Vice-Rectors on 7 October 2025. The new management team around Rector Professor Jutta Emes now includes the Chancellor, Jens Then, as well as the following people: Professor Swanhild Bernstein as Vice-Rector for Teaching, Studies and Lifelong Learning, Professor Martin Bertau as Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer and Professor Karina Sopp as Vice-Rector for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship.
According to the Saxon Higher Education Act (SächsHSG), new rectors are responsible for proposing people to the Senate for election to the new management team. The senators of TUBAF followed Rector Emes' proposal and elected the new vice-rectors to office with a clear majority at their meeting on 7 October 2025.
The new university management team will be supplemented by three authorised representatives for specific areas of responsibility, who were also presented to the Senate by the Rector on 7 October. In close coordination with the Rectorate, they will assume responsibility in defined subject areas and contribute to the efficient and targeted further development of TU Bergakademie Freiberg. The future authorised representatives are Professor Urs Peuker for TUBAFdigital, Professor Henning Zeidler for Eureca-Pro and Professor Yvonne Joseph for Equal Opportunities and Diversity.
Together with the new Vice-Rectors, the Chancellor and the three authorised representatives, Professor Jutta Emes will lead the university for the next five years.
With the new Rectorate team, we are sending a strong signal of continuity and new beginnings at the same time. I would like to congratulate the new Vice Rectors on their election and look forward to working together for the future of our TUBAF. I am delighted to have won Swanhild Bernstein, Martin Bertau and Karina Sopp for the Rectorate and thank the Senate for its trust. Swanhild Bernstein already served as Vice-Rector under Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht in the previous Rectorate and made a major contribution to the further development of the Education division. Martin Bertau is a colleague with a strong research background. Among other things, he is a member of the Presidium of the Saxon Academy of Sciences (Technical Science Class). As Group Leader for Recycling and Green Batteries at the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS, he is well connected in Saxony and beyond. As a recognised expert in sustainability reporting and business start-ups, Karina Sopp will promote these important topics for the future at TU Bergakademie Freiberg. I am very much looking forward to working with the new rectorate team.
Professor Jutta Emes
The Rector thanked the two outgoing Vice-Rectors, Professor Tobias Fieback and Professor Andreas Horsch, for their willingness to remain in office until today's election and for their work over the past few years.
The Rector herself has assumed responsibility for the areas of Communication and International Affairs. With regard to the European University Alliance Eureca-Pro, she will be supported in future by Professor Henning Zeidler and Professor Carsten Drebenstedt. Professor Urs Peuker will continue to act as the university's Chief Information Officer (CIO). He has significantly developed the TUBAFdigital area in recent years. Professor Yvonne Joseph, previously the university's Equal Opportunities and Women's Representative, will now represent the area of equal opportunities and diversity as an authorised representative at Rectorate level.
The task of the management team is to keep an eye on the university as a whole and move it forward together. "This community is clearly noticeable, and it is an honour for me to further strengthen it with the members of the Rectorate in the future," says Emes. "Together, we will place students even more strongly at the centre and resolutely tackle the challenges and future tasks we face: promoting outstanding research, attracting students, further developing digital and sustainable structures and strengthening an open, international academic culture."
A degree programme is a crucial foundation for young people's lives. That is why I am committed to ensuring that TU Bergakademie Freiberg offers excellent and sought-after degree programmes in which students and lecturers enjoy working together. In order to further increase the attractiveness of these degree programmes, I would like to promote innovative teaching formats, international teaching collaborations and joint degree programmes, integrate practical projects into everyday study life and develop TU Bergakademie Freiberg into a living space for students and teaching staff. This will create an inspiring learning environment that optimally prepares young people for their professional future.
Professor Swanhild Bernstein
In times of global challenges, it is important to me to strengthen the reputation of the Bergakademie as Germany's resource university. In doing so, I am particularly focussing on supporting young scientists - whether during their doctorate, in the postdoc phase or in establishing their professorship. Here in Freiberg, we have working conditions that are unique in Europe and above-average graduates. We need to utilise this potential - especially when it comes to transferring the solutions we develop here into industrial applications. This will not only benefit Saxon companies, but will also make Freiberg even more attractive as a place to study.
Professor Martin Bertau
As a resource university, sustainability is a central topic at TU Bergakademie Freiberg, where it is important to act as a role model among universities. Taking into account the interests of the diverse stakeholders of TU Bergakademie Freiberg, I would like to help systematically identify the key sustainability aspects of TU Bergakademie Freiberg in the areas of environment, social affairs and governance, formulate strategic sustainability goals, derive measures from them and make sustainability-related impacts, opportunities and risks transparent.
Parallel to this, I would like to further strengthen the framework conditions for successful spin-offs. This includes promoting the SAXEED start-up network, which has a significant influence on start-up behaviour at TU Bergakademie Freiberg with its broad range of support services. I see further positive effects in the consideration of the special technical orientation of the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, in interdisciplinary (teaching) approaches and in close cooperation with industry.
Professor Karina Sopp
New cables, new designations
- Professor Martin Bertau will succeed the previous Prorectorate for Research, International Affairs and Transfer, Professor Tobias Fieback, as Prorector for Research and Transfer from 8 October.
- The Prorectorate for Education and Quality Management in Teaching has been renamed the Prorectorate for Teaching, Studies and Lifelong Learning. Professor Swanhild Bernstein remains Vice-Rector.
- The Vice-Rector for Sustainability and Communication, Professor Andreas Horsch, will be succeeded by the Vice-Rector for Sustainability and Entrepreneurship, Professor Karina Sopp, from 8 October.
All Vice-Rectors perform the role on a part-time basis.
