New research chair goes to Prof. Dr. Matthias Baum 

From 2013, Baum held the Professorship for Entrepreneurship in the Department of Economics at Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, at the same time acting as scientific director of Gründungsbüro (the start-up office there). Prior to this, he was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Gießen, where he helped develop start-up assistance as operative head of the Entrepreneurship Cluster Mittelhessen. The 38-year-old studied economics at ISC Paris and the University of Gießen. 

During his doctorate, he was supported by Robert Bosch GmbH, where, according to Baum, he quickly discovered how inspiring entrepreneurship and an innovative working environment were for him. Indeed, entrepreneurship and innovation play an important role at the University of Bayreuth. This has led to the establishment of the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, as well as the Regional Founders and Innovation Centre (RIZ). All the more reason for the 38-year-old to decide on Bayreuth as his place of work: "Here we have all the elements we need to build an entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem around the Institute: strong social sciences, STEM fields, institutes, and regional business to give a valuable boost to the subject of entrepreneurship. Moreover, the University Governing Board is behind this goal one hundred percent, allowing all involved to immerse themselves in the complex of "entrepreneurship", to create a "germ cell" for economic development in the region. Not alone, of course, but together with partners in local and regional administration, and in business development. We seek to make the University of Bayreuth one of the national hotspots for 'Entrepreneurship Research', and a regional champion in the field of entrepreneurship.

His main area of research lies at the interface between digital transformation, the continued development of start-ups, and everything to do with human resource management processes in these companies. We aim to produce ‘problem-solvers’ who generate innovations in order to answer the big questions of our time in social, economic, and also ecological terms. We wish to build a mindset of thinking and acting entrepreneurially - whether as a founder, successor, manager, or valued employee".