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Experience Reports

Dr. Andreas Jede

Experience at UWI:

I focused on the priorities of "Controlling" and "Accounting" quite early in my studies because, among other things, I wanted to gain good practical experience in the relevant departments. Immediately after graduation I answered the call of private enterprise, and opted for a Controller position that was offered within a doctoral programme. However, after four years of professional activity, I became restless, and I decided to hit the proverbial books again. And yet I did not find the idea of a PhD in Controlling to be particularly appealing, because I had already become acquainted with a certain degree of theoretical and practical knowledge of Accounting and Controlling via study, and especially from professional activity, which would in any case be deepened in the course of continued years in the profession. I opted to pursue greater knowledge by engaging in research within related areas. It is no secret that Business Informatics is also gaining in importance within Controlling, thus I focused on this area and set out to find a doctoral supervisor.

Due to pleasant memories from studying there, the University of Osnabrück was my first choice, and the initial talks with Prof. Dr. Teuteberg were very promising. Among other things, individual discussions with other postgraduates and relevant reviews helped to further solidify my positive impression, and filled me with motivation to engage in doctoral work at the Faculty of "Corporate Accounting and Business Informatics".

Prof. Dr. Teuteberg was open from the beginning in terms of defining the topic area, which was very welcome to me, because I had earlier determined an area of research that was relevant for me. The support from Prof. Dr. Teuteberg and from the faculty staff was of great importance, especially in the first year, since first of all I had to familiarise myself with the academic work (including IT tools, research methods, theories, etc.). Success arose in subsequent years. In this respect Prof. Dr. Teuteberg contributed significantly to the development of my dissertation. Especially his substantive support, constructive and very timely feedback, and open, honest, and friendly communication were extremely helpful throughout the doctoral work. We investigated the progress of the doctoral work together in periodic feedback discussions, and determined how to proceed.

If you are also motivated to engage in external doctoral work in Business Informatics, I can recommend the professorship of Prof. Dr. Teuteberg without reservations. In my view, potential candidates for successful doctoral work should have discipline, determination, and a healthy dose of resistance to frustration, and not be "born yesterday".

Dr. des. Volker Frehe

Experience at UWI:

When I started my service at UWI 4 years ago (in June 2012), I could not have known where this road would take me. For me, it was a step I had been thinking about for a long time, because I had previously worked for 3 years in practice as a Corporate IT Consultant. In the end I have to say that this decision has more than paid off. Obviously, there is a big difference between working in business and working as an academic. While in business there are usually specific goals, plans, and fine-grain controlling, at university the freedom of teaching and research predominates. Under Professor Teuteberg's professorship I have always been able pursue my own ideas. Of course you need a large degree of intrinsic motivation and a great deal of initiative and self-organisation, but not least, the objective of doctoral work provides an extrinsic factor.

Prof. Teuteberg was always available as a contact during the doctoral work. The faculty's promise to answer any inquiries within 24 hours does not only apply to students; in this regard, it is especially doctoral candidates who receive very substantial feedback. It amazed me again and again that Prof. Teuteberg showed the same response time during weekends as on weekdays. This particularly benefited me with regard to conference submissions, because the deadlines are usually on Sunday evening/night. It is not uncommon to make various adjustments in the final hours before submission - Prof. Teuteberg was also always available as a contact at those times. Communication is very easy, whereby in some cases you will receive contact by email several times a day, and with larger problems an appointment can be obtained within 12-24 hours. In general, all issues were addressed and discussed at the professorship with the other colleagues and Prof. Teuteberg in the 4 weekly research meetings.

Since occupying the regional office as an academic researcher, teaching support has also been among my tasks. I have learned a lot in this area, and am glad to have been so strongly included by Prof. Teuteberg. Developing a new teaching programme was an especially new experience for me. It was very pleasing for me to see that Prof. Teuteberg was developing on my practical experience in this regard, whereby I and my experiences became part of the lecture course. Overall, I think that my teaching skills have been very effectively strengthened by this co-supervision.

I was also jointly responsible for a funding proposal during the 4 years of my activity. This was a new experience for me, firstly because the funding proposal and the involved field (eHealth in the broader sense) constituted new territory for me. Prof. Teuteberg also provided me with a good introduction in this area. At the beginning I took on smaller research tasks, and in the end I was independently preparing a large part of the application. The success of this "training-on-the-job" is evident from the fact that the research application was successful, and the project Dorfgemeinschaft 2.0 is ultimately being funded with a project volume of € 5.82 million from the BMBF.

Dr. Marc Walterbusch

Experience at UWI: 

I was employed as a research assistant during my studies at the University of Osnabrück in the Faculty of Corporate Accounting and Business Informatics (UWI). In the course of this, I realised my interest in academic work early on, which was strongly encouraged by a success in the publication of my bachelor's thesis (and later my master's thesis). This led to the relatively easy decision of pursuing a PhD at the UWI.

During my time as an academic colleague at UWI from March 2012 until and including August 2015, I was involved in the project business, teaching, and also in the 2015 organisation of the WI. In March 2015 I submitted my dissertation, entitled "Factors Influencing the Adoption of Cloud Computing: A Mixed-Methods Approach", for assessment. This relatively short time for a doctorate was possible for me, among other things, due to the targeted supervision of Prof. Teuteberg, whose response time to requests is usually under 24 hours, and whose feedback also goes beyond the thesis content. The degree of freedom that was granted, in the sense of "management by objectives/results", was also a key driver, in that I could always follow my interests and realise my own ideas.

Overall I always felt at home among the UWI team, not least because of the uncomplicated and amicable interaction with local colleagues. If I were faced with the decision to engage in doctoral work at UWI again today, I would not hesitate to decide in the affirmative. 

Prof. Dr. Daniel Burda

Experience at UWI:

In 2011 I decided on a doctorate as an external PhD student, and received confirmation of supervision with Prof. Dr. Frank Teuteberg. I worked in the research department at SAP in Zurich in parallel with the doctorate.

Besides the excellent substantive support and the freedom granted in selecting and working on the individual research projects, I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Frank Teuteberg for his constructive feedback, and for the always timely and open communication, which took place almost entirely via virtual methods. Despite the physical distance between Osnabrück and Zurich, and the rare personal contact, I consistently felt very well looked after and advised. I always found the virtual collaboration with faculty colleagues to be very pleasant.

If you are also considering the prospect of doctoral work, I can recommend Prof. Dr. Frank Teuteberg's faculty without reservations, and would encourage you to apply."

After completing his doctorate, Dr. Daniel Burda took an appointment at the Fachhochschule Bern (www.bfh.ch) in a Business Informatics professorship (focus: Business Process Management/IT Governance).

Dr. Benedikt Martens

Experience at UWI:

"I have written my doctoral thesis "Risk Management in the field of Cloud Computing – A multi-method analysis" at the Research Group in Accounting and Information Systems (UWI) and have been supervised by Prof. Dr. Frank Teuteberg.

I have experienced four very successful years at the UWI research group, a period I like to look back on with pleasure.

At the beginning of my carrier as a scientist, I rather focused on identifying possible topics for my doctoral thesis. Although leaving me freedom, Prof. Dr. Teuteberg always offered valuable support through constructive discussions on various possible topics. But also the other scientists at the UWI-Team actively supported me.

Especially the active participation in various international, scientific Conferences enabled vivid discussions on my research results, which significantly contributed to further shaping my dissertation topic and also opened the way for cooperation with other researchers. Not least because of the high practical relevance in teaching (e.g. focus on practical topics, guest lectures) and in research (e.g. expert interviews, case studies) research areas of UWI are always lively. This is confirmed by the third-party funded projects raised by Prof. Dr. Teuteberg so far.

Due to the well-structured support and the pleasant working atmosphere, I can only recommend this doctoral program."

Dr. David Wittstruck

Experience at UWI:

"I can warmly recommend the research group of Prof. Dr. Frank Teuteberg!

Currently, at the UWI research group, there are very exciting and highly topical projects from which very interesting topics for dissertations could be derived, if desired. Throughout my graduation time, I have experienced an outstanding support through Prof. Dr. Frank Teuteberg who at all times gave prompt and valuable feedback. Furthermore, I have had the opportunity to meet a very pleasant and dynamic team. This pleasant working environment with its short communication paths is an excellent opportunity for a successful doctorate.

I wish you good luck for your application!"