Jutta Emes appointed new rector of the Bergakademie

For the first time in its 260-year history, a woman is at the helm of the Bergakademie Freiberg. Professor Jutta Emes has now been officially appointed as the new Rector by the Ministry of Science, the university announced. She succeeds Professor Klaus-Dieter Barbknecht, who led the technical university for ten years.

"One point I would like to address is to promote a hub for artificial intelligence across faculties," explained Emes. Another focus of her work is the European orientation. The Bergakademie is internationally positioned and a member of an EU-funded university alliance. "This is a huge opportunity. Anyone studying, researching or working in Freiberg has the opportunity to do so at eight partner universities."

Oldest mining science university in the world

The Bergakademie Freiberg is the oldest mining science university in the world. It was founded in 1765. It has been operating as a technical university since the early 1990s. It currently has almost 4,300 students.

Emes previously held the professorship for Marketing and Media at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. She was elected as the new Rector by the extended Senate of the Bergakademie at the beginning of February. The term of office is five years. She has gained leadership experience as Vice Rector and Vice President at the Bauhaus University. She also temporarily headed the university from 2022 to 2023. She will be ceremoniously inducted into her new office in the fall. This will symbolically include the handover of the chain of office.