Prof. Dr. Jutta Günther

Jutta Günther has served as President of the University of Bremen since her election by the Academic Senate in September 2022. Prior to this, she held the position of Vice President for Research at the University of Bremen. She brings extensive experience from leading a non-university research institute within the Leibniz Association. Since 2014, she has been a professor of economics at the University of Bremen, where she has led an internationally recognized research team in the field of innovation economics.

In her current role as president, she is committed to strengthening the University of Bremen as an innovative, leading research institution within the European Research Area. Under her leadership, the university has engaged in a strategic development process that includes the Excellence Strategy, the university’s Sustainability Strategy, and the European university alliance YUFE – Young Universities for the Future of Europe, to advance this commitment.

Jutta Günther is co-founder of the Northwest Alliance, a strategic partnership between the University of Bremen and Oldenburg, and Vice President of the European university alliance YUFE. She is chairperson of the U Bremen Research Alliance, a network of the University of Bremen and twelve Bremen-based, federal and state government-funded non-university research institutes. Jutta Günther is also chairperson of the Bremen State University Presidents’ Conference. Furthermore, she serves as member of the board of the Technology Park Bremen, an association that facilitates collaboration between technology-driven companies on campus and the university. She is also a member of the board of trustees of the Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Hamburg. From 2020 to 2021, she was a member of the Climate Protection Strategies for the State of Bremen Enquete Commission. 

Prior to her time in Bremen, Jutta Günther worked in leading scientific positions at the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research in Halle (IWH), including positions as head of department and member of the board of directors. Further stops in her academic career were the universities of Jena (habilitation), Osnabrück (PhD), and Oldenburg (degree) with study and research stays in the USA (Fulbright), Japan, Norway, and Russia (DAAD), among others. Before embarking on her academic career, she undertook vocational training in a technical field and gained several years of professional experience, including work abroad.