Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jochen Frey has been re-elected Vice President of the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen (THM). The engineering scientist received 26 of the 28 participating Senate members' votes. His third term begins on April 1, 2026, and lasts three years.
THMPresident Prof. Dr. Matthias Willems, who had nominated Frey for re-election, congratulated the electrical engineer and emphasized that he was pleased to be able to continue the successful collaboration in the university management.
As in previous years, Frey will continue to focus primarily on research, knowledge transfer, and Young Academics within the THM 's presidium . At the Senate election meeting, he reviewed topics from his second term, such as the further development of the research and transfer strategy, strengthening the network of researchers at THM and Research Campus of Central Hessen (FCMH), which the university operates with its partners Justus Liebig University Giessen and Philipps University Marburg, and expanding support for start-ups.
Looking ahead to his third term is not easy due to the conditions of the new Hessian Higher Education Pact. In his application speech, Frey listed among his goals raising the profile of the Centres of Competence and leveraging synergies with the FCMH (Center for Research and Technology Transfer) to increase visibility and foster collaborations. He wants to advance the THM 's doctoral strategy, strengthen the networking of researchers, and boost innovation and knowledge transfer impact by raising awareness of these topics university-wide. Startup support is also to be further developed. "Especially during the consolidation phase, a strong profile is crucial: increasing impact, strengthening partnerships, and making knowledge transfer visible," Frey explained.
After studying electrical engineering at the University of Siegen and earning his Dr.-Ing. Jochen Frey initially worked in the chip industry. There, he was most recently a group leader responsible for the development of sensor chips at a medium-sized company. In 2011, he was appointed Professor of Measurement Technology and Sensors at the Department of Electrical and Information Engineering in Giessen . He served as Dean of Studies for his Department , Managing Director of the THMCenter for Quality Development, and is a member of the university's Competence Center for Nanotechnology and Photonics. Since he first took office in April 2020, THM has established itself as one of the strongest research and entrepreneurial universities of applied sciences in Germany.