Prof. Dr. Jürgen Howaldt

From 1982 to 1989, Jürgen Howaldt studied first at the University of Bielefeld (sociology) and then in Duisburg (social sciences). After successfully completing his diploma in social sciences at the Gerhard Mercator University in Duisburg, Jürgen Howaldt received his doctorate in 1996 (Dr. rer. pol.) from the Department of Social and Economic Sciences at the TU Dortmund University. In 2003, he completed his habilitation at the Department of Human and Health Sciences at the University of Bremen. In his habilitation thesis, Howaldt dealt with new forms of social science knowledge production.

After completing his studies, Jürgen Howaldt began his academic career in 1990 at the Landesinstitut Sozialforschungsstelle Dortmund (Social Research Center Dortmund). Here he was first appointed coordinator of the research area "Organizational Development, Consulting and Industrial Relations" in 1993 and then Executive Director in 2002. From 2003 to 2005, he was a private lecturer at the Department of Human and Health Sciences at the University of Bremen. In 2005, he was appointed honorary professor at the Department of Economics and Social Sciences at TU Dortmund University. After the integration of the Social Research Centers as a central scientific institution at the TU Dortmund in 2007, Jürgen Howaldt was appointed university professor in the field of "Sociology of Work and Organization" at the Social Research Center in 2009. Since 2020, he has been a professor in the department of "Social Innovation and Work" at the newly established Faculty of Social Sciences. As a sociologist, his internationally oriented research activities focus on the significance of social innovations for society as well as on socio-technical change processes in various social fields.

National und international contributions

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Howaldt, born 1960, is the director of Social Research Centre Dortmund, TU Dortmund University and professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences. He is an internationally renowned expert in the field of social innovation. He has consulted German as well as European policy-makers and has also presented his concept of social innovation in all parts of the world. In 2011 he was one of the organizers of the international conference “Challenge Social Innovation” in Vienna. He is affiliate of SIERC (Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Centre, Massey University, New Zealand); Co-founder and chair of the European School of Social Innovation. He worked as an Expert of the German Federal Chancellor’s Dialog for the Future and Scientific Coordinator of the global research project SI-DRIVE, funded within the 7th Framework Program of the European Commission. He is co-editor of the Atlas of Social Innovation.

Other professional activities and participation in committees:

• 2021: Member of the Advisory Board, Social Innovation-Hub ERA-Chair, Nova School of Business and Economics
• 2021: Member of the Programme Jury “Society of Ideas”, German Ministry of Research and Education
• 2020: Member of the External Advisory Board, Faculty of Social Sciences, KU Leuven
• Since 2019: Member of the Expert Advisory Board of the project "WISIH -Wege und Indikatoren Sozialer Innovationen aus Hochschulen" ("WISIH - Pathways and Indicators of Social Innovation from Universities")
• Since 2018: Representative of TU Dortmund University at the Eu-SPRI Forum
• Since 2018: Co-Editor of the Atlas of Social Innovation
• Since 2017: chair of the European School of Social Innovation
• Since 2016: Member of the Standing Working Group of the German Rector’s Conference “Cooperation and Transfer”
• Since 2014: Member of the advisory board of the Institute for Social Innovation (ISI) Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences
• Since 2010: Co-editor of the book series "Dortmunder Beiträge zur Sozialforschung" published by VS Verlag, Wiesbaden
• Since 2004: Member of the project committee of the Wachstumsinitiative Dort­mund ("Growth Initiative Dortmund
• Since 2002: Member of the board of the Kooperationsstelle Wis­sen­schaft und Arbeitswelt ("Cooperation Center for Science and Labor")
• Since 2002: Member of the board of the Gesellschaft zur Förderung des Strukturwandels in der Arbeitswelt e. V. (Society for the Promotion of Structural Change in the Working World)
• Since 1990: Member of the Section for Economic and Industrial Sociology