2015 Award Winners
A role model for lived values in science, technology transfer and society
Special Prize Winner Prof. Dr. habil. Hans Jobst Pleitner
After completing his apprenticeship as an industrial clerk at Siemens AG and its subsidiary Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, Hans Jobst Pleitner studied business administration at the University of Münster and at what was then the Handels-Hochschule, now the University of St. Gallen – School of Economics, Law and Social Sciences and International Relations (HSG). He remained at the university, opting for an academic career; he was awarded his doctorate in St. Gallen in 1972 and became a lecturer there in the same year. Three years later, he took over as head of the Institute for Industrial Economics (IGW) at the University of St. Gallen, now known as the Swiss Institute for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises at the University of St. Gallen (KMU-HSG). He was awarded his habilitation at the age of 45. From 1985 to 2000, he was a full professor of General Business Administration with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the University of St. Gallen.
Hans Jobst Pleitner made a significant contribution to the establishment of the Steinbeis University Berlin (SHB). Even whilst serving as Director of the IGW, his collaboration with Steinbeis – which was unusual at the time – not only enabled the St. Gallen Management Seminar to be established in Germany, which was one of the SHB’s key programmes, but also actively supported and shaped the development of the SHB’s first degree programmes. Following his retirement in 2000 from the University of St. Gallen, he became Professor of Entrepreneurial Management at the SHB.
Over the past 15 years, Hans Jobst Pleitner has served the SHB in an exemplary manner. In addition to his exceptional commitment to teaching and student supervision, he devoted himself to supporting the development of the Project Competence PhD programme, which has been the focus of his work in recent years. He will step down from his active role at Steinbeis at the end of 2015. With this special award, Steinbeis thanks Hans Jobst Pleitner for his exceptional contributions to the success of SHB and, at the same time, honours his life’s work in fostering mutual exchange between academia and SMEs.