Kühne Logistics University – Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Logistik und Unternehmensführung (KLU) – is a private university located in Hamburg’s HafenCity. KLU is one of very few private universities in Germany entitled to confer their own PhDs.
The independent, state-certified university’s major research areas are Sustainability, Digital Transformation and Value Creation in the fields of Transport, Global Logistics, and Supply Chain Management. 2020 KLU celebrates its 10th anniversary under the motto "10 years of award-winning teaching and research".
The 2019 ranking of the Wirtschaftswoche identifies KLU as one of the strongest research universities in the field of Business Administration in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Out of 200 competing universities, KLU reaches the top 20 in the overall ranking and scores No. 2 among all private universities. In terms of research-output per professor, KLU faculty is ranked No. 7 in the overall ranking and No. 1 of all private universities. In the latest CHE university ranking, KLU obtained the highest marks for all major criteria. Learn more about our ranking results here.
With one BSc and three MSc degree programs, a structured doctoral program, and a part-time MBA, KLU offers its 400 full-time students a high level of specialization and excellent learning conditions. KLU has an international team of 24 professors who teach in English. In open, tailor-made management seminar series, industry specialists and managers alike benefit from the application of academic findings to practical issues.
KLU mission statement
KLU Vision
To be the University for Logistics and Leadership driving the world’s welfare through focused research and education.
KLU Mission
To increase the significance and understanding of Logistics and Leadership in research and education, in industry and society. In line with this,
- we produce state-of-the-art research of highest international standard with high impact and outreach,
- we provide high-standard, research-based education and prepare our students to become responsible leaders that have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to seek and create positive impact within their organizations, between organizations, on the debate in the field, and, in general, on a sustainable transformation of our global economy and society,
- we support the industry and society at large in successfully mastering current and future challenges, based on our research and education.
KLU Values
- we rely on the Hanseatic characteristics of our hometown Hamburg: cosmopolitanism, reliability and networking skills,
- we value internationality and diversity as enrichment and source of inspiration,
- we embrace fact-based, data and evidence-driven decision-making,
- we are a people’s place cultivating an atmosphere of collegiality and community, mutual trust and understanding,
- we foster ethical behavior and an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit.
Honorary Senators
The two founding professors Dr. Alan McKinnon and Dr. Sönke Albers were awarded the title Honorary Senator of Kühne Logistics University which was conferred for the first time in October, 2020. They received the titles for their extraordinary pioneering achievements in the first decade of KLU.
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Sönke Albers
Professor of Marketing and Innovation
Kühne Logistics University - KLU
Prof. Alan C. McKinnon, PhD
Professor of Logistics
Kühne Logistics University - KLU
Kühne Stiftung
Klaus-Michael Kühne is the sole benefactor of the Kühne Stiftung (Kühne Foundation), set up by the Kühne family in 1976. The foundation’s objective is to support training and continuing education, and to foster science and research in the fields of logistics, supply chain management, and transportation. In addition to supporting the Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg, the Kühne Stiftung finances a professorship at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH), the Center for International Logistics Networks at TU Berlin, a logistics institute at Tongji University in Shanghai, and the Kühne Center for Logistics Management at WHU’s Otto Beisheim School of Management in Vallendar near Coblenz on the Rhine. The foundation also supports research in medical science and sponsors humanitarian, charitable, and cultural projects.
Hamburg
Kühne Logistics University is situated in Hamburg’s HafenCity waterfront urban development area. The location is one of Europe’s largest seaports and is ideal for the campus. KLU is strongly oriented towards economic science and interdisciplinary studies. Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Maritime Logistics and the technology-oriented logistics center at Hamburg University of Technology, KLU is part of an important cluster of logistics research institutes in northern Europe.
The Dean's List honors those KLU students in our academic programs who consistently perform at the very top of their class. For each program, only the best 10% of students based on the GPA are recognized with this honor.
The Dean's List is published twice during the course of each study program:
- at mid-term (after 1 year for MSc programs, after 1.5 years for BSc programs) and
- at the graduation.
The current Dean's List:
BSc Business Administration - Class of 2022 - Midterm
- Jonah Rösemeier
- Christoph Schaar
- Marius Pfaff
- Leslie Ziegler
- Niklas Hopman
BSc Business Administration - Class of 2021 - Midterm
- Paul Jordan
- Max Wiest
- Hanna Niemeyer
KLU is supported by the Kühne-Stiftung, which is also the sole shareholder of the holding company of KLU, Kühne Logistics University gGmbH.
The President and the Managing Directors oversee operational management of KLU and serve as managing directors of the contracting body. The President supervises the academic staff of KLU, and together with the deans, is responsible for the research and teaching concept. The Head of Administration oversees operating and administrative matters of the university. The commercial operations of the holding company are supervised by a Supervisory Board, which is appointed by the Kühne-Stiftung (Foundation). The Supervisory Board appoints the managing directors.
KLU university bodies have powers of decision in matters delegated to them by KLU’s constitution or agreements with the body governing the university. University bodies include:
Executive Board
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Strothotte
President & Managing Director - Prof. Dr. Maria Besiou,
Dean of Research / Professor of Humanitarian Logistics - Prof. Dr. Christian Barrot
Dean of Programs / Professor of Marketing and Innovation - Fabian Berger
Head of Administration & Managing Director
Managing Director KLU Executive Education
Academic Senate
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Strothotte
President & Managing Director - Fabian Berger
Head of Administration & Managing Director
Managing Director KLU Executive Education - Prof. Dr. Christian Barrot
Dean of Programs / Professor of Marketing and Innovation - Prof. Dr. Jan Becker
Professor of Marketing Service Management - Prof. Dr. Maria Besiou
Professor of Humanitarian Logistics - Prof. Dr. Prisca Brosi
Associate Professor of Human Resource Management - Prof. Dr. Asvin Goel
Professor of Logistics & Supply Chain Management - Prof. Dr. Alexander Himme
Associate Professor of Management Accounting - Prof. Dr. Kai Hoberg
Professor of Supply Chain and Operations Strategy - Prof. Dr. Henrik Leopold
Associate Professor for Data Science and Business Intelligence
EDO Representative - Prof. Dr. Niels Van Quaquebeke
Head of Management Department / Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior - Maria Kern
Head of Program Services - Neele Mannsfeld
Director of Operations KLU Executive Education - Moritz Jäger-Roschko
PhD Candidate - Sarah Süßenbacher
KLU Student - Ramon van Almsick
KLU Student
University Management
- Prof. Dr. Thomas Strothotte
President & Managing Director - Fabian Berger
Head of Administration & Managing Director
Managing Director KLU Executive Education
Supervisory Board
- Karl Gernandt
Kühne Holding AG, Executive Chairman (Chairman of the Supervisory Board) - Prof. Dr. h.c. Klaus-Michael Kühne
Kühne + Nagel International AG, Honorary Chairman of the Board of Directors - Dr. Thomas Staehelin
Kühne-Stiftung, Vice-Chairman of the Board - Dr. Christian Berthold
Kühne-Stiftung, Executive Director
The KLU Code of Conduct:
- promotes a shared sense of community,
- codifies a standard of conduct that we all agree to live by, based on a sense of shared value,
- communicates our values and mission to the outside world.
Standards of good practice
1. Respect
- We shall treat each other with respect, fairness, and tolerance.
- We shall value people irrespective of characteristics or attributes such as gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, age, social status, race and disability.
- We see diversity as a source of enrichment for our community.
- We shall champion the active integration of all, especially foreign, KLU members into our community.
2. Cooperation
- We shall communicate openly and honestly, while dealing with information conscientiously and responsibly.
- We shall be helpful and support one another.
- We shall ensure that criticism is constructive, and provide encouragement.
- We shall help and promote each other in our professional and personal development.
The objective of the EDO is to increase awareness on equality and diversity matters at KLU by fostering the dialogue on these issues among staff, faculty and students. The EDO provides informal advice to the university administration and student services on issues related to equality and diversity and if requested will participate as an observer in any meeting, committee or activity as deemed appropriate by the relevant decision body, e.g. the President, Executive Board, Student Bodies, etc.
The EDO meets regularly and has activated an email to deal with (anonymous) complaints and suggestions. Please contact us if you are interested in the EDO activities. Although the EDO operates collaboratively with a Committee, its representative is at the moment Henrik Leopold. Members of the Committee are:
Equality and Diversity Officer
- Prof. Dr. Henrik Leopold
Equality and Diversity Officer Deputy
- Holly Hillen
- Prof. Dr. Michele Acciaro
- Prof. Dr. Maria Besiou
- Prof. Dr. Prisca Brosi
- Moritz Jäger-Roschko
- Nicole Martinetti
- Julia Rieg
- Lea Rüsch
- Johanna Schnier
- Julia Schwarz
You can contact the members of the Committee individually or write to EDO edo(at)the-klu.org. You can request that your case is dealt with confidentiality.
Unlike most universities in Germany, where the appointment, promotion and tenure process of faculty is very different from international standards, KLU’s process is very similar to an international tenure track.
Young assistant professor are normally appointed on a 3-year temporary contract, which can be extended for a further 3 years upon satisfactory development. In the sixth year of appointment at KLU, the faculty member involved applies for tenure by submission of his or her tenure dossier. The tenure submission needs to be supported by the Head of the Department that the faculty member belong to, and the Dean of Research, who both are a member of the tenure evaluation committee.
The tenure evaluation committee is instructed to provide a holistic evaluation of the performance of the faculty member in terms of research (including research output in academic journals), teaching (including student evaluations), outreach (including impact on the field) and university service. The tenure committee usually requests external independent experts to provide a written evaluation of the academic standing of the applicant. The tenure evaluation committee makes a recommendation to the Academic Senate, who then votes on the tenure decision and makes a recommendation to the KLU President. The President has a final decision.
Tenured faculty will be contracted for indefinite duration, until mandatory retirement (currently at age 67).
Subsequently, depending on performance, faculty typically would apply for promotion to full professor after 4-6 years.
It is important to note that once an assistant professor is appointed to a tenure-track position, KLU has budgeted for the eventual tenure and promotion, independent of how other faculty perform. The evaluation is just based on the merit of the faculty member concerned.
Note: this document provides a legally non-binding overview of the tenure process at KLU. The process is formally governed in KLU’s tenure and promotion regulations
