"Prof. Dr Henrik te Heesen is characterized by his extensive professional background and experience as well as his particular research strength. He is currently involved in five research projects in digitization and resource efficiency with a third-party funding volume of several million euros. As Vice Dean of the Department of Environmental Planning/Environmental Engineering, member of numerous committees, head of several study programs and not least due to his close networking with science and industry, Trier University has made an excellent choice. I am very much looking forward to working with him," said President Prof. Dr Dorit Schumann, congratulating the future Vice President for Research.

Prof. Dr Henrik te Heesen is Professor for Renewable Energies at the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld of Trier University and Vice Dean of the Department of Environmental Planning/ Environmental Engineering. He studied physics at RWTH Aachen University and earned his doctorate in physics at Ruhr University Bochum. After working as an executive assistant to the CEO, Prof. Dr. te Heesen was department head of a medium-sized company in the photovoltaic industry. In 2013, he was appointed professor at the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld at Trier University of Applied Sciences. He is responsible for several degree programs in the Department of Environmental Planning/Environmental Engineering. His research focuses on energy model development, quality assurance of renewable energy systems, and energy and resource efficiency. Since January 2019, Prof. Dr. te Heesen has been a member of the board of the environmental technology network Ecoliance Rheinland-Pfalz e. V. and, since April 2021, director of the Institute for Business and Technology Management (IBT) at the Environmental Campus Birkenfeld. He is also the author of various publications on yield analysis and optimization of photovoltaic systems and a member of the Task Force "Computational Intelligence in the Energy Domain" and "COST Action PEARL PV". Since September 2015, Prof. Dr. te Heesen has been listed as an energy auditor according to DIN EN 16247-1 at the German Federal Office of Economics and Export Control.

Firmly resolved, the future vice president declares: "My predecessors in the office of vice president helped initiate and accompany numerous research projects and transfer projects, both regionally and internationally; I would like to build on this to consolidate Trier University's top position as the university of applied sciences in Rhineland-Palatinate with the third-highest level of funding. Furthermore, I want to support and promote the enthusiasm for research at the university and its creative potential. In addition, it will be my task as Vice President to accompany the personnel upheaval that will occur in the next few years due to the retirement of professors with a strong research background to introduce young colleagues to research at Trier University. Finally, we must continue to develop and expand the internationalization of the university, which we have successfully initiated."