New Chancellor Dr. Achim Dilling: An eye on the future of the University of Passau!

New Chancellor Dr. Achim Dilling: An eye on the future of the University of Passau!

Dr. Achim Dilling becomes the new chancellor of the Ruhr University Bochum. He was elected on June 5, 2025 by the university election assembly, and he will take office on January 1, 2026. Dilling follows Dr. Christina Reinhardt, who is leaving office after a decade. His term of office is set to last ten years. As an experienced university manager, Dilling has held the chancellorship at the University of Passau since 2016, where he has had a significant influence on both the strategic and structural development of the campus. Rector Prof. Dr. Martin Paul welcomes Dilling as an expert in university management who also has extensive experience in the private sector.

Dilling was born in Eschwege in 1973 and completed his studies in business administration at the Georg-August University of Göttingen in 1999. After receiving his doctorate in 2002, he held various professional positions, including at Aareal Bank AG and K+S Aktiengesellschaft. Between 2006 and 2016, Dilling was head of the teaching unit for general business administration at the University of Passau, where he received several awards for excellent teaching.

Experiences and successes

During his time at the University of Passau, Dilling not only achieved academic success, but also made a significant contribution to urban development. His commitment has helped to promote the growing together of the university and the city, which has had a lasting impact on the experience of students and citizens in Passau. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Bartosch, President of the University of Passau, particularly emphasizes Dilling's confident leadership during the corona pandemic, which has earned him great reputation and respect.

In his role as chancellor, Dilling also served on numerous committees, including the administrative board of the Lower Bavaria/Upper Palatinate Student Union. He is also chairman of the board of trustees of the Passau University Foundation and a member of the advisory board of AOK-Bayern. His extensive experience in university management makes him a suitable successor for the chancellorship in Bochum.

Tasks and challenges

With the move to Bochum, Dr. Dilling faces new challenges. In his career to date, he has initiated comprehensive projects, particularly with regard to spatial development at the University of Passau. Among other things, he completed an architectural competition that led to two award-winning implementation concepts for a new building on Spitzberg. The planned “International Science Center” will have around 4,800 m² of main usable space and will include important facilities such as seminar rooms, office space, an auditorium and a cafeteria.

The University of Passau has grown by around a third in recent years and is facing new challenges, particularly in the context of the AI ​​initiative and the high-tech agenda. In order to meet these requirements, the university is launching two new degree programs in the field of digitalization in the fall. Dilling has developed strategic plans to maintain the campus character and cover new space requirements through rentals.

The coming months will be crucial for the packages of measures that Dilling will implement in his new office. A sustainable development of the Ruhr University Bochum could be the focus of his vision, underpinned by his in-depth experience and the commitment to academic excellence that he demonstrated in Passau.

Further information about the developments in Passau and Dillis' visions for the Ruhr University Bochum can be found on the website news.rub.de as well as at uni-passau.de.