Walter Blocher is the new CIO

Blocher has headed the Department of Civil Law, Corporate Law and Information Law at the Kassel University Faculty 07 since 2006. He is spokesperson of the Blockchain-Center.eu at the Kassel University, which was launched in 2016, chairperson of the board of the German Society for Law and Informatics, and member of the Scientific Advisory Board for Digital Transformation of the AOK Nordost.

"The COVID-19 pandemic made it surprisingly clear how important digital literacy has become for most social contexts. Thus, it proved immensely helpful that the Kassel University has built up relevant know-how and appropriate structures over the last decade," says Blocher. "Digital teaching and learning environments and new forms of digital work will continue to be the focus of the Kassel University development. They are intended to complement and support the face-to-face encounters that are essential for our university, so that we can make the most of the valuable time spent researching, learning and working together. I would like to accompany the Kassel University on this path and, together with my highly motivated colleagues in the field of technical information management and from the departments, do my utmost to ensure that as many university members as possible experience the digital transformation as an opportunity to develop their creative potential even more fully."

"I am pleased that with Prof. Blocher we have succeeded in finding a worthy successor to Prof. Roßnagel for this important position, whom I would like to thank for his many years of work as CIO. He has been instrumental in bringing the new governance structures created in 2010 to life and has initiated and accompanied the digital transformation of the Kassel University in key areas such as campus management, the introduction of e-examinations, the restructuring of the IT Service Center and the initiation of major projects that are now underway. Prof. Blocher will continue to drive this development and the digital transformation at our university so that all university members benefit from this potential," says university president Prof. Reiner Finkeldey.

Roßnagel was appointed the first CIO of the Kassel University in 2010. He held this office continuously until February 2021. As a senior professor, he continues to head the Department of Public Law with a focus on the law of technology and environmental protection at the Kassel University. At the beginning of March 2021, he took office as the Hessian Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information.