Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
What does a developing mind need to thrive? This question runs through everything I do. I am Professor of Psychology at the University of Paderborn, Germany. My academic journey started at the University of Göttingen with a German Research Foundation (DFG) fellowship. I spent my postdoctoral years at the DIPF Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education and Goethe University Frankfurt before taking up my current chair in 2015. My research investigates how children learn and develop — from the cognitive and neural foundations of reading, writing, and math to self-concept formation and the effects of digital environments on attention and learning. My team combines behavioral experiments, computer-based interventions, structural neuroimaging (MRI), and cross-cultural comparison studies. In 2023, my team published an experiment in Scientific Reports (Nature Portfolio) showing that the mere presence of a smartphone significantly reduces cognitive capacity — not through use, but through proximity alone. The study has since been cited by Cal Newport in The New York Times, by Jonathan Haidt in "The Anxious Generation", and in policy documents of the U.S. Congressional Research Service, the European Commission, and the Irish government. I regularly appear as an expert on German television and radio (e.g. ARD, ZDF, 3sat, 1LIVE) and serve as a scientific source for the German Press Agency (DPA) and the Editorial Network Germany (RND). I advise organizations in education, publishing, and digital health — including Hogrefe Verlag, In Safe Hands e.V. and nilo.health. My commitment to connecting research with teaching and practice has been recognized through the UNICUM "Professor of the Year" award (runner-up 2024) and a nomination for the Landeslehrpreis NRW 2025. My work has always been driven by the conviction that research creates more value when it reaches beyond the lab. That same conviction led me to co-found Fanciety, a Hamburg-based B2B platform for fan engagement in professional sports, where I serve as Chief Product Officer. And as founding ambassador for entrepreneurship within the Faculty of Cultural Studies at the University of Paderborn, I connect academic research with the garage33 startup ecosystem. Across all of this, one conviction remains: protecting and fostering human potential is among the defining challenges of our time. It takes science, policy, design, and culture — working in the same direction. #strongertogether
Chair of Clinical Developmental Psychology I Faculty of Arts and Humanities Research at Paderborn University: interdisciplinary, international, application-oriented and innovative Paderborn University is a young and thriving university that conducts excellent research within five key research areas. A wide range of research activities in all faculties are performed with a high level of interdisciplinarity and internationality. Paderborn University is embedded in an innovative and dynamic business environment in the region of Ostwestfalen-Lippe, which engenders numerous cross-sector collaborations with benefits for researchers and the regional economy. We emphasize interdisciplinarity, as complex scientific challenges require collaboration of complementary disciplines. One example is the close link between computer science and engineering, generating common solutions with exploitation potential and real added value in the mechanical-electrical engineering fields. Together with basic research in the natural sciences such collaborations form an essential basis for shaping the modern information society. Similarly, the analysis and exploration of cultural and economic developments and changes in the information and knowledge society also require interdisciplinary approaches. These questions are addressed in cultural and social sciences as well as economics and have an impact on teacher training and vocational education.
DigitalSchoolStory begeistert junge Menschen für das Lernen und macht sie von reinen Social Media-Konsumenten zu aktiven Gestaltern - im Netz, im Unterricht und in der Gesellschaft. Methoden- und Medienkompetenz einfach integriert in den Unterricht.
Founder & Chief Product Officer Fanciety® the Game-Based Engagement Platform How to stay in touch with your employees and customers in a hybrid world? Let's use the passion of sports to reach your communities! Fanciety® offers a platform with recurring digital events to keep your communities engaged and satisfied!
Gründungsbotschafter der Fakultät für Kulturwissenschaften Die garage33 ist die Marke des Technologietransfer- und Existenzgründungs-Center der Universität Paderborn (TecUP). Wir unterstützen Gründungsinteressierte auf ihrem Weg in die Selbstständigkeit. Das TecUP ist Exzellenz Start-up Center in Ostwestfalen-Lippe (ESC.OWL) Das ESC.OWL verfolgt das Ziel, in Ostwestfalen-Lippe, einer der innovativsten Wirtschafts- und Wissenschaftsregionen Deutschlands, einen international sichtbaren Leuchtturm für Gründungskultur zu schaffen. Hierbei baut das ESC.OWL auf den Stärken der Region auf: OWL ist die Region der Spitzentechnologie in Nordrhein-Westfalen und landesweiter Vorreiter der digitalen Transformation. Als Digitale Modellregion, Heimat des Spitzenclusters Intelligente Technische Systeme (it’s OWL) und das Fraunhofer Instituts IEM gestaltet OWL die Zukunft der Industrie 4.0. Hierbei verfügt die Region nicht nur über eine Hochschullandschaft mit Spitzenforschung, sondern zugleich als Region der familiengeführten Hidden Champions über mittelständische Technologie- und Weltmarktführer, um gemeinsam Forschungserkenntnisse zu marktfähigen Produkten und Geschäftsmodellen zu transferieren.