Prof. Dr. Gerlind Große is to become the new dean of the Department of Social and Educational Sciences at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam

Prof. Dr. Gerlind Große heads the MA programme in Early Childhood Education Research at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam. Her academic work focuses on socio-cognitive and communicative development in early childhood, the fundamentals of learning psychology, self-regulation, and the design of environments that promote learning. She is also committed to the professional development of early years practitioners and teachers, as well as the responsible use of digital and AI-supported technologies in educational processes. As an author and advisor, she regularly contributes her expertise to academic discourse on early years education, school development and responsible technology development.

Prior to her professorship at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Prof. Dr. Gerlind Große was involved in research and teaching in the field of educational psychology at the University of Leipzig and at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, amongst other roles. In addition, she brings extensive experience from practice-oriented education and innovation projects: She is co-founder and managing director of the Leipziger Modellschule, founder of grow.file in the field of AI-supported skills documentation, and of BabyCompanion, an e-mental-health service focusing on pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood.

Working together to further develop the department
Prof. Dr. Gerlind Große is taking up the post of dean during a challenging transitional period. Having initiated numerous development processes in recent years, the Department of Social and Educational Sciences is now focusing on consolidating these. The aim is to strengthen structures, streamline processes and ensure the Department’s long-term operational capacity.

At the same time, important development tasks lie ahead amidst changing financial conditions: the merger with the Department of Information Sciences, the further development of degree programmes, research priorities and academic profiles, as well as the academic and scientific support for the planned research kindergarten.

For her term of office, Prof. Dr. Große is focusing on consolidation, transparency and participation. As a department that teaches and researches participation, self-efficacy, cooperation and democratic governance, her aim is to embody these values in her own collaborative work as well.

On taking up her post, Prof. Dr. Gerlind Große said: “I am delighted by the trust placed in me by my colleagues and am fully aware of the responsibility that comes with this role. The fact that I have been elected as the first woman to serve as dean of the Department of Social and Educational Sciences is a special moment for me personally. I see my task in the coming years as leading this department in a way that is in keeping with the times, and that means: creating the conditions under which we can shape it together. In other words: opening up spaces, making information accessible, empowering people to take responsibility, and representing the Department effectively both internally and externally.”