Prof. Dr. Christine Volkmann studied Business Administration at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen from 1981-1986. There she worked as a research assistant from 1986-1989 and obtained her doctorate in corporate planning in cooperation with Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
From 1989-1999 she worked at Deutsche Bank. Important stations of her professional activity were the corporate development department at the headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and the corporate client business in the branches in Dortmund and Cologne. Lastly she was responsible for corporate security and succession in Frankfurt.
From April 1999 to August 2008 she held a professorship for Business Administration, in particular Management and Entrepreneurship, at the University of Applied Sciences Gelsenkirchen. Additionally, she was managing director of the University’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. In 2005 she was awarded the UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship and Intercultural Management.
Since September 2008 Christine Volkmann is head of the Chair of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at the Schumpeter School of Business and Economics at the University of Wuppertal. In July 2010 she was again awarded the UNESCO Chair, which was first extended in 2014 and then in 2018 for another four years.
She is a director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovations Research (IGIF). In 2011 she initiated the foundation of the interdisciplinary Jackstädt Research Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and has had the function of the executive board spokeswoman since then. In 2018, she co-founded a university-wide, regional innovation lab, which is currently being expanded as the Start-up Center of the University of Wuppertal. In addition, she and her team are currently establishing a university network on the topic of "Women Entrepreneurs in Science" for the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Beyond her activities in teaching and research, Christine Volkmann is involved in a variety of national and international entrepreneurship projects, e.g. in the context of UNESCO and the World Economic Forum. One example is the development and establishment of the Advanced MBA programme “Leadership and Innovation Management” at the University of Economics and Business Administration (ASE), Romania, which was accredited by FIBAA in October 2007. In her teaching and research areas she cooperates with chairs and institutions, especially in Western and Eastern Europe. She further works as an advisor for various EU organisations in the field of entrepreneurship.
Christine Volkmann is also involved in national and international entrepreneurship-network activities. Furthermore, she cooperates with numerous enterprises, both SMEs and large companies. From 2001 to 2009 she was a board member of the scientific society FGF "Förderkreis Gründungs-Forschung e.V. Entrepreneurship - Innovation - Mittelstand" and treasurer of the association. From 2007 on she was scientific advisor for the European Forum for Entrepreneurship Research (EFER) until its dissolution in 2017. For many years, she has volunteered as a jury member of renowned competitions (e.g. Gründerpreis NRW, EY Entrepreneur of the Year) and is a member of the Advisory Board Digital Economy NRW of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy.
Her teaching and research activities currently focus on the areas of sustainable and social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial finance as well as entrepreneurial ecosystems.
More information about #UniWuppertal:
