On 1 November, the Department of Information Systems welcomed Dr. Matthes Elstermann as acting professor for Software Engineering.

After studying industrial engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), he spent two years as a research associate in the complexity management research group at the Institute for Applied Informatics (AIFB), where he was responsible for research and teaching, before moving to the Institute for Information Management in Engineering (IMI) in October 2021. Since March 2018, Matthes Elstermann has led the research unit “Process Modelling and Management in Engineering Applications”.

We warmly welcome Dr. Matthes Elstermann to the Department of Information Systems. To mark the beginning of his work at the University of Münster, we asked him four questions.

Dear Dr. Elstermann, after many years in Karlsruhe, you are now continuing your academic career at the University of Münster. What do you find particularly appealing about your new job?

The responsibility and the opportunity to teach students complex ways of thinking in (business) informatics and to challenge them to think analytically independently and confidently. The University of Münster and the Department of Information Systems also provide an environment in which interdisciplinary approaches are encouraged, which is an excellent foundation for deepening my own research.

What are your main research areas?

In one word: subject-orientation – or, more specifically, subject-oriented process modelling in all its facets. Starting with the further development of the theoretical and philosophical foundations of this modelling paradigm, through the development of tools for modelling, simulation and application, to the practical use of subject orientation for the analysis, understanding, explanation and, if necessary, (digital) transformation of complex socio-technical IT systems in a wide variety of domains. In the past, these were, for example, general applications, but also detailed problems of AI systems, e.g. ‘concept drift’. However, analysing processes in the field of sustainability or life cycle assessment or digital twin IT systems were or are also possible areas of application.

What research projects are you currently working on?

One of my current projects involves working on the second English edition of our book ‘Holistic Digitalisation of Processes’, together with several colleagues. Other projects include  developing of concepts for real object-oriented process descriptions within the context of subject-orientation, as well as  the analysing  Industry 4.0 systems and the context of ‘administration shell’ technology. And there is also a major fundamental work on subject-oriented modelling in general on the agenda.

What courses can our students look forward to in the future?

Firstly, a very good continuation and continuous improvement of the basic lectures in Computer Science I + II and Software Engineering, in which I will be involved. I'm also planning a workshop on IT systems vocabulary as an introduction for new master’s students in Information Systems. And of course, I'm particularly looking forward to seminars and final theses with students on the topic of subject-orientation (I'm sure this will come as no surprise to anyone now 😊), which will  involve theoretical but also practical application, and, in particular, working together to identify  and understand challenges, limitations and possible applications.