Intershop as co-founder of the e-commerce professorship at Friedrich Schiller University

• Ten Jena digital companies participate in new professorship for business information systems with focus on e-commerce and digital business
• Endowment of a high six-figure sum, follow-up financing by university guaranteed
• Start of the study programme in the summer semester 2023

Jena, Germany, September 14, 2022 – During a ceremony at the university's premises today, the new professorship for business information systems with a focus on e-commerce and digital business was symbolically handed over to Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Intershop and nine other Jena-based companies from the digital industry are participating in the endowed professorship, which is also supported by the Thuringian Ministry of Economics, Science and Digital Society.

In addition to Intershop Communications AG, the successful digital companies diva-e Digital Value Excellence GmbH, dotSource GmbH, igniti GmbH, ORISA Software GmbH, rooom AG, Salesforce.com Germany GmbH, Skatedeluxe GmbH, TDSoftware GmbH and Xceptance Software Technologies GmbH are also based in the digital location of Jena and would like to push the training of specialists even further. In cooperation with the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, the topic of e-commerce and digital business will be more firmly anchored in the curriculum of the Faculty of Economics in the future. A high six-figure sum was founded to support the establishment of the new business information systems professorship at Thuringia's largest university over five years. Follow-up funding by the university is guaranteed.

At the ceremony, which was attended by numerous executives of the participating companies and representatives of the university, the endowment contract for the new "W3 Professorship for Business Information Systems, especially E-Commerce and Digital Business" was signed. Special thanks go to Dr. Georg Elsner for preparing and organizing the endowment contract and to Prof. Dr. Walter Rosenthal, who supported the project as President of the University.

With the new endowed professorship, the Department of Business Information Systems at the Faculty of Economic Sciences will be expanded by a second professorship and by the focus areas of e-commerce and digital business. This will enable further attractive study programs to be created at Jena University in the Bachelor's and Master's degrees, preparing young people for a professional future in the digital industry. "The endowed professorship will not only expand research and teaching in the field of digital business, but also strengthen the transfer between university and business. We are united by the goal of developing Jena into a leading transfer and innovation region in Germany", says University President Professor Walter Rosenthal.

For 30 years, Jena has been regarded throughout Germany as the "cradle of e-commerce". Numerous successful digital companies at the location still underline this perception today. However, the digital industry is not immune to the shortage of skilled workers, making it increasingly difficult for many companies, especially small ones, to meet their staffing needs. To counteract this dilemma at the root, Jena's entrepreneurs have already created numerous education and training opportunities in Thuringia's university landscape. "The trend towards digitalization will continue in the future, which is why we are already investing further in products and especially in personnel. We currently have more than 20 positions that we want to fill, but the market is tight. I am pleased that with the new professorship we can attract even more young people to Jena as a location for digitization and get them excited about e-commerce", says Markus Klahn, CEO of Intershop.

The W3 professorship is to be staffed at the beginning of 2023, the start of the associated study program is planned for the summer semester 2023.