Professor Dirk Schaefer Confirmed as New Head of School of Engineering

Professor Dirk Schaefer Confirmed as New Head of School of Engineering

Professor Dirk Schaefer has joined the University of Lincoln as the new Head of the School of Engineering.

He joins Lincoln from the University of Liverpool, where he held the Chair in Industrial Design and served as the Head of the Division of Industrial Design, providing vision and strategic leadership in research, education and knowledge transfer.

An internationally-recognised specialist in cloud-based design and manufacturing in the context of cyber-physical production engineering (Industry 4.0), Dirk’s additional research interests include digital/smart healthcare provision systems of the future, smart packaging solutions, as well as pedagogy and systems to support personalised learning.

He began his career as apprentice toolmaker at one of Germany’s leading metal-forming companies, and also worked as a software engineer developing CAD technology for international civil engineering companies. He earned a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Stuttgart.

As both an engineer and scientist, he enjoys exploring new frontiers at the interface between engineering and computer science, and brings a wealth of experience in leadership, research and teaching, having held academic positions at the University of Bath, the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) and the University of Durham.

He is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE), the Institution of Engineering Designers (FIED), the British Computer Society (FBCS), among a number of other professional membership bodies, and has served as a reviewer for more than 60 international journals and funding organisations.

Professor Dirk Schaefer