Dr. Steffen Preissler

Dr. Steffen Preissler studied political science, law and sociology in Leipzig, Olomouc (Czech Republic) and Samara (Russia). He then worked as a research assistant at the Center for International Economic Relations (ZIW) in Leipzig and joined the Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW in 2006. Since then, he has designed and managed various national and international projects (e.g. EU, BMBF, BMWi). Since 2008, he has been Head of the Knowledge and Technology Transfer Department, which has been part of Fraunhofer ISI in Leipzig since January 1, 2025, and holds a lectureship at Leipzig University. In 2020, Dr. Steffen Preissler was appointed Deputy Director of the Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW by the Executive Board of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, a position he held until the partial closure of the institute.

Since 2010, he has been a consultant for various ministries in the Czech Republic and Germany, funding organizations (Technology Agency of the Czech Republic, Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG) and in 2012 and 2018 as a short-term consultant for the World Bank. In 2015, he was commissioned by the EU Commission as an “Independent Expert” as part of the new “Policy Support Facility” to develop recommendations for the further development of the Bulgarian research and innovation system as part of a 10-member team of experts on the initiative of the Bulgarian government. In 2016, he completed his doctorate at the Faculty of Economics at Leipzig University on the topic of “Interorganizational knowledge and technology transfer. A transactional economic analysis between market and hierarchy”. Since 2019, he has been involved in the “Digital Business Models” working group of the Industry 4.0 platform: “Sino-German Company Working Group on Industry 4.0 and Intelligent Manufacturing (AGU)”.