Prof. Ostap Okhrin assumes the office of dean at a time when the faculty is undergoing dynamic development in both research and teaching. Significant milestones have been achieved in recent years: new appointments have strengthened the faculty’s academic profile, degree programs have been further developed and expanded, and internationalization has been advanced.

Ostap Okhrin intends to build on this progress: “I am very pleased by the trust placed in me and look forward to continuing the successful development of our faculty together,” said the dean following his election by the Faculty Council on October 26, 2026.

The newly elected dean brings, in particular, strong research expertise to the role of Dean. Prof. Ostap Okhrin’s academic career began in 2006 as a Research Associate at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder). In 2008, he took up a position as a Junior Professor of statistics at Humboldt University in Berlin, where he was appointed Associate Professor in 2014. Since 2015, he has been a professor of Applied Statistics at TU Dresden. In addition, he has served on the board of the German Statistical Society since 2021 and on the German Research Foundation’s (DFG) expert panel for traffic and transport systems as well as intelligent and automated transportation since 2022. Since 2025, he has been Vice-Dean of the "Friedrich List" Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences.

This shift in the faculty’s leadership is accompanied by the goal of continuing the successful course of development seen in recent years. The goal is to further expand the faculty as an interdisciplinary Competence Center for transportation and mobility and to sustainably strengthen its position in research, teaching, and society. The foundation for this is the faculty strategy, which defines common goals and areas of activity. Its implementation depends on the commitment and collaboration of all faculty members.

Professor Regine Gerike, who has led the faculty as Dean since 2022, would like to devote more of her time to her research in the future. As head of the Chair of Mobility System Planning and spokesperson for the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio 408 “AgiMo – Data-driven agile planning for responsible mobility,” she will continue to collaborate on the faculty’s key research activities. As Vice-Dean, she will remain part of the faculty leadership and continue to contribute her experience to the faculty’s strategic development.

The faculty leadership is complemented by the two Deans of Studies, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Oliver Michler (Transport Engineering) and Prof. Dr. rer. pol. habil. Jörn Schönberger (Transport Economics), both of whom were reelected at today’s faculty council meeting.

The faculty extends its warmest congratulations to the new dean, Professor Ostap Okhrin, on his election and wishes him every success and all the best for his term in office. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Professor Regine Gerike for her tremendous dedication and the successful advancement of the faculty over the past years. Through her significant contributions to research, teaching, and internationalization, she has left a lasting mark on the faculty and laid the essential groundwork for its continued development.