The – EU4Dual appointed Dr Kai Schmidt-Eisenlohr as the new secretary-general. With years of experience in politics, international cooperation, and academia, he will guide the university network’s strategic and political direction from 1 September 2025.
Strategic tasks within EU4Dual
As secretary-general, Kai Schmidt-Eisenlohr will coordinate strategies within the alliance. He will help develop shared positions on higher education and education policy. In this role, he will strengthen communication between governing bodies. He will also moderate internal decision-making and represent EU4Dual’s interests to European institutions, such as the European Commission.
Prof Dr Martina Klärle, president of the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW) emphasises: “With Dr. Kai Schmidt-Eisenlohr, our alliance is gaining a strategist of European stature who understands and connects academia, politics and business in equal measure. His experience and extensive network will help us to further develop dual higher education as a European success story and raise its international profile. The fact that he himself is a graduate of the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University makes this appointment a particular stroke of luck.”
Experienced bridge-builder between science, business and politics
Kai Schmidt-Eisenlohr has had a diverse career in both business and politics. After graduating from secondary school in Wiesloch, he studied business administration at DHBW Mannheim.. This was followed by a master’s degree in industrial engineering at Mannheim University of Applied Sciences and a doctorate in business informatics at Darmstadt Technical University.
After initial positions as an IT consultant and project manager, Schmidt-Eisenlohr was a member of the Baden-Württemberg state parliament from 2011 to 2016, where he was spokesperson for science, research and art for the Green Party parliamentary group. He then served as managing director of the Baden-Württemberg International, an agency, which is responsible, among other things, for positioning the state as an internationalcentre of science and research. Recently, Schmidt-Eisenlohr has held management positions at various IT companies.
“Dual study models make an important contribution to making Europe fit for the future. As a graduate of the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University, I am very familiar with this education system and am therefore delighted to now be able to play an active role in the further development of a European cooperative state university,” said Schmidt-Eisenlohr.
The joint appointment by all EU4Dual alliance institutions of the secretary general marks an important milestone in the institutional development of the alliance.
Media contact
Viola Hüllenkremer
Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University
University communications, press spokesperson
E-Mail: viola.huellenkremer@dhbw.de
Photo: Dr. Kai Schmidt-Eisenlohr (image rights: private)
