Today we celebrate the achievements of our students and the important chapter they have successfully concluded. At this ceremony, four distinguished speakers will address the graduating cohorts:
Simon began his career as an engineer before beginning his academic life pursuing studies in the humanities and cultural sociology. Situated within schools of architecture and planning, Simon has focussed upon sustainable urbanism where his interdisciplinary and international research connects architecture with urban planning, the property sector with utilities, academia with industry. He has established links with academics in North America, Asia and Europe and has held research fellowships in Tokyo, Paris, Berlin, Graz, Leuven, California and Singapore.
Simon has published around sixty refereed article, over thirty book chapters and six books. He has been responsible as a principal or co-investigator for around £4.5 million of research income (£2.5 million as PI) derived from a variety of sources including RCUK, European and industry funds. These funds have been spread across the social sciences, the arts and humanities and engineering, as well as across both environmental (Global Environmental Change) and economic themes (Cities and Economic Competitiveness).
Dr Benjamin Hammer
Interim Academic Dean (Rektor) and Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) in Accounting & Finance
Dr. Benjamin Hammer is Interim Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Finance at Lancaster University Leipzig, where he has held various leadership positions since 2020. He is also affiliated to the Department of Accounting and Finance and the Centre for Family Business at Lancaster University Management School.
Prior to joining Lancaster University, Benjamin was the Executive Director of the Center for Corporate Transactions & Private Equity (CCTPE) at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, a leading think tank for private equity research in Europe. He has held visiting or affiliate positions at Florida Atlantic University, Concordia University and Utrecht University.
Benjamin’s research focuses on private equity and leveraged buyouts and has been published in top-tier journals such as the Journal of Corporate Finance and the British Journal of Management. He is the editor-in-chief of the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Private Equity and a member of the editorial board of Venture Capital: An International Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance.
His research has been recognized with the Larry Lang Corporate Finance Best Paper Award at the 2015 European Financial Management Association (EFMA) Annual Meeting, the 2018 Bundesverband für Alternative Investments (BAI) Science Award for excellent dissertations in the field of alternative investments, and the 2023 BAI Science Award for the best research paper in the field of alternative investments.
Benjamin holds a Habilitation in Business Administration and a PhD in Finance (with highest honors) from HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management. He attended the Management Development Program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and studied at HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management and Tulane University as a scholar of the German Academic Merit Foundation and member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society.
Dr Grindel-Denby experienced teaching / lecturing, learning and working in both the German and the British HE sector, focussing especially on working with international students: as Adjunct Lecturer at Potsdam University and Lancaster University, UK, as Academic Director at Kaplan International Colleges (Nottingham Trent International College), as Director Academic Affairs and Head of Campus Berlin at GISMA Business School, and since August 2019 as Campus Director / Kanzlerin at Lancaster University Leipzig.
Originally from Saxony, she obtained her degree at Potsdam University and her PhD at Lancaster University. Dr Grindel-Denby’s doctoral studies focused on international students and their families making home in the UK. She researched international student’s learning and teaching strategies and positions this knowledge in the field of Migration Sociology. Her research interests are in the field of Transnational Education (TNE) as well as diversity, inclusivity and intersectionality. She published two books and several other contributions. Currently, she also acts as Co-Chairwoman of the Expert Group ‘Education’ of the British Chamber of Commerce Germany (BCCG).
Dr Torsten Loschke
Head of Knowledge Policy (Referatsleiter Wissenspolitik), City of Leipzig
Dr Torsten Loschke is Head of the Department for Knowledge Policy (Referatsleiter Wissenspolitik) in the City of Leipzig, where he develops strategies that link research, higher education, and urban development. He has held senior advisory roles in German academia, including as Advisor to the Chancellor of Leipzig University (2016–2021) and as Advisor to the Vice-Rector for Research at TU Dresden (2014–2016).
Dr Loschke holds a doctorate in Area Studies and has worked extensively at the intersection of academic policy, international cooperation, and institutional strategy. His work reflects a longstanding commitment to fostering dialogue between universities, policy-makers, and society.
