German Logistics Millionaire Sees Progress at Specialist Freight University

GERMANY – Just two years after it was founded, the Kühne Logistics University (KLU) has reached the top tier in the recently published Handelsblatt research rankings for 120 business study faculties in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The university offers qualifications in the fields of freight and logistics, supply chain management and business management and is sponsored by the Kühne-Stifung Foundation.

The ranking has been achieved even though the university has only a fraction of the professors of other well-established universities. In the research performance per professor ranking, the KLU made it to the Top Ten, coming in seventh, and with this outstanding result it is on par with long-established universities such as Mannheim, Munich and Cologne. KLU Research Dean, Professor Dr. Dr.H.C. Sönke Albers, was delighted and with an outstanding ninth place among 2,100 business studies professors was rated one of the most active researchers in the German, Austrian and Swiss region and commented:

“Success in the rankings is no coincidence. We defined research as a core task for the KLU from the outset. Unlike many private universities, we see it not as a superfluous luxury but as a fundamental prerequisite for first-rate teaching. At the KLU we can offer our professors an excellent environment thanks to the magnificent support that we receive from our sponsor, the Kühne Foundation, that is why we are able to attract researchers of international repute. We are still only at the beginning of our development, in the years ahead we aim to stay right on track and move further into the top ranks of European universities.”

The KLU’s first 23 Master of Science in Global Logistics graduates also had every reason to be jubilant at their graduation ceremony in Hamburg’s Maritime Museum. KLU sponsor, and guest of honour, Klaus- Michael Kühne was deeply impressed by the university’s pace of development. A logistics entrepreneur, he has already invested €30 million in setting up and developing the university in his native Hamburg. He has also ensured long-term funding of the KLU by the Kühne Foundation.

The Kühne Logistics University (Wissenschaftliche Hochschule für Logistik und Unternehmensführung) (KLU) is an independent, state-recognized private university based in the HafenCity district of Hamburg and sponsored by the non-profit Kühne Foundation. The KLU currently offers two Master’s programs in Global Logistics and Management, one part-time Executive Master in Leadership & Logistics and a Ph.D. program and from Autumn next year a Bachelor in Management will be introduced.