Hochschule Bremen (HSB) thrives on the people who study and work here, and who enrich the university as visitors. In our new series ‘Three questions for…’, we introduce some of them. We begin with Helge Ellwart, Head of Facilities Management at HSB.
Mr Ellwart, you have been Head of Facilities Management at Hochschule Bremen Department 4 – since 1 January. You have a very special connection to this university, don’t you?
Helge Ellwart: Yes, that’s right. In 1991, I graduated here with a degree in Engineering from what was then the Department of Electrical Engineering, and in 2016 I obtained an MBA from the International Graduate Centre (IGC). Since then, I have also been a member of the alumni association and support the university’s initiatives.
Furthermore, I know the university from my previous professional work as a service provider in the field of building services engineering. So it’s a bit of a ‘home game’, which of course has many advantages when you are reasonably familiar with the sites and technical conditions. However, there is still plenty to discover.
You’ve worked in Brussels, Frankfurt and London. Why HSB, or rather Bremen, now?
The decision to return to my home town was made back in 2010. Although my family and I had enjoyed our time abroad, personal reasons played a significant role here – including my child’s secondary education.
From 2010 to 2020, I served as a volunteer board member of the Association of German Engineers in Bremen. During this time, I established many contacts with HSB. There are various reasons that ultimately motivated me to make a career change. These include challenging refurbishments and construction projects aimed at driving forward the technical development of the HSB campus. What is particularly exciting is the combination of the university as a teaching and research institution and the parallel campus development towards greater sustainability to improve the ecological footprint – in other words, putting theories into practice right on site and, in some cases, even in collaboration with lecturers from the various faculties.
Hochschule Bremen currently has 20 buildings – around 15 per cent of which are rented properties or spaces. You and your team are responsible for managing all of these. Do you have a personal favourite spot at HSB?
With 20 buildings, we currently have around 85,000 square metres to manage. We allocate the rented spaces for university operations.
I haven’t been able to pick out a personal favourite spot yet. The properties are all very different, after all. On the one hand, I’m pleased that some very old buildings are still in use, where you can certainly find relics from my own student days. But there are also modern spaces that have been brought up to date through renovation or expansion of the sites. We still have a lot planned here.
My office is on the Neustadtswall campus in the E-building, with a view out onto the park – it’s also a very pleasant spot with plenty of greenery.
