At the closed meeting of the Department Council of the Department of Sport and Health Sciences at Eibsee, Prof. Dr. Matthias Richter, head of the Chair of Social Determinants of Health, was unanimously elected as the new Vice Dean on October 11. In this interview, he talks about his first months at the Department, his strategic goals as Vice Dean, and opportunities and challenges in the context of the merger with the TUM School of Medicine to form the new TUM School of Medicine and Health.

Prof. Richter, you have been Professor of Social Determinants of Health at the Department since March 2022 - how were your first months at TUM?

"The first few months have been fantastic! I have been very warmly welcomed. You immediately noticed that you are part of a large, powerful team and that there are many opportunities to connect with colleagues, some of which we have already realized. So it was a very pleasant start at the Department. I was particularly impressed by the atmosphere and the zest for action, which was something I had never experienced before. It's nice to see that there is a great will to move things forward together. Of course, this also includes the new and very beautiful TUM Campus in the Olympic Park."

You have now been elected as the new Vice Dean of the Department - what does that mean to you?

"The Dean Management approached me and asked me if I could imagine taking on the task of Vice Dean for a year during the transition and founding phase of the new 'TUM School for Medicine and Health'. Of course, I was very happy to do so. I am very excited about the constructive discussions with my colleagues in medicine. I see myself exactly there in my role as someone who can take up the fate of the Department and bring in the voices of the Department SG in a goal-oriented way. I want to make a difference - especially, of course, for our Department."

From your perspective, what are the opportunities, but possibly also the challenges, regarding the merger with the TUM School of Medicine?

"I assume that both Departments see the merger as an opportunity. The point is to now identify the great potentials together with the TUM School of Medicine and to point out the points of connection. As an example, I would mention the fields of 'Health and Society' and 'Prevention and Care Research'. It is very enriching when medical colleagues contribute their expertise. This has already worked successfully here and there in individual projects. But the goal is to implement this together on a larger scale. Especially in the 'Center for Health and Medicine in Society', in which our Department with the focus on health sciences comes together with the colleagues of the medical Department, we want to do research and work on projects together. I see this as a great opportunity that must be filled with life. That will be precisely the task for the transition year, to convince the other of one's own expertise and standing and to develop research goals together."

The new name "TUM School of Medicine and Health" will no longer include the term sports science. Will sports play any role at all in the future?

"Sports science will definitely continue to play a central role. My job as Vice Dean is to hear the voice of the sports science community and bring it into the negotiation with medicine. This must certainly be taken into account in terms of the protection of minorities and this minority must not only be protected, but also given special support. Because without sports, it will not and should not work on this great TUM Campus in the Olympic Park."

What are your strategic goals as Vice Dean of the Department?

"Of course, one can and must already develop longer-term strategic goals together with the Dean and the Deans of studies. However, my term as Vice Dean now runs for a year until the merger with medicine. What happens after that is still relatively open at the moment. In the area of research, a key goal is certainly that we want to strengthen collaborative research at the Department. We are all doing excellent work at the individual Professorships and Chairs, and there are innovative collaborative initiatives here that need to be further supported. As an example, I would like to mention the Living Lab, in which many colleagues who do research in the natural sciences have joined forces. We need to develop various such contents and centers together in order to then acquire DFG and ERC grants. Accordingly, we have to grow together even more and learn to do research together. I will try to support that as much as possible."

Is the "Center for Health Promotion and Prevention in Childhood and Adolescence" (CHAMPION), which was newly founded just last week as part of the "Future of Health" Summit, contributing to precisely this endeavor?

"It takes just such platforms as the Living Lab or CHAMPION. People need to come together and talk to each other. We have a relatively large number of new colleagues at the Department, which is why it may take some time for them to get to know each other and network. Then you can also determine in which research funding instruments you can join forces to go down a common path. It is very important that, in addition to raising the profile of one's own Professorship, which is of course very important, especially for younger colleagues, one increasingly realizes that one is stronger together. Promoting this is a central and essential strategic goal of my work as Vice Dean as well."

Thank you very much for the interview!

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Matthias Richter
Chair of Social Determinants of Health
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 60/62
80992 München

phone: 089 289 24190
e-mail: richter.matthias(at)tum.de

Text/Interview: Romy Schwaiger
Photo: private