On the death of Dr. Hartmut Gaese

Professor Dr. Prof. h.c. Hartmut Gaese

In mourning and deep consternation, we bid farewell to

Professor Dr. Prof. h.c. Hartmut Gaese

former Executive Director of the Institute for Technology and Resource Management in the Tropics and Subtropics (ITT) at the TH Köln.

He passed away on October 11, 2022 at the age of 79 after a serious illness.

Hartmut Gaese had worked as a professor of agricultural management (later: “Site-specific technologies in agricultural production in the tropics and subtropics”) at the ITT of the TH Köln-University of Applied Sciences since 1982. From 1987 until his retirement in 2009, he headed the institute as Executive Director.

As a “pioneer of the first hour”, Prof. Gaese shaped and developed the ITT and its study programs with his outgoing, approachable personality and the guiding principle of an international, interdisciplinary and intercultural orientation, which is still valid today.

Thanks to his initiative, the first international university cooperation with the Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza (Brazil) was established as early as 1984, and many more were to follow. His efforts were honored in 2013 with an honorary professorship from the “Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile”.

As early as 1989, through the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), he brought about the sponsorship of the first international scholarship holders from developing countries to the ITT. He created the first Master’s program in North-Rhine Westfalia, which was followed by further international Master’s programs, with partners in Jordan, Mexico and Vietnam.

Prof. Gaese helped the TH Köln to gain international reputation with his tireless commitment to foster worldwide partnerships and cultural exchange involving students and scientists. Under his leadership, a global network of science, research and cooperation was established, which has lasted until today and is continuously expanded and strengthened in his spirit.

Prof. Gaese’s work and his services to the institute and the entire TH Köln cannot be appreciated enough. His personal focus was always on the well-being of his employees and the students.

Even though his illness in recent years no longer allowed him to actively participate in the institute’s activities, Prof. Gaese’s intellectual presence, aspirations and guiding principles were and will always remain of great importance to the faculty and the institute.

We mourn the loss of a highly esteemed colleague, a friend, a role model

The professors, staff and students of the ITT