Ceremonial Event at TU Hamburg
Awarding of the Title of Honorary Senator to Prof. Walter Conrads for His Outstanding Commitment
17.09.2025
The Hamburg University of Technology (TU Hamburg) has solemnly awarded Prof. Walter Conrads the title of Honorary Senator. In a rare ceremony of this kind, the university’s executive board, the university council, and numerous guests from academia and industry honored Prof. Conrads’s long-standing and influential contributions to the university. As the first elected chairman, Walter Conrads shaped the development of the university council – and thus the strategic orientation of TU Hamburg – with great vision, energy, and dedication from 2003 to 2024. As chairman of the university council at TU Hamburg, he was the strategic driving force of the university for over two decades and successfully promoted the dialogue between research and industry.
Commitment and Responsibility in Science and Industry
TU President Andreas Timm-Giel opened the event in the Ditze Lecture Hall of the university and described Walter Conrads as a "tireless supporter of TU Hamburg and its visibility." The new Chairwoman of the University Council, Prof. Ellen Ivers-Tiffée, emphasized that thanks to Walter Conrads’ bold leadership style, ‘Think Big’, the University Council enabled TU Hamburg to grow and develop. "A university council chairman like the one I had wished for earlier," said Ivers-Tiffée. In his commemorative speech, former Hamburg Senator of Finance Dr. Wolfgang Peiner and former member of the University Council reflected on the university’s successes and Walter Conrads’ special commitment. In his lecture, Conrads himself stressed the importance of close cooperation between science and business for the future viability of the Hamburg location. Science State Secretary Dr. Eva Gümbel contributed a greeting to the accolades and highlighted Walter Conrads’ merits: "Through his exemplary voluntary commitment and professional career, Walter Conrads has strengthened the connection between science and business and thereby made TU Hamburg a beacon of innovation in the North." With the solemn presentation of the certificate, President Timm-Giel officially honored Walter Conrads for his many years of intensive support. In accepting the honor, Conrads expressed his gratitude for the unusually trusting collaboration with the president and wished his successor all the best. Now it is “time to pass the baton.” TU Hamburg sincerely thanks Walter Conrads for his conviction to always regard TU Hamburg as a growth engine for the city of Hamburg.
About Walter Conrads: Dipl.-Ing. Walter Conrads was born in 1944 in Bad Kösen and studied information technology at the Aachen University of Technology. His professional career led him to leadership positions at Philips, including Head of the Semiconductor Division Valvo/Philips, Managing Director Marketing & Sales Philips Semiconductors Eindhoven, and CEO Philips DACH. From 2005 to 2010, he served as Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Philips GmbH. In addition to his long-standing as chairman of the university council at TU Hamburg, he is active in various supervisory and advisory boards, such as the University Society Hamburg, the Nordmetall Foundation, Fischer-Appelt AG, and SAGA Hamburg. For his special services, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit First Class in 2005.
About the University Council of TU Hamburg: Founded in 2003, the university council is the strategic governance body of TU Hamburg and serves as an interface between science and society. It supports the profiling and long-term development of the university.
TUHH - Public Relations Office
Elke Schulze
E-Mail: elke.schulze@tuhh.de
