Interview with the University of Hamburg CDO“The Online Election is a Prime Example of our Digital Strategy”

26 January 2026, by Newsroom editorial office

Photo: UHH/Esfandiari

Chief Digital Officer Prof. Dr. Sebastian Gerling

The election for the Academic Senate is the first election at the University of Hamburg to be held online. Chief Digital Officer Prof. Dr. Sebastian Gerling talks about the goals and challenges of the project—and gives an overview of other digital projects at UHH.

From now, committee elections at the University of Hamburg will no longer be carried out using ballot papers and envelopes, but digitally. How important is a project like this?

Conducting the first digital election is a milestone for the digital and sustainable transformation—the twin transformation—at the University of Hamburg and an important part of our digital strategy. All eligible voters can simply cast their vote online, which is not only much more efficient and resource-saving, but importantly, it also improves democratic participation and the democratic culture at the University of Hamburg. Postal voting will remain possible to offer the greatest possible flexibility to all eligible voters.

What challenges were there during implementation?

The Electoral Office has always conducted elections at the University of Hamburg in an extremely professional manner. The particular challenge for us was to take this established practice and our standards into the digital world, meaning we also had to change our election regulations. We then had to find a service provider who could plan and run an online election together with our Electoral Office.

Working with POLYAS meant we were collaborating with the leading provider in the field of electronic voting systems, with a great deal of expertise in the public sector. When selecting the voting system, we placed particular emphasis on the highest security standards (including BSI certification) and state-of-the-art encryption technology, but also on compliance with legal requirements in terms of data protection. In addition, topics such as accessibility, user-friendliness, transparency, and availability were also important to us, which we were able to implement well together with all stakeholders.

What can be learned from the project?

The project has shown that digitalization can be a great lever for making processes and procedures simpler and more efficient, but that there are also many things that need to be taken into account in practical implementation. Above all, the project has shown that cross-departmental cooperation is important; for example, we from the Digital Office and the Smart Administration Unit worked very closely with the Electoral Office, but also with other interest groups and stakeholders. This was a joint effort and I am very grateful to everyone involved.

How does the online election contribute to the University of Hamburg’s overall digital strategy?

The online election is a prime example of our digital strategy: it creates added value for the members of the University, strengthens digital skills, optimizes processes, and shows how modern services at a University of Excellence can work. The project also shows that we not only design digital transformation, but also implement it. It sends a strong message, that the University of Hamburg is ready to break new ground, in a way that is secure and user and future-oriented.

What specific digital projects are coming up next?

We are currently working on several initiatives to strengthen our digital infrastructure. For example, this year will see the gradual introduction of our document management system (DMS), including the new process platform, which will make work easier for both users and individual departments and enable new forms of communication and collaboration.

Topics such as IT security, and the implementation of AI and Microsoft 365 in a way that is compliant with data protection regulations also play a major role. In terms of very current events, we will be launching the UHH mobile app in the next few weeks, which will make everyday study and work life easier. All exciting developments!