Katharina Renken works as a Senior Researcher at Kühne Logistics University for the Hapag-Lloyd Center for Shipping and Global Logistics (CSGL) since 2018. Her expertise is in the maritime transport sector, especially in port businesses. She gained experience as a project engineer in a green field construction and management of a deep sea container port in Germany and as a researcher at a tier 1 ranked University in the US as well as at a German research facility.
She received a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Engineering and Management from Jade Hochschule Wilhelmshaven in Germany (today: Jade University of Applied Sciences). Thereafter she participated in a double degree program between Jade Hochschule and Texas Tech University in Texas to receive a Master of Engineering in Engineering and Management in Germany and additionally a Master of Engineering in General Engineering in Texas.
Katharina then worked at the JadeWeserPort, a deep sea container terminal, as a project engineer. Before the start of operation at the port, the design of processes and the port’s organization fell into her tasks. Finishing the emergency plan, implementing a software and instructing new personnel for the Port Office was also part of her activities, while executing responsibly as assistant department head.
After the start of operation of the port, Katharina returned to Texas Tech University to aim for a PhD in Industrial Engineering. Her studies addressed emergency management in the US. During her participation in the PhD program she taught several courses at the undergraduate level, for which she received the Helen DeVitt Jones Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award in 2015. She finished the PhD program with “excellent” in 2016.
Since her homecoming to Germany, Katharina worked in the maritime research field, having addressed different topics among which are Terminal Operation Systems, innovative port technologies, sustainable (green) port projects and the digitalization of the port environment (“Port 4.0”).
