Information systems: making the world a better place

When Prof. Jan vom Brocke was an undergraduate at the University of Münster in the 1990s, his own subject was still very new. Today he heads the global association of his trade. However, information systems was not a foregone conclusion for him. “I found lots of subjects interesting: economics, law, medicine,” he recalls. “A lot of people also recommended me to become a teacher. Although information systems was seen as a demanding subject, people were already saying that it offered a lot of creative opportunities. I always wanted to do my own thing, and that still affects my research today.” 

After graduation there followed a PhD and habilitation at the European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS), of which he is today the Director. The focus of his research is on change. So-called “process science” analyses digital traces in all areas of life and work in order to point up new possibilities for action – in particular through innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). The view it takes goes beyond business profits, and it looks just as much at new standards for ecological and social action. “What we do should have value for society,” Jan vom Brocke says.

After stays at the Universities of Liechtenstein and St. Gallen, as well as at MIT in Boston, Jan vom Brocke returned to his alma mater two years ago. For me it was a moving moment, he says: “In my wildest dreams as a student I would never have thought that I myself would be able to continue developing the exciting work being done here.” There is, in any case, a link to the city in his biography: “I met my dear wife while I was a student, and we got married in St Peter’s Church here.” Nowadays the family lives on a farm near Wolbeck. From here he commutes by bicycle to the Leonardo Campus, where the new rooms of the “Flow Factory” have just been completed. The research lab at ERCIS, sponsored by the Sparkasse (Savings Bank) Finance Group, examines AI-assisted innovation for transforming processes in the finance sector. “Students, researchers and people working in the sector draw up solutions for the future, and with this concept we have already attracted many outstanding talents to the University of Münster,” he explains. Handling AI in a responsible way is important to him. 

A sense of responsibility infuses his interdisciplinary projects. “I have a certain humility in this respect. As a student I was very impressed by disciplines which, for example, saved lives, or by awareness-raising work which was very  important for society,” he says. “Today, in information systems, we have an opportunity to do precisely that.” He gives two examples: a project with Münster University Hospital in which data help to improve reanimation processes; and the project entitled “The Vatican and the Persecution of the Jews in Europe”. Working together with colleagues from the Faculty of Catholic Theology, he uses AI to track down decision-making processes which were hitherto hidden.

Whether it was the opening of the Flow Factory, being elected as president, the International Information Systems Conference held at the University of Münster, or the Research Prize and the Teaching Prize awarded by the School of Business and Economics: 2025 was a special year for Jan vom Brocke. What it means in practice to be the president of a global organisation is something which he notices in his working life: “On Mondays, for example, I always have a leadership call with Australia and the USA – from 10 to 10:30 in the evening.”

“It’s an intensive time,” is his résumé, “but totally inspiring.” He learns about different approaches, he says – for example from Singapore, Saudi-Arabia and Brazil. “A global organisation doesn’t live only from international standards, but also – especially – from regional differences. And it is precisely these which have so much potential for innovation.” The work done by the Association deals with the strategic and academic development of information systems. “Our lives and the world of work are digital. That means we can help everywhere to make them better.” Many strings making this possible currently come together on the Leonardo Campus. “I can feel the specialists all looking to Münster.”

Author: Brigitte Heeke

This article is from the brochure "Twelve months, twelve people", published in March 2026.

Download the entire brochure as a pdf file

To the other articles in the brochure "Twelve months, twelve people".