Directly to the content Skip to maincontent Directly to the footer Skip to footercontent

Media, Technology and Society

Meet the lecturers on our Master’s programme

The team comprises a mix of experienced academics and well-connected professionals from the fields of online communication and journalism.

Portrait of Prof. Dr. Patricia Bliemeister

Prof. Dr. Patricia Bliemeister

Vice Dean

Since 2022, Professor of Data-Driven Communication and Marketing, studied at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main and Freie Universität Berlin,...


degree in sociology. Main areas of expertise: marketing strategy, social marketing, quantitative market research, website analysis, online communication, surveys, performance marketing, social media marketing, CRM strategy, data science, e-commerce analytics.
Portrait of Prof. Dr. Henriette Heidbrink

Prof. Dr. Henriette Heidbrink

Head of programme

Portrait of Prof. Dr. Pia Helferich

Prof. Dr. Pia Helferich


Online communication and organisational communication

Pia Sue Helferich is a professor of online communication, specialising in organisational communication, at Darmstadt University of Applied...


Sciences. She has worked on various projects and in companies, focusing on online communication, public relations and adult education. Her work also concentrates on lifelong learning, digital transformation and communication in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Portrait of Prof. Dr. Thomas Pleil

Prof. Dr. Thomas Pleil


Public relations with a focus on online communication

Thomas Pleil is a professor of public relations with a focus on online PR. He has many years of experience in journalism, PR agencies and PR...


management at a university. His work focuses on online communication, social media, lifelong learning and sustainability communication.

Pleil established the Online Communication (B.Sc.) degree programme. He is also spokesperson for the board of directors of the Institute for Communication and Media (ikum) and spokesperson for the Research Centre for Digital Communication and Media Innovation (dkmi). In R&D, he is involved in the Mittelstand-Digital Zentrum Zukunftskultur (SME Digital Centre for Future Culture) and the System Innovation for Sustainable Development project, among others. Personal website
Portrait of Prof. Dr. Sebastian Pranz

Prof. Dr. Sebastian Pranz

Head of programme
Professor for Technology Development in Online Communication

I am Sebastian Pranz - sociologist, media developer, and university lecturer. My practical and theoretical work deals with digital public...


spheres, new narrative forms, data, and automation. Some of my recent topics of research include the imaginaries of automated driving, the platformization of news-rooms, and networks. Besides, I'm personally interested in exploring methods from data sciences and digital humanities. Since 2021 I teach technology development in online communications at the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt (H_DA) for the study programs Media, Technology & Society (MA) and Online Communications (BA).
Portrait of Prof. Dr. Lars Rademacher

Prof. Dr. Lars Rademacher


Corporate and sustainability communications

Lars Rademacher has been a professor in the Media Department since 2014 and has been teaching corporate and sustainability communication since...


2022. He teaches in the Online Communication (BSc) degree programme and in the international Media, Technology & Society (MSc) master's programme. He is also head of the Doctoral Centre for Sustainability Sciences (PZNW) and a member of the Research Centre for Digital Communication and Media Innovation (DKMI). Previously, he headed the Media Management programme at Macromedia University of Applied Sciences in Munich and conducts research on NGO communication, stakeholder management, corporate social responsibility and organisational learning, among other topics.
Before his academic career, Rademacher spent six years as a consultant, head of communications at the phaeno Science Centre in Wolfsburg and press spokesman at BASF.
Portrait of Prof. Dr. Torsten Schäfer

Prof. Dr. Torsten Schäfer


Text production; FB Media

From April 2013 to September 2013, Torsten Schäfer was a research assistant at the IKuM at Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (Green...


Journalism project) on a 50 per cent basis and also served as a substitute professor for journalism and text production. Prior to that, he worked for ten years as an environmental and science journalist, six of which as a print and online editor for the international edition of GEO (full-time) and Deutsche Welle (freelance). Since 2005, he has been a lecturer in continuing education with a focus on research, text and specialist journalism (environment/sustainability; European Union), including at the University of Lüneburg in the study programme - Sustainability and Journalism -
Portrait of Prof. Dr. Peter Schumacher

Prof. Dr. Peter Schumacher


B.A. Onlinejournalismus, M.Sc. Media, Technology and Society

Portrait of Prof. Dr. Andreas Vlasic

Prof. Dr. Andreas Vlasic

Andreas Vlasic is a professor of online branding and brand management. He has many years of experience in communications research and...


communications consulting. His work focuses on strategic marketing communications, media change and digital platforms, scientific theory and empirical social research.