Dr. Bernd Jenssen, former Managing Director of SPRING, has passed away
- SPRING
SPRING-Alumni, former and as well present staff of the School of Spatial Planning will keep him in memory as a highly dedicated lecturer and colleague.
In the early eighties Dr. Jenssen, together with other members of the School of Spatial Planning, initiated the establishment of the innovative Master Programme SPRING. He was decisively involved in preparing the application for financial support to the Bund-Länder-Kommission and the development of the SPRING curriculum.
Subsequently, Dr. Jenssen was appointed the Managing Director of SPRING Dortmund, position which he held until his retirement in 2006. During his tenure he negotiated the partnership agreements with universities in Ghana, Thailand, Philippines and Chile.
After working with a number of planning institutions in Germany, he joined the Institute of Spatial Planning at the TU Dortmund University as a researcher on Third World development. At the School of Spatial Planning he also received his PhD.
In his research and lectures Dr. Jenssen dealt with polarisation reversal, planning as a dialogue, networks in district development planning, human settlement patterns, and strategies and concepts of regional development planning.
In overseas assignments (project funding or appraisal missions) for UNDP, GTZ, DSE and the TU Dortmund University, Dr. Jenssen designed short-term training curricula for courses in district development planning in Algeria, Indonesia, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Nepal and the Philippines.