W2 -Professorship for Sports Medicine (female/male/diverse)

With more than 6000 students from 93 countries, the German Sport University Cologne (GSU) is currently an outstanding university location both nationally and internationally. The GSU stands for proven research with a high volume of third-party funding and research-based as well as international teaching in sports practice and in all social and life science sub-disciplines of sport science. Research, teaching, and transfer are supported by the administration and central operating units with their services.

At the German Sport University Cologne, the Institute of Cardiology and Sports Medicine is seeking to fill a vacancy to head the Department of Preventive and Rehabilitative Sports and Performance Medicine as of October 1, 2026:

W2-Professorship for Sports Medicine (female/male/diverse).

We are looking for an internationally recognized personality who represents clinical sports medicine in its entire breadth in research and teaching. Special expertise is expected in one area of internal medicine. The chair holder is expected to represent the following areas in research, teaching, and clinical care:

• Sports and exercise medicine prevention and therapy research
• Sports and exercise therapy care for patients with chronic illnesses
• Sports medicine care for competitive athletes

The tasks of the chair include collaboration in the Bachelor's, Master's, teacher training, and doctoral degree programs as well as in the academic self-administration of the university. The German Sport University Cologne pursues the goal of promoting (inter-) disciplinary and cooperative research. Accordingly, research should focus on interdisciplinary, networkable sports medicine topics. Participation in joint research activities of the Institute and the University as well as the successful acquisition and implementation of third-party funded projects should be an integral part of the professorship's remit.

Requirements for employment pursuant to § 36 of the Higher Education Act of North Rhine-Westphalia are:

• Completed university studies
• Ph.D. or equivalent
• Completed specialist training in internal medicine and/or cardiology
• Appropriate pedagogical/educational skills,
• Post-doctoral qualification (habilitation) or equivalent academic achievements.

Applicants are expected to have:

• Relevant international and thematically broad publication achievements in the field of clinical sports medicine
• High level of expertise in the field of clinical sports medicine
• Expertise in the application and research of digital medicine
• Experience with clinical studies and in the sports medical care of competitive athletes
• Recognizable transfer of scientific findings into practice
• Successful acquisition of third-party funding, particularly competitive funding
• Experience with multidisciplinary and multi-professional collaborations with national and international partners
• Positively evaluated teaching.
• Competencies in the area of personnel management and development
• Ability to connect to existing and developing research projects at GSU
• Experience in academic self-administration.

Desirable are

• Collaboration at the German Research Center for Competitive Sports Cologne
• English-language teaching skills
• Experience abroad in academic institutions.
• Experience in the (further) development of study programmes and/or teaching formats

The position entails a teaching obligation of 9 SWS.

International applicants are expected to be able to offer German-language courses within six semesters.

The German Sport University Cologne sees itself as an open-minded employer that values diversity. It is committed to diversity and gender equality and welcomes applications that contribute to this – regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, disability, age, sexual orientation, and identity.

Increasing the proportion of women in research and teaching is one of the university's strategic goals; qualified female academics are therefore expressly encouraged to apply. Women are given preferential consideration in accordance with the State Equality Act. Severely disabled persons and persons of equal status are very welcome and will be given preferential con-sideration within the framework of the statutory provisions.

The German Sport University Cologne offers an excellent academic environment, a wide range of professional development programmes, and support in balancing family and career.

Please send your application with the usual documents, in particular a description of your professional career, a list of publications, and a selection of important publications, quoting the reference number 2526-Prof-Sportmedizin by 15.10.2025 in the form of a pdf file exclusively to the e-mail address bewerbung@dshs-koeln.de.

Please also visit our homepage www.dshs-koeln.de. There, at www.dshs-koeln.de/datenschutz/, you will also find information on the handling of your personal data transmitted for the purpose of your application.