Ruth Lerchster

Ruth Lerchster is a Senior Lecturer at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt (AAU), affiliated with the Institute for Instruction and School Development. She holds a Mag. Dr. in Psychology and Group Dynamics from the University of Klagenfurt (1998-2004). Her career began with freelance training and consulting in group dynamics and organizational development since 2002, alongside roles in the Austrian Society for Group Dynamics and Organizational Consulting (ÖGGO). Since 2004, she has been a scientific researcher at the Institute for Interventions Research and Cultural Sustainability (IKN, now part of the OGI) and has taught at institutions including the Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, TU Wien, and German universities like Universität Halle-Wittenberg. She became a Senior Scientist at OGI in 2010 and assumed her current Senior Lecturer role in 2017.

Her research focuses on group dynamics, intervention strategies, conflict resolution, school development, and interdisciplinary social sciences. She actively contributes to academic governance, serving as Chair of the Curricular Commission for Social, Group, and Organizational Competence, member of AAU’s Dispute Commission, and editorial board member of the journal Gruppe. Intervention. Organisation. She also leads the Universitäts.Club/Wissenschaftsverein Kärnten and chairs the ÖGGO Training Committee.

Her professional activities extend to curriculum design, teacher training programs (e.g., SCOL), and leadership development initiatives. She collaborates on projects like the Doctoral School Career Counselling for Teachers (CCT) and ICSE Academy, addressing sustainability, educational equity, and emotional learning in environmental education.