Matthias Briner

Prof. Dr. Matthias Briner serves as Head of the Center for Education and Program Director of the MSc Applied Psychology at the School of Applied Psychology, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW). He is also a Member of the Executive Board of the School of Applied Psychology FHNW. Appointed Professor of Work, Organizational and Business Psychology at FHNW in September 2015, he has held leadership roles in higher education since 2012 when he became Head of the consecutive Master's program MSc Applied Psychology.

Briner's research interests focus on Work Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Business Psychology, Clinical Risk Management in healthcare settings, and Distance Education. His work bridges academic theory with practical applications in organizational settings, particularly in healthcare systems and educational institutions. He has conducted significant research on clinical risk management in Swiss hospitals, examining incident reporting systems, organizational practices, and risk assessment methodologies.

His most recent research examines Distance Education effectiveness, with a 2023 publication analyzing synchronous versus asynchronous learning formats and desired future proportions of Distance Education from both student and instructor perspectives. His publications reveal consistent focus areas across healthcare risk management, organizational psychology, and educational technology, with particular emphasis on practical implementation of research findings.

• ZURICH Dissertation Prize 2013 for his doctoral work on clinical risk management from an organizational psychology perspective
• Lobende Anerkennung Gesellschaft für Arbeitswissenschaften 2013 (Honorable mention at the Walter Rohmert Research Prize ceremony)
• Publication Prize from Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Business 2013

Briner has been actively involved in teaching and academic leadership, supervising bachelor's and master's theses, and developing educational programs. His professional background includes various teaching positions at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, ETH Zurich, and University of Zurich. His doctoral research at ETH Zurich focused on clinical risk management in hospitals from an organizational psychology perspective, which earned him multiple prestigious awards.