Stephan Kühnel

Dr. Stephan Kühnel is a Senior Lecturer, Postdoctoral Researcher, and Senior Project Manager at the Institute for Information Systems and Operations Research within the Faculty of Law, Economics, and Business at Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg. He leads the Design Science Research Group (DSRG @ MLU) and serves as an Evaluation Officer at the faculty. His work bridges academic research and practical application in information systems, with a strong focus on compliance, security, and digital innovation.

• Doctorate (Dr. rer. pol.) in Business Informatics, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 2019 (summa cum laude)
• Master of Science in Business Administration, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 2013
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, 2011
• Language studies, Oxford House College (London), 2013

Dr. Kühnel's research centers on information security, compliance in business processes, data science, and design science research, with applications in augmented reality, cloud computing, e-health, and digital transformation in care facilities. His work emphasizes practical, model-driven solutions for evaluating IT security measures and improving organizational processes.

His recent publications span topics such as cognitive adoption of digital health technologies, taxonomy development for task identification, hybrid cloud challenges, augmented reality interfaces, and service level agreement compliance. These works reflect a strong trend toward human-centered design, process-oriented evaluation, and the integration of economic and technical perspectives in information systems.

• Best-Paper-Award of MLU in Business Informatics (2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018)
• Outstanding Associate Editor Award, WI 2024
• L. W. Kantorowitsch Research Award for best dissertation (2020)
• People's Choice Award at TDG Innovation Summit 2024
• Teaching Award from Volkswagen Financial Services (2022)

Dr. Kühnel has supervised over 30 bachelor's and master's theses and has been involved in leading multiple third-party funded research projects such as ProBITS, STAR, DiTiP, ALiS, and DASC-PM. He is actively engaged in academic service as a track chair, workshop organizer, associate editor, and reviewer for major conferences and journals. He also contributes to university governance through participation in appointment and evaluation committees.

He leads the Design Science Research Group (DSRG @ MLU) and has contributed to interdisciplinary teams in projects involving augmented reality for therapy and living spaces, digital transformation in nursing homes, and data science process modeling. His collaborations span multiple institutions and industry partners, reflecting a strong commitment to applied, impactful research.