Target group universities and higher education
Demographic change, technological progress, sharper competition for students and growing pressure on commercial viability confront universities with entrepreneurial questions. I advise universities and educational institutions on strategic development – from new degree and continuing education programmes through internationalisation to campus development and strategic partnerships with companies.
Consulting fields
Which formats attract real demand? From demand analysis through the concept to costing and costing, finding suitable practice partners and market launch – conceived academically and assessed commercially.
Partner universities, dual degrees, franchise or branch campus models: which model works in which market? I advise on selecting the target market, choosing the entry model and finding the right partners on the ground.
New locations, cooperations with companies, partnerships with technology providers: growth that fits the positioning and strengthens the institution’s brand.
Expertise
2021–2023
As vice president I was responsible for the strategic development and growth projects as well as the internationalisation of a university group. I know the committees, the decision paths and the tension between academic ambition and commercial viability from my own responsibility.
20+ years
Two decades building new business fields and international markets at Bertelsmann, Gruner + Jahr and Hubert Burda Media. I bring that perspective into the higher education context without imposing corporate logic on it.
Doctorate 2024
My doctoral thesis examines the internationalisation and market entry strategies of German universities of applied sciences empirically. The recommendations therefore do not rest on experience alone.
Research
In my doctoral thesis at Hochschulinstitut Schaffhausen in Switzerland I examined the internationalisation and market entry strategies of German universities of applied sciences. Based on an empirical analysis, the work identifies the central strategic and organisational success factors for international expansion – from a business management perspective. The thesis is available in bookshops (among others from Amazon).
Practice
FAQ
I come from university leadership, not from an accreditation or quality management background. The focus is the business question: which programme pays for itself, which market is worth entering, which partnership creates value. I do not work on accreditation procedures or higher education law.
Both, with a different emphasis. Private universities and university groups more often face questions of campus development, scaling and new revenue models. At public universities the focus tends to be internationalisation, continuing education and partnerships with companies.
It starts with assessing possible target markets against demand, competition and regulatory conditions. Next comes the choice of entry model – partner university, dual degree, franchise or own campus – and its evaluation in a business case. Only then do partner search and local implementation follow.
That depends on the target market, available resources and appetite for risk. My doctoral thesis examined the success factors for German universities of applied sciences empirically. One central finding: the most common mistake is not the choice of market, but the assumption that the existing model can be transferred unchanged.
Both. Workshops with the executive board, faculties or committees usually take place on site, the ongoing work remotely. I travel within the German-speaking region and beyond.
It begins with a no-obligation conversation in which we clarify the starting point, goals and timeframe. This leads to a concise proposal covering approach, milestones and effort – from a single strategy workshop to supporting a project over several months.
Contact
Let’s talk about the potential that lies in new degree and continuing education programmes, international markets, new campuses or strategic partnerships with companies.
Request an introductory callThis is a translation for convenience. The legally binding version is the German imprint at primebrandsolutions.de.
PrimeBrand Solutions – Dr. Andre Moellersmann
Consulting for new growth businesses, internationalisation and brand expansion
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Privacy – read the privacy policy
PrimeBrand Solutions – Dr. André Möllersmann · As of 21 October 2026
Contents
Protecting your personal data is important to us. This privacy policy explains which personal data are processed when you use our website and contact us, for what purposes this is done and what rights you have.
The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is:
Dr. André MöllersmannTelephone: +49 160 98057200
E-mail: andre.moellersmann@primebrandsolutions.com
Websites: www.primebrandsolutions.de and www.primebrandsolutions.com
This privacy policy applies to the websites listed above, insofar as the same data processing operations take place there.
Our website is operated by the following hosting provider:
STRATO GmbHWhen you access our website, STRATO processes technically necessary access data in order to provide the website and ensure its secure and reliable operation. This may include in particular:
The processing serves to provide the website technically, to ensure its functionality and to detect and prevent disruptions, attacks and misuse. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in the secure, stable and reliable operation of our website.
STRATO stores the IP addresses of website visitors for a maximum of seven days in order to detect and prevent attacks. In addition, depending on the hosting package, STRATO provides anonymised access logs for a period of up to six weeks. According to STRATO, the IP addresses or host names of visitors contained therein are anonymised.
Insofar as STRATO processes personal data on our behalf, this is done on the basis of a data processing agreement pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR. According to STRATO, data processing within the hosting service takes place in German data centres. Further information on data processing by STRATO is available at www.strato.de/datenschutz.
The fonts used on our website are loaded exclusively from our own server. No connection is made to Google Fonts servers or other font providers.
If you contact us by e-mail or telephone, we process the personal data you provide. This includes in particular your name, your contact details, your company affiliation where applicable and the content of your enquiry.
The processing serves to handle your request, for business communication and, where applicable, to prepare or carry out a collaboration.
Insofar as the processing is necessary to take steps prior to entering into a contract or to perform a contract with you personally, it is based on Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR. For other enquiries, in particular communication with contact persons at companies, the processing is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in handling business enquiries and in initiating and maintaining business contacts.
We delete the data provided as soon as they are no longer required to handle your request or for the business relationship, unless statutory retention obligations or other legitimate reasons for further storage apply.
You can also contact us via the WhatsApp messenger service. If you choose this channel, we process the personal data you transmit, in particular your telephone number, your display name, the content of your messages and any files you send.
The processing serves to handle your request and for business communication. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR insofar as this is necessary to take steps prior to entering into a contract or to perform a contract with you personally. For other business communication, the legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.
When WhatsApp is used, personal data are also processed by the provider of the service:
WhatsApp Ireland LimitedWhatsApp is part of the Meta group of companies. The provider processes, among other things, information on the use of the service as well as technical connection and communication data. Personal data may also be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area, in particular to the USA. WhatsApp explains the safeguards and legal bases used for such transfers in its privacy policy: www.whatsapp.com/legal/privacy-policy-eea.
Using WhatsApp is voluntary. Alternatively, you can contact us at any time by e-mail or telephone. Communication data stored by us are deleted as soon as they are no longer required to handle your request or for the business relationship and no statutory retention obligations or other legitimate reasons for longer storage apply.
Our website contains links to external websites and online services of third parties. These include in particular LinkedIn, companies, universities, media outlets, podcasts, interviews and further sources of information.
A regular link does not in itself establish a direct connection to the servers of the linked provider. Only when you follow such a link do you leave our website, and personal data, in particular your IP address and technical usage information, may be processed by the respective provider. We generally have no influence on this processing. The privacy policies of the respective providers apply.
Among other things, our website links to the professional LinkedIn profile of Dr. André Möllersmann. The provider of LinkedIn for users in the European Economic Area is:
LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited CompanyFurther information on data processing by LinkedIn is available at www.linkedin.com/legal/privacy-policy. If you contact us via LinkedIn, we process the information you provide to handle your request and for business communication. The relevant legal bases correspond to those described in section 3.
On our website you can play selected videos directly in a window on the page. For this purpose we use YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). The provider is:
Google Ireland LimitedNo connection to YouTube is made when you visit our website or open the video window. The YouTube player is only loaded once you explicitly click “Load and play video” in the video window. In doing so, your IP address, information about the browser and device used and the referring page in particular are transmitted to YouTube. YouTube may use cookies or similar technologies on your device during playback. A transfer of personal data to the USA cannot be ruled out; according to Google, such transfers are based, among other things, on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses.
The legal basis is your consent pursuant to Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Section 25(1) TDDDG, which you give by clicking “Load and play video”. You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by reloading the page; the video will then only be loaded after another click. Alternatively, you can watch videos directly on YouTube via the “Open original” link.
Further information is available in Google’s privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.
You can listen to podcast episodes directly on our website using our own audio player. The audio file is provided by the hosting provider of the respective podcast, Acast AB, Stockholm, Sweden.
No connection to Acast is made when you open the player. The audio file is only loaded from Acast’s servers once you click “Play”. In doing so, your IP address and information about the browser and device used in particular are transmitted to Acast.
The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest lies in enabling you, at your request, to listen to the episode directly on our website. Further information is available in Acast’s privacy policy: www.acast.com/privacy.
Our website itself does not use cookies or similar technologies to store or read information on your device. In particular, we do not use cookies for personalised advertising, audience measurement or user tracking.
If you load a YouTube video, YouTube may use its own cookies or similar technologies (see section 6). Should further technologies of this kind be used in the future, we will update this privacy policy and, where required, obtain your consent beforehand pursuant to Section 25 TDDDG and Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR.
Personal data are only disclosed insofar as this is necessary for the purposes described, a legal obligation exists or another legal basis permits the transfer.
Recipients include in particular technical service providers, insofar as they are required to provide our website and for business communication. We use the services of STRATO GmbH, based in Berlin, to operate our website. Insofar as service providers process personal data on our behalf, this is done in compliance with the requirements of Art. 28 GDPR.
When individual external services are used, data may also be processed outside the European Economic Area. This applies in particular to WhatsApp (section 4) and YouTube (section 6). Insofar as we ourselves are responsible for such a transfer, we comply with the requirements of Art. 44 et seq. GDPR.
We generally store personal data only for as long as is necessary to fulfil the respective purpose. Where statutory retention obligations apply, the data concerned are stored for the duration of those obligations. Storage may also be necessary for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.
Once the respective purpose no longer applies and any retention periods have expired, personal data are deleted. The storage periods described in section 2 apply to server log files.
Subject to the statutory requirements, you have the following rights under the GDPR:
To exercise your rights, you can contact us at any time at andre.moellersmann@primebrandsolutions.com.
If you believe that the processing of your personal data infringes data protection law, you have the right under Art. 77 GDPR to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. The supervisory authority responsible for us is:
Bayerisches Landesamt für Datenschutzaufsicht (BayLDA)Your right to lodge a complaint exists regardless of whether you have contacted us beforehand. You may also contact any other supervisory authority competent under Art. 77 GDPR.
You can generally use our website without actively providing any personal data. However, the data listed in section 2 are processed when the website is accessed technically.
Contacting us is voluntary. However, to handle your enquiry we need the information required for communication. Within a contractual relationship, the provision of certain personal data may be necessary to perform the contract or to fulfil legal obligations. Without this information, handling or performance may not be possible.
We do not use automated decision-making, including profiling within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR, in connection with the use of our website.
Our website is provided via an encrypted HTTPS connection. We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against unauthorised access, loss, alteration and other unlawful processing.
We update this privacy policy as necessary, in particular when legal requirements, technical conditions or the services we use change. The version published on our website applies.
This English version is provided for convenience. In case of doubt, the German version applies.
