Susanne Peters-Lange: Recognising challenges as opportunities

At the beginning of the millennium, Susanne Peters-Lange was one of the first female professors at the Hennef campus. Most recently, she headed the Social Policy and Social Security department for seven years. Now she is saying goodbye to her role as Dean. However, she is by no means letting her career slowly fade away. Both professionally and privately, the former judge still has a lot planned.

It's Wednesday morning, 10:00. Students stroll to the lecture theatres, for most of them it's the last lecture before the long weekend. The department has brought the lectures forward so that everyone can go home to their families earlier. After all, those who study at the Hennef campus also live there. Together with the university of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV), H-BRS has been offering the degree programme "Social Insurance, specialising in Accident Insurance" since 2003, which qualifies its graduates for senior positions at a social insurance institution. Susanne Peters-Lange has been there from the start.

The job at H-BRS: a lucky coincidence

It was a lucky coincidence that she joined the university back then, the professor recalls: "We were a young team with a lot of vigour. A professorship in a brand new department meant that we were able to help shape everything and get involved. As we all came from different disciplines, it was of course also challenging, for example when it came to the question of which citation style we should use. But that was never a problem for us working together."

The start at H-BRS marked a turning point in the life of the lawyer, who had previously become disillusioned with her former dream job: "I wanted to be a judge when I was at school. That may have had something to do with the fact that, as the middle of three siblings, I often took on the role of mediator as a child. Back then, I thought it would be a nice job to settle disputes. This illusion was quickly dispelled in my job," recalls Peters-Lange.

As a young judge, she worked 70 hours a week at Bergheim District Court. At home, she mumbled details of her cases to herself in her sleep. The exchange with frustrated colleagues who had been in the profession for many years finally persuaded her to switch to academia, where she rediscovered her love for her subject. What's more, at university it was possible to combine family and career, which seemed unimaginable as a judge.

Susanne Peters-Lange in the course "Company Support" at Hennef Campus. Photo: Pascal Schröder

In order to get students interested in the exciting aspects of legal work, it is important to teach in a practical way, she says. That's why this Wednesday morning's lecture on "Corporate Supervision" will focus on the insolvency of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof. Peters-Lange has brought a current press article with her. Together with her class, she discusses terms such as "Masseunzulänglichkeit", "unsecured creditors" and "insolvency plan".

Susanne Peters-Lange recalls that teaching was not as natural for her in the early days as it is today. In addition to the fear of not being sufficiently prepared, the switch to digital working was also challenging. She wrote her final term paper on a typewriter, but in the 2000s, work shifted to computers and Power Point became the standard in lectures.

Not afraid of new things

However, whether it's about technology, a career or a position: Peters-Lange is not afraid of the unknown and sees challenges as an opportunity to develop herself further. in 2017, she consequently became Dean of the department. it was "something new" and a change from teaching, she says. As head of the department, she has now spent seven years looking after the interests of employees and students and further developing teaching. Now, at the end of her second term of office, she is not standing for re-election. As in her early days at the university, it was nice to be able to organise and interact with many different people. However, worrying about employees and their fixed-term contracts has increasingly become a burden: "In the last few years before I retire, I would like to devote myself to teaching again, unburdened by administrative tasks," says Peters-Lange, who is also leaving the university's Senate after 17 years.

She feels that working with students in particular is a privilege of her job: "Thanks to my experience, I can enjoy teaching much more today. I'm always dealing with young people who can be supported on their way into professional life. It's a great job," says the university lecturer. She recently offered an excursion to the Cologne district court, which was attended by 20 students: "The appointment was at eight in the morning, it was pouring with rain, and yet everyone was there. I found that fascinating!" says Peters-Lange.

In addition to teaching, the outgoing Dean now wants to devote more time to academia. As an author, she regularly comments on sections of the German Social Code and their interpretation by the courts as well as specialised literature. In her private life, the scientist also knows how to take on new challenges and keep fit at the same time: In addition to strength and running training, she discovered a new hobby last year: road cycling. In autumn, she will be taking part in the Eroica, a cycling race for historic bicycles. "Life shouldn't be boring," says Peters-Lange.

Text: Pascal Schröder