NET OF BRAINS.
The think tank behind BRAIN-HR.
A community of thought leaders in science, business and professional development, and the lab where the audit tools for the EdTech & AI software suite are built.
THE MISSION
Why this think tank exists.
„The best lack all conviction while the worst are full of passionate intensity."
We want to equip the best with the power to convince and to influence.
That means: access to the privileged knowledge of our time, scientific methods for generating innovative ideas amid hypercomplexity, and technologies such as generative AI for turning those ideas into tangible reality.
Hard skills and soft skills have to fuse in your professional DNA.
THE THREE PILLARS
Science. Business. Professional development.
Three disciplines that come together in the think tank, deliberately, because none is enough on its own.
Science
Evidence-based methods, current research findings, scientific thinking as the basis of all activities. Publications, conference contributions, book chapters.
Business
Entrepreneurial thinking, a business perspective, the language of money, for innovations that are not only scientifically sound but also commercially viable.
Professional development
Experienced trainers, coaches and L&D professionals who translate scientific findings into practice and multiply them in their daily work.
FOUR FIELDS OF ACTIVITY
What concretely happens in the think tank.
Innovation incubator
New formats, methods and concepts take shape in the think tank before they feed into the Scientific Trainer Program and the Masterclass.
Vibe-coding lab
Scientists, trainers and developers build audit software together, Evidence Check, Instructional-Design Check, Return-on-Learning Check.
Publications & conferences
Members publish together and carry scientific findings into the professional-development community, as specialist articles, books and talks.
Community & network
An environment of scientist-practitioners who strengthen, inspire and support one another in developing their work.
THE MINDS
Who thinks and builds in the network.
A growing community from science, business and professional development. Many members publish together; the article "Wissenschaftsbasierte Personalentwicklung", for instance, emerged as a threesome from within the network.
Dr. Franz Hütter
Dr. rer. medic., teaches Applied Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Applied Management. Founder of BRAIN-HR and initiator of the think tank. Full Member, Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital (Harvard Medical School affiliate).
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Lenz
Professor of business psychology at the University of Applied Management; focus on business coaching, leadership and digital transformation management.
Prof. Andrea Pach
Organist and university lecturer (Diözesankonservatorium Vienna); with the PACH method she makes neurobiological findings usable for musical practice and learning.
„Mind Music“
Xenia Gerresheim
Senior Scientific Trainer for applied neuroscience and integrative neuro-coach; TÜV examiner for personnel certification.
Monika Herbstrith-Lappe
Mathematician and physicist, multiple-award-winning keynote speaker; founder of Impuls & Wirkung, Vienna.
„Aufblühen statt Ausglühen“
Angelika Schulz-Fuß
Negotiation trainer and developer of the IRRE® model, which systematizes the Harvard approach.
„IRRE® Verhandeln“ (MANZ)
Heinz Jiranek
Psychologist (Diplom) and founder of the Institute for Organizational Psychology (ifb-Jiranek); focus on conflict management and leadership.
„Klug zweifeln“, „Konfliktmanagement“ (Haufe)
Bettina Körner
Business psychologist (B.Sc.) and mental-skills coach; transfers sport mental training for high-performance teams (Ultimate Frisbee national teams) to the business context.
Petra Frieß
Leadership consultant with corporate and Mittelstand experience; brings neurobiology, systems theory and psychological-safety research into leadership practice.
„Bitte wenden“ (edition progris, 2025)
Dr. Margret Klinkhammer
Doctoral-level business mathematician with over two decades of leadership up to executive-board level of a DAX corporation; executive coach, supervisory-board member, former member of the university council of the University of Ulm.
Elisabeth Prager-Müllner
Management consultant, trainer and teaching coach with a focus on leadership and team competence and change management; lecturer in social competence at WU Vienna.
Iris Teicher
Former chancellor of Ulm University of Applied Sciences, Scientific Trainer and IDG ambassador; connects academic and administrative leadership with inner development.
Carina Schraufstetter
Educational scientist (M.A.) and research associate at ProLehre, TU Munich; focus on student learning competence, learning coaching and learning with AI.
Dr. Anja Timmermann
Doctoral-level historian and story coach; teaches at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences and helps experts communicate their expertise effectively through narrative principles (founder of the Storytelling Symposium).
Stefan Burges
Engineer (Dipl.-Ing.) and systemic organizational consultant (Teamaffairs, Munich); translates between technology and management and supports digital transformation.
„Ambivalenzen der digitalen Transformation“ (Springer Gabler, 2022)
Iris Teicher
Scientific Trainer and digital-resilience facilitator; co-author of "Digitale Resilienz" and active in the Inner Development Goals community.
„Digitale Resilienz“ (Springer essentials, 2024)
Rena Wißmeier
Educationalist (Diplom) and Scientific Trainer; systemic-agile organizational development and modernization of public administration.
Article "Wissenschaftsbasierte Personalentwicklung" (Personal entwickeln, Wolters Kluwer)
Katja Busch
Independent UX/CX consultant, trainer and coach from Cologne; over 25 years of human-centered design of digital products and organizations.
„Experience-Management als Future Skill“ (Haufe, 2026)
Dr. Bettina Hailer
Former commercial director of Halle (Saale) University Hospital; today a consultant and business mediator for leadership and change in healthcare.
Leadership simulation game "Am offenen Herzen"
Dr. med. Franz J. Sperlich
Physician and expert in applied neuroscience; brings medical knowledge into practice under the title "Life-Changing Science".
„Das Parasympathikus-Prinzip“ (GU)
Dr. Tobias Pfaller
Doctoral-level natural scientist and systemic business coach (Projektheldenschmiede); combines project leadership with resilience and stress management.
Marion Abend
Social worker (Diplom) and Scientific Trainer; focus on trauma prevention (including railway suicide) and empowerment, developer of the M-PowerHaus® concept.
Birgit Thedens
Chair of the board of the German Association for Coaching and Training (dvct); NLP master trainer, in organizational and people development for over three decades.
Gudrun Held
Board member of the German Association for Coaching and Training (dvct); focus on strategy, membership development and the interface with HR.
Birgit Klennert
Social pedagogue (Diplom) and supervisor (DGSv); focus on supervision, leadership development and e-learning in supervision training.
HIGHLIGHTS
Impulses from the network.
A selection of the sessions, masterclasses and office hours of recent months, open to members and guests.
Show 22 more impulses from the network
These impulses emerge week after week in the NET OF BRAINS community, the network behind the Scientific Trainer Program and the Senior Scientific Masterclass.
Become part of the networkSCOPE
What happens here, and what does not.
The NET OF BRAINS think tank is a space for innovation, publication and a software lab. The scientific audit and peer review for individual member programs take place exclusively in the Senior Scientific Masterclass, where it is the central element of the three-year support.
AWARD
German Demography Award 2022.
The German Demography Award recognizes projects that give substantial answers to society's demographic challenges.
NET OF BRAINS was recognized in 2022 in the "New Work Brought to Life" category, for a think-tank approach that systematically connects scientific depth, entrepreneurial thinking and professional-development practice.
Demography Award 2022 · New Work Brought to Life
Think along, build along, take part.
Membership in NET OF BRAINS is part of the Scientific Trainer Program and the Senior Scientific Masterclass. Anyone who would like to take part outside these programs gets in touch directly.
Strategy papers of the think tank
Analyses and recommendations for professional development that asks about impact. The policy briefs are permanently archived and citable via Zenodo.
The competence profile of professional development
What educators must be able to do in the age of AI, why that only works on a scientific foundation, and in which model project it is already reality. Four competence fields based on the scientist-practitioner model, with recommendations for educators, companies, associations and policymakers.
Lehren aus KOMPASS
Why Germany's professional-development funding does not ask about impact, and how it could. An analysis of the quality architecture of the largest federal funding program for solo self-employed, with five recommendations for funding policy, associations and companies.
The value of educators
Why economic independence is a question of quality. On the precarious situation of those who develop the competence of an economy, with four recommendations for educators, companies, associations and policymakers.
Learning & Development 2026
Market situation, power shifts and options for action for providers of professional development, consulting and coaching in the German-speaking region. Based on official statistics and current industry studies; sources and reliability ratings in the appendix.
