Mathias Falkenstein Joins Studyportals as Director of Higher Education Development 

EINDHOVEN – Studyportals, the world’s largest international study choice platform, is thrilled to announce that Dr. Mathias Falkenstein is joining the team as the new Director of Higher Education Development. Mathias will be part of the Analytics and Consulting Team, where his initial focus will be on creating a new suite of services for higher education institutions worldwide. 

With over 25 years of experience in the higher education sector, Mathias has worked with universities and business schools globally to drive institutional change. His expertise includes sustainability, responsibility, strategy development, leadership development, institutional benchmarking, quality management, and internationalization. 

Before joining Studyportals, Mathias was a founding partner and Managing Director at XOLAS, a higher education consulting firm in Berlin, Germany. He is also a Professor of Practice in Higher Education Management at LUISS Business School, LUISS University (Rome-Milan-Amsterdam), where he serves as the Scientific Director of the DBA in Higher Education Leadership and Management. 

Throughout his career, Mathias has held various key roles. He was the Director of Business School Services at the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) in Brussels, Director of International Relations at IESEG School of Management in Paris & Lille, and Director of the International Summer University at the Free University of Berlin. He began his career in higher education as a Program Officer at the North American headquarters of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in New York. 

Currently, Mathias is a member of several university advisory boards. He is the Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Positive Impact Rating and the immediate past Chair of AACSB’s Responsible Management Education Board. He is also a research fellow and post-doctoral graduate at the International Centre for Higher Education Management (ICHEM) at the School of Management, University of Bath, UK, where he earned his Doctorate in Business Administration in Higher Education Management (with honors) in 2017. Additionally, he holds a B.A. and M.Sc. in Business Communications from the University of Engineering and Economics (HTW) in Berlin. 

Together with Mathias Falkenstein, Alexis Strippoli will also join the Analytics and Consulting Team as Senior Business Manager and Consultant. Alexis has worked in the higher education sector for more than a decade supporting universities and business schools with their strategic and management initiatives. She has led the strategy and execution of many large cross-functional strategic initiatives involving industry and academic partnerships, digital transformation, enterprise risk, sustainability, resource allocation and mobilisation and major teaching and learning infrastructure development. She brings to clients an acute understanding of university strategy, governance and operations. Alexis holds a Master’s in International Higher Education Management from the University of Bath (UK), School of Management. She is currently undertaking her PhD in Strategy and International Management. 

Edwin van Rest, CEO of Studyportals, shared his excitement, saying, “By bringing Mathias on board, we hope to serve our university and business school clients with more strategic services. Mathias will work directly with Thijs van Vugt, Studyportals’ Executive Vice-President of Analytics and Consulting, and together they will drive innovation and excellence in our offerings.” 

Mathias Falkenstein, Director of Higher Education Development: “In the last 10 years, I have come to know Studyportals, Thijs van Vugt, and the Analytics and Consulting Team as a fantastic company. The Studyportals brand, its global reach, and the market data available offer immense value to today’s higher education industry.” 

Thijs van Vugt, Executive VP and Director of Analytics and Consulting: “Expanding our service portfolio will significantly benefit our clients. Combining strategic advisory services with Studyportals’ search behaviour data will enable clients to make better-informed decisions.  

Press contact  

Mathias Falkenstein | Tel: +49 1511 8515998 | mathiasfalkenstein@studyportals.com   

About Studyportals 

Studyportals is the international study choice platform, enabling students to find and compare their study options across borders. With over 240,000 published courses from over 3,500 participating universities and over 55 million visitors per year, Studyportals is a leading information source for study seekers.