Honorary Professor at the Berlin College of Business and Technology (BCBT) for Strategy, Social Innovation & Project Management.
Those who are not reached are not the problem – they are the proof that the system needs to be rethought.
Hon. Prof. Holger Holland, presentation of the Kiez Connection model concept, Berlin, April 2026
Profile
- Position: Honorary Professor at BCBT
- Fields: Strategy · Social Innovation · Project Management
- Institute: World Cleanup Institute of Impact and Sustainability (WCI) at BCBT
- Management: BCBT Berlin College of Business and Technology GmbH (with Valdrin Dervishaj), Berlin-Charlottenburg local court, HRB 264473 B
- Current project: Kiez Connection – ESF+/BBWA, model area Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg (scientific co-lead with Prof. Dr. Anabel Ternes von Hattburg)
- Location: Berlin · BCBT campus at the Cambridge Innovation Center Berlin (CIC Berlin)
Academic profile
Holger Holland combines a business- and sustainability-oriented research perspective with extensive practical experience at the intersection of digitalization (ICT) and sustainability (ESG). His teaching covers three related fields – Strategy, Social Innovation, and Project Management – and links academic theory with impact- and transfer-oriented practice.
Research focus
01
Social innovation and participation
Scientific co-lead of Kiez Connection: a four-phase participation model for young people in transitional life situations (design-based research, outreach needs assessment, IOOI impact logic).
02
ESG and sustainable data culture
The ecological footprint of digital practice, combined with Lean methods (5S) and KAIZEN – applied in Planet & Pixels (Let’s Do It with Fujitsu) and Digital Cleanup Day.
03
Impact-oriented project management
More than 25 years and over 200 environmental and ICT projects, integrated into transformation-oriented teaching.
04
Civic engagement and environmental education
Civic mobilization as a lever for sustainable transformation – with World Cleanup Day Germany as empirical reference (2024: over 600,000 participants, 10,000+ actions, 2,000+ municipalities).
Kiez Connection (ESF+ · BBWA)
Funded by the European Social Fund Plus with resources of the European Union and the State of Berlin within the district alliances for business and employment (BBWA). Scientific development at WCI at BCBT; implementation by YSI – Young Social Innovation. Key findings of the outreach needs assessment (N = 15 short interviews, 24 March – 5 April 2026):
87 %
name lack of trust as the main barrier
80 %
feel not taken seriously by adults
67 %
name recognition as the strongest motivator
Given the small sample (N = 15), these figures are exploratory. Sources and details: see the German version.
Thesis
The Influence of Soft Skills on Sustainable Communication in Virtual Teams in Small and Mid-Sized Environmental NPOs (2023, in German).
Academic background
Studies at Technische Universität Ilmenau. Methods: qualitative social research, mixed-methods designs, and impact evaluation along the input-output-outcome-impact logic.