Gerhard Radlmayr is a communicator and a mediator. Transparent, appreciative communication and good interaction are meaningful to him. „It's all about the 'how',“ he says. „How and, above all, with what inner attitude I meet people is much more effective than even the most beautiful words. But at best, of course, both are congruent.“

The 60-year-old lives and works according to this principle - at HSWT as an officer for knowledge transfer and research communication at the Centre for Research and Knowledge Transfer (ZFW) and on the staff council.

Gerhard Radlmayr has been at the HSWT or a predecessor institution for 32 years. „Actually, for 39 years,“ he adds, because he studied Horticulture at the then Weihenstephan University of Applied Sciences. After about two years of experience in sales and marketing in nurseries and garden centres, he applied for a job at the Institute of Horticultural Business Administration and EDP at the Weihenstephan Institute of Horticulture, affiliated with the HSWT. „I have always enjoyed working with numbers,“ says Gerhard Radlmayr. „But above all, the variety of tasks and topics at the University of Applied Sciences appealed to me, as well as the opportunity to work with students.“ At the Institute, he was responsible for project research, including knowledge transfer into practice and supported teaching in the Horticulture degree programme. For ten years, the teaching assignment in the marketing focus was one of his most enjoyable tasks at the HSWT at the time, which he still remembers enthusiastically today: „In the student project work, I was able to apply my skills, interests and passions in communication, team development, coaching and conflict moderation. Guiding 20 to 30 students in terms of content, motivating them and forming them into a team within one semester was challenging - and offered me many creative and developmental opportunities. The professional final presentation in front of invited guests with mostly enthusiastic feedback from the entrepreneurs was the crowning success and reward for the students and me.“

After restructuring, Gerhard Radlmayr moved to the Information Office of the Federal Research Station of Horticulture Weihenstephan (FGW). There, he was most recently responsible for press and public relations as well as event management in a leading position. He was also the personal assistant to the head of the FGW. When the FGW was integrated into the University of Applied Sciences in 2012, and research at the HSWT gained more and more momentum, he took over the position of Research Communication Officer at the newly founded ZFW.

Nuances that make the difference

There, he develops and maintains formats that inform about research at the HSWT and the activities of the ZFW, such as the research news and research reports, and looks after the external presentation via the research information system Weih.FIS, which he helped develop in terms of content, maintains the HSWT's internet pages relating to research and knowledge transfer. In Weih.FIS, he is also setting up a publication collection. „In addition, there are numerous internal and external requests and tasks. There are reports to write and statistics to compile, for example. It's precisely this variety that I like and that I get insights into research projects from various disciplines. I also enjoy writing and editing texts: so much can be expressed with language,“ says the native of Kirchdorf. And: „I love to communicate, especially interpersonal communication is essential to me. That's why, for example, I also write e-mails carefully, paying attention to nuances that others might consider superfluous. It's also important for me to give colleagues positive feedback from time to time when I notice something. That's when I take the time.“ For Gerhard Radlmayr, this creates good relationships and a network. „This is a matter close to my heart,“ he emphasises.

The journey is the reward

So it is not surprising that the Freisinger, by choice, has been involved in the HSWT staff council for about eight years - and was re-elected for another five years a few weeks ago. He is also involved in promoting good cooperation at HSWT, for example, in the activities coordinated by HSWT's executive development team or the most recent workshops of the series „Healthy and Satisfied at Work“. „I want to contribute to a good climate at HSWT. If I see something that is not going so well or can be optimised, I become active,“ he says. In doing so, it is also necessary for him to work and communicate in a process-oriented way. „'The process is the project' is the title of an art installation at the Schafhof in Freising,“ he says, „and I think that sums it up well: In my opinion, in a project, you have to value not only the goal, but also the steps, the way to get there. That includes communicating not only at the beginning and end of the project but permanently during it as well.“

In his free time, the father of two grown-up sons enjoys travelling with his partner in a camper van in all directions. One of the future destinations they would like to visit is Estonia. After work, Gerhard Radlmayr seeks balance in nature, silence, meditation, meetings and conversations with dear people. „I think it's important to reflect on oneself honestly, even if it's not always pleasant - in a loving way. If every single person knew themselves better and where their trigger points were, we would probably all get along better.“