About us...

The IHM - Institute for Heritage Management was founded in 2012 and is registered in Cottbus in the Brandenburg commercial register with the legal form of a limited liability company. According to its statutes, the main objectives of the IHM are the preparation, support, implementation and implementation of projects in the field of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention as well as the implementation of training courses and further education with the aim of transferring knowledge on the subject of heritage.

The IHM has been a recognized institutional member of ICOMOS Germany since November 2017.

The IHM promotes cultural and natural heritage within local, regional and international contexts. It supports the responsible actors in the planning and implementation of documentation, conservation measures and management processes of cultural heritage sites by providing its technical expertise, an extensive professional network and many years of project experience.

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Picture: Castle "Branitz", Cottbus (Image by IHM)
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Picture: Balloons over cultural landscape

Our mission

The IHM promotes cultural and natural heritage within local, regional and international contexts. It supports the responsible actors in the planning and implementation of documentation, conservation measures and management processes of cultural heritage sites by providing its technical expertise, an extensive professional network and many years of project experience.
In dealing with forms of cultural and natural heritage, the IHM not only attaches importance to the exchange and dialogue with academic colleagues, but also with representatives of local authorities and citizens. The discussion about cultural and natural heritage affects society as a whole. It is therefore an important concern of the IHM to make the latest approaches and developments in this field available to all who want to work for the preservation and communication of the cultural heritage.

Our Team

Dr. Britta Rudolff

Managing Director
Building on her studies as a conservator, Britta Rudolff gained further postgraduate qualifications in cultural heritage management and world heritage studies (BTU Cottbus) and a doctorate in cultural geography/world heritage (Institute of Geography) at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. Over the past two decades, she has specialized in strategic planning for the management of cultural heritage and in particular World Heritage sites and has been responsible for numerous management plans. She has held the Chair of Cultural Management at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg between 2014 and 2018 and since 2018 heads the area of Heritage Management. She is also director of the World Heritage Studies programme.

Lea Brönner

Project Coordinator & Office Manager
Lea Brönner completed a Bachelor's degree in European Studies with a focus on cultural history. She then went on to complete a dual Master’s degree in World Heritage Studies and Cultural Heritage at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, where she focused primarily on the interpretation and communication of cultural heritage. Her focus areas at the IHM include heritage management, political consultation, and stakeholder involvement. Lea Brönner has been working at the IHM since 2020. She is an individual member of ICOMOS Germany and TICCIH International.

Alex Kurian Mathew

Student Assistant
Alex Kurian Mathew holds a Bachelor’s degree in architecture and is currently pursuing a degree in World Heritage Studies at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. He has been working as a student assistant at the IHM since 2024. His work focuses on visualizing the potential impacts of development projects on World Heritage sites as part of heritage impact assessments, as well as on the visual presentation of data.

Julia Akhmetov

Student Assistant
Julia Akhmetov completed a Bachelor’s degree in Global Studies from Maastricht University and is currently pursuing a degree in World Heritage Studies at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. Since 2024, she has been supporting the IHM as a student assistant, primarily in the areas of research and stakeholder involvement for the development of management plans.

Prof. Dr. Michael Schmidt

Managing Partner
As a graduate engineer in landscape conservation (University of Hanover) with a specialization in geobotany and a doctorate from the Department of Urban Planning/Landscape Planning at the University of Kassel, Michael Schmidt worked in the department "Forest Ecosystems/Forest Decline" at the Federal Environment Agency and as head of the department "Soil Protection" at the Brandenburg State Environment Agency. In 1994, he was appointed Chair of Environmental Planning at BTU Cottbus. He primarily deals with questions of environmental and heritage impact assessments (EIA, SEA, HIA), especially for cultural landscapes, and has published extensively in these areas. He also lectures on Impact Assessments and Cultural Landscapes as part of the international Master's programme World Heritage Studies.

Stephanie Veith

Project Coordinator
Stephanie Veith completed a Bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management with a supplementary certificate in Intercultural Competence, followed by a Master’s degree in World Heritage Studies at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. During her studies, she worked at the IHM as a student assistant and has been a project coordinator since 2022. In addition to drafting World Heritage-specific documents, she has specialized in the use of GIS systems for attribute mapping. She is currently working on her doctoral dissertation on the topic of Comparative Analyses in the nomination process and their contribution to the Global Strategy for a representative, balanced, and credible World Heritage List. She is an individual member of ICOMOS Germany and has been a member of the bureau of the International Cultural Tourism Committee (ICTC) of ICOMOS International since 2024.

Dr. Mirko Filetti

GIS & ICT

Dr.-Ing. Mirko Filetti studied environmental engineering at BTU Cottbus, specializing in environmental informatics. Since then, he has been working at BTU Cottbus in the technical and scientific fields, as well as teaching at various chairs of the environmental faculty. He completed his doctorate in the field of environmental informatics on "Virtual Research Environments". He has been working part-time for IHM since 2017. His expertise here lies in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with (2D / 3D) visibility and viewshed analyses, which are used to assess potential threats and adverse factors to the integrity of World Heritage properties.

Prof. Dr. iur. Eike Albrecht

Managing Partner
As co-founder and partner of the IHM and holder of the Chair of Civil and Public Law at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, with links to environmental law, Eike Albrecht deals with issues of regional planning, such as the problems of site management or the legal implications of World Heritage status, particularly with regard to the definition of protection and buffer zones.

Dr. Knut Bretzke

Project Coordinator
Knut Bretzke earned his Ph.D. in Prehistory and Early History from the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen. He conducted research on paleolandscapes in Syria and the United Arab Emirates. In his role at the State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments in Thuringia, he documented archaeological finds from the Roman, early Christian, and medieval periods. At the IHM, Dr. Bretzke is the primary contact for projects related to archaeological heritage. In addition to his work at the IHM, he is currently conducting research as part of an international network of experts - initiated by the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research and the UNESCO Regional Office for Egypt and Sudan - on ways to document, protect, and preserve cultural and biological diversity in oases. As an expert in prehistoric archaeology, Dr. Bretzke is also involved in the UNESCO program Human Evolution: Adaptations, Dispersals and Social Developments (HEADS).

Prof. Dr. Leo Schmidt

Consultant
Leo Schmidt studied art history, classical archaeology and history at the universities of Freiburg i.Br. and Munich. He was awarded his doctorate in Freiburg in 1980. From 1980 to 1995, he was an inventor at the Baden-Württemberg State Office for Monument Protection. From 1995 to 2020, he held the Chair of Monument Conservation at BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. Leo Schmidt has managed numerous projects in the field of monument preservation, in particular monument preservation inventories and monitoring documents for individual buildings and larger facilities, as well as monument preservation management plans. He has further experience with World Heritage properties through desk reviews and technical evaluation missions for ICOMOS International.