Academic Career
- Since October 2024: Research Assistant in the Urban and Regional Economics Research Group, led by Prof. Paula Prenzel, at RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau
- Since June 2024: Ph.D. candidate (Dr. rer. Pol.) with the working title “Demographic Sensitivity of Municipal Tasks—A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Municipalities in the Context of Demographic Change”
- July 2021 – September 2024: Research Assistant at the Chair of Urban, Regional, and Environmental Economics, Prof. Martin Junkernheinrich, RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau
- July 2017 – October 2020: Freelance consultant for the City of Speyer
- April 2017 – June 2017: Internship with the City of Speyer
- August 2016 – February 2017: Research Assistant at the Chair of Economic Geography, Prof. Gans, University of Mannheim
- 2017–2021: Master of Science in Economics (English), Ruprecht Karls University of Heidelberg
Master’s thesis: Sensitivity Analysis of the Economic Complexity Index - 2012–2017: Bachelor of Science in Economics, University of Mannheim
Thesis: Population Trends in Cities with Different Levels of Centrality in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region
Courses
- Economics for Spatial Planners (Lecture and Seminar)
- Regional Economics and Regional Analysis (Lecture)
- Regional and Economic Feasibility Analyses (Seminar)
- Municipal Economics (Lecture)
- Municipal Finance and Municipal Development (Seminar)
- Spatial Economics (Lecture)
- Economic Analysis of Spatial Development Measures (Seminar)
- Environmental Economics and Environmental Policy (Lecture)
- Spatial Consequences of Environmental Policy (Seminar)
- Economic Valuation of Environmental Goods (Seminar)
Theses
Bachelor’s
- The Role of Municipal Climate Adaptation and Its Financing Options (2023, Klose)
- The IT Industry as an Opportunity for the Future in Regional Structural Change? – An Analysis Using the Saarland as an Example(2025, Weber)
- Public Engagement in Municipal Climate Protection and Climate Adaptation Measures—A Study of the Kusel District(2025, Arnold)
- Climate Protection and Climate Adaptation in Municipalities—An Analysis of Funding and Stakeholder Structures Using the City of Mannheim as a Case Study (2026, Benjamin Pfeiffer)
Master’s
- Digitalization Strategy as a Tool for Sustainable Urban Development: The Case of Mainz, State Capital, with a Special Focus on Mobility, the Environment, and Digital Administration (2023, Viola Mathein)
- Regional Determinants of Economic Development: The Case of the Saarland—Identification of Key Factors and Drafting of a Strategic Concept (2024, Dennis)
- The Impact of Municipal Financial Resources on the Acquisition of Funding for Climate Protection and Climate Adaptation Measures in Rhineland-Palatinate Municipalities ( 2025, Laura)
- Evaluation of the Added Value of Smart City Projects—Can the Impacts of Urban Development Measures in a Smart City Be Qualitatively Assessed and Monetized? (2024, Heiko Schäufler)
- Nudging for a Livable City—A Study on the Use of Nudging as an Anti-Littering Measure in Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate (2024, Theressa Müller and Corinna Hess)
Green Industrial Parks—An Opportunity for the Municipal Budget and Location Development?—Using the Revitalization of the Northern Kaiserslautern Industrial Park as an Example (2023, Jendretzke)
Projects
Master’s Projects
- Spatial Transformation – What Can Digital Applications Contribute to Spatial Development? A Case Study Using the Digital Twin of the City of Helsinki, Finland ( 2024, in collaboration with IPS)
- Innovation Districts as a Tool for Revitalizing Shrinking Cities – A Comparative Study of the Cities of Gelsenkirchen,, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Cincinnati, Ohio (2022, in collaboration with IPS)
- Between Beach Chairs and the Housing Crisis: Sylt Caught in the Crossfire of Tourism (2025, in collaboration with Ö-Recht)
Bachelor’s Thesis
- Demographic Change as a Challenge for Regional Location Development, with Special Emphasis on Labor and Land Shortages (Summer Semester 2024)
Presentations & Conferences
- June 17, 2026: Regional Science Association (RSA) Annual Conference – “Regions as Arenas in a Changing
World,” in Gothenburg. Presentation: “Changing the understanding of municipal finances – a quantitative approach to
analyze the determinants of local public expenditure in times of demographic change.” - January 29, 2026: “Discovering municipal treasures – a machine learning approach to municipal
financial data,” 8th Geography of Innovation Conference, in Budapest. - April 15, 2025: REAL CORP 2025 in Graz. Presentation: “Introducing a Financial Twin App for Exploring Municipal Financial Patterns,” co-authored with Pankaj Kumar Sharma, in Graz.
Publications
- Micosatt, G., Hestermann, S., Knobe, D., Junkernheinrich, M. (2026). Spatial Distribution
of the Baby Boomers: Current and Future Development Patterns, as well as
Adaptation Requirements for Public Services. In: Spellerberg, A., Ruzika, S.
(eds.) Ageing Smart – Digital Tools in the Municipal Context. Springer VS,
Wiesbaden. - Frankenberg, D., Hestermann, S., Junkernheinrich, M. (2026). Financial Capacity for Action
of Municipalities in the Context of Demographic Change—Causally Related Factors and
Key Areas of Strain. In: Spellerberg, A., Ruzika, S. (eds.) Ageing Smart—Digital
Tools in a Municipal Context. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. - Kumar Sharma, P., Hestermann, S., Mayer, J. (2025). Introducing a Financial Twin App for
Exploration of Municipal Financial Patterns. In: Schrenk, M., Popovich, T., Zeile, P., Elisei,
P., Beyer, C., Ryser, J., Kaufmann, H.R. (eds.). REAL CORP Conference Proceedings.