Friedrich W. Hesse studied psychology at the Universities of Marburg and Düsseldorf, received his doctorate at the RWTH Aachen and qualified as Professor of Psychology at the University of Goettingen.

His research focuses on learning with digital media, especially on net-based knowledge communication and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL).

Since 2013 he is the Scientific Co-Chair of the Global Learning Council. He is also Founding Director of the Research Cluster „Digitalization, Diversity and Lifelong Learning – Consequences for Higher Education“ (D²L²) at FernUniversität Hagen.

Formerly he served as Director of the Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (2001-2016), Scientific vice-president of the German Leibniz Association (2010-2018), and Head of the Department for Applied Cognitive Psychology and Media Psychology at the University of Tuebingen (1999-2019).