Partners

As one of eleven German universities, the Humboldt-Universität was chosen »University of Excellence« in June 2012. It was successful in all three funding lines in the third round of the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments and awarded for its future concept »Educating Enquiring Minds: Individuality – Openness – Guidance«. In an international comparison, Humboldt-Universität ranks among the top ten of German universities. Scientists here research socially relevant topics and challenges of the future and communicate these with the public. Humboldt-Universität invests all its energy in being a place of excellent research and teaching. It’s aim is to promote young talents and to positively influence society and economy outside the university framework.

Charité is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe. All of their clinical care, research and teaching is delivered by physicians and researchers of the highest international standard. Charité proudly lays claim to more than half of all German Nobel Prize winners in Physiology or Medicine, including Emil von Behring, Robert Koch, and Paul Ehrlich. Charité is internationally renowned for its excellence in teaching and training. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin represents a single medical faculty, which serves both Humboldt-Universtität zu Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin. Charité extends over four campuses, and has close to 100 different Departments and Institutes, which make up a total of 17 different Charité Centers. Having marked its 300-year anniversary in 2010, Charité is now one of the largest employers in Berlin, employing 14,576 staff (or 18,010 if including its subsidiaries), and with a total annual turnover of €1.8 billion.

Freie Universität is one of the eleven universities to have been successful in all three lines of funding in the German government's Excellence Initiative in 2012. The future development concept of Freie Universität is based on three key strategic centers: the Center for Research Strategy, which focuses on research planning; the Center for International Cooperation; and the Dahlem Research School, which supports next-generation academic talent.

Research is a core task of HTW Berlin and a key success factor. Research activities connect the university with the professional world, scientific networks and companies, simultaneously guaranteeing a high level of quality in our study programs and teaching. HTW Berlin’s researchers contribute their ideas, expertise and contacts to over 150 third-party funded research projects every year. Covering a wide variety of topics, these projects are generally carried out in cooperation with partners from industry. Many projects are specifically geared towards meeting the innovation needs of individual companies and industries or the development potential of the region.

The Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces was founded in 1992. Research in Colloid and Interface Science is widely covered by the following Departments: Biomaterials, Biomolecular Systems, Colloid Chemistry, Theory & Bio-Systems and the Max Planck Research Group Mechano(bio)chemistry.

Within the Cluster of Excellence, the department of Biomaterials’s current research focus is on tessellated and fibre-based materials systems and biological network connectomics. The interactions are particularly close with the Cluster’s interdisciplinary projects Weaving, Material Form Function and Symbolic Material. The research group works with researchers from various disciplines, including the Humanities and Design, to address shared research questions from a broader perspective.

The Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) is the oldest of its kind in Germany. It houses world-famous examples of European arts and crafts, including magnificent reliquaries made of gold and precious gemstones, exquisite vases of glass and porcelain, finely embroidered textiles, ornate inlaid furniture, and classic examples of modern industrial design. The permanent and special exhibitions hosted by the Kunstgewerbemuseum can be seen at two locations in Berlin: at the Kulturforum near Potsdamer Platz and in the picturesque setting of Schloss Köpenick on an island on the river Dahme. The Schloss Köpenick site features masterpieces of interior design from the 16th to 18th centuries.

With almost 34 000 students, circa 100 course offerings and 40 Institutes, the historic Technische Universität Berlin is one of Germany’s largest and most internationally renowned technical universities. Located in Germany’s capital city – at the heart of Europe – outstanding achievements in research and teaching, imparting skills to excellent graduates, and a modern service-oriented administration characterize TU Berlin.
The range of services offered by our seven Faculties serves to forge a unique link between the natural and technical sciences on the one hand, and the planning, economics and social sciences and humanities on the other. This is indeed a significant achievement for any technical university.

weißensee school of art and design berlin has a strong interdisciplinary profile. The one-year foundational course for all new students, which was modeled on the famous »Vorkurs« (preliminary course) at the Bauhaus of the 1920s, is one excellent example of how research and academic training are intertwined at weißensee. This one-year interdisciplinary program covers the basic principles of art and design and their history before the students decide on a specialization. The approach is complemented by the excellent workshops, studios, and research laboratories across campus. At weißensee school of art and design, material research and the development of novel concepts for possible applications are practiced on a daily basis, by faculty and students alike.

weißensee's faculty members are extraordinarily interdisciplinary and well-connected with research-institutions as well as the industry, providing testing grounds for their student's research and numerous opportunities for collaboration. Furthermore, different grant programs support students and their projects to help realize extraordinary and socially engaged projects.

weißensee's strong investment in both research-based and interdisciplinary teaching creates an environment for students to develop the ability to think across boundaries, to take responsibility for contemporary issues, and to cooperate as well as interact with a diversity of societal participants. All of the above make weißensee school of art and design a particularly productive place for novel design approaches that investigate »Matters of Activity«.