Urban Systems

The centres and researchers involved in the Main Research Area cooperate with numerous universities and institutions at national and international level, including:

  • Institute for Work, Skills and Training (IAQ)
  • Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology (IUTA), Duisburg
  • IWW Water Center, Mülheim
  • Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI), Essen
  • Rhine-Ruhr Institute of Social Research and Political Consulting (RISP), Essen
  • Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics (IML), Dortmund
  • Radboud University of Nijmegen, Netherlands
  • Tongji University, Shanghai, China
  • Jordan University for Science and Technology, Jordan
  • Al-Balqa Applied University, Jordan
  • Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India
  • University of Oregon, Portland
  • Stellenbosch University, South Africa
  • ConRuhr, New York
  • Questor Centre, Belfast, Northern Ireland.


The many different forms of cooperation between university institutions and facilities and the private sector and other organisations comprise yet another significant institutional component of the Urban Systems Main Research Area. With the aid of a new "Center for Urban Technology" (CUT), these connections are to be consolidated within a sustainable network. The primary aims of CUT are to systematise research activities and results in the Main Research Area and to link the expertise and competencies from the fields of science, research, economics and local authorities in order to establish sustainable working methods with which to address the fundamental challenges posed by urbanity in the 21st century.