Institute of East Asian Studies

Projects funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

With the IN-EAST School of Advanced Studies and the “Governance in China” research network, the Institute is part of both BMBF funding lines for strengthening and developing regional studies in Germany. 

Innovation in East Asia – IN-EAST School of Advanced Studies

The IN-EAST School, funded with a four-year grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), explores the phenomenon of “Innovation in East Asia” from a multidisciplinary perspective. This approach is considered crucial, as technical and social innovation can only take place if the social and political conditions allow. The research focuses on the future of urban living in East Asia’s metropolitan centres and on new concepts of mobility in the region.

Parallel to this research programme, the IN-EAST School is also exploring innovative ways of training and qualifying junior researchers in area studies. Research takes place in six groups, in which junior professor/postdoc researchers work with PhD students on the relevant subjects. A team of experienced professors from the UDE’s five participating faculties (Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Mercator School of Management, Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Social Sciences) provide advice and support to the young researchers with their research activities. Funding period 2013–2017.

Governance in China: Preconditions, Limits and Potentials of Political Adaptability and Innovativeness in the 21st Century – BMBF Collaborative Project

Authoritarian states and the growing influence of non-democratic political systems, for example in the People’s Republic of China, are a central challenge in politics, political consulting and academic research. The “Governance in China” research network investigates the prerequisites for, achievements of and constraints on the adaptive and innovative capacity of China’s institutions, processes and policies for governance. Network participants at the Universities of Duisburg-Essen, Trier, Tübingen, Würzburg and the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg are collaborating on this research. The promising results have prompted the BMBF to extend project funding for another two years until 2016. Funding period 2014-2016.