Collaborations

Affiliated institutes

The so-called affiliated institutes form the link between the university and the working world. They are independent institutions, externally funded, and they maintain close links with the research being carried out in the university’s departments. They are also involved in training young researchers.

Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine

The Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine is a research institute run by the Max Planck Society to promote science. The international team consists of more than 150 researchers from around 15 countries. They include biologists, physicians and physicists.

The International Max Planck Research School- Molecular Biomedicine (IMPRS-MB), a cooperation between Münster University and the institute, is especially worthy of mention. Teaching is coordinated closely with the Graduate School for "Cell Dynamics and Disease" (CEDAD) which is funded jointly by Münster University and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Helmholtz-Institute Münster

The “Helmholtz Institute Münster” (HI MS) was established in 2013 by the University of Münster as part of a research alliance with the Forschungszentrum Jülich and RWTH Aachen University. The researchers at the HI MS investigate electrochemical energy storage systems as an essential prerequisite for developing innovative energy strategies, for example, in the field of electromobility. Particularly noteworthy is the close partnership between HI MS and the Battery Research Center MEET of the University of Münster which have been jointly collaborating in cutting-edge energy storage research since 2011.

The HI MS is the seventh Helmholtz Institute in Germany. The institutes appoint their own head researchers in consultation with their partner universities. Through such joint research endeavours conducted in cooperation with local and supraregional partner institutions, the Helmholtz Institutes become centres of excellence in their respective scientific field. The Helmholtz Association is Germany’s largest research organisation with almost 34,000 employees, 18 research centres and an annual budget of some 3.8 billion euros.

Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB

The University of Münster with its MEET Battery Research Center is involved in the unique German Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB together with Fraunhofer Institute of Production Technology (IPT) and other institutions within the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, and RWTH Aachen.

The Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB , which is being set up in Münster, is designed to be a European lighthouse project for battery cell production and to bridge the gap between research and serial production, which is urgently needed.

Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME)

The Fraunhofer Society is the largest organization in Europe for applications-related research. It runs 59 Fraunhofer Institutes at locations throughout Germany, as well as maintaining branches in Europe, the USA, South America, Asia and the Middle East. The University of Münster houses a branch of the Fraunhofer Institute of Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology.

One focus area of the Fraunhofer Institute of Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) is the production of proteins used in pharmaceuticals. New types of plant-based processes are to be developed in Münster for the large-scale production of pharmaceutically effective proteins. One other focus area of Münster’s branch of the Fraunhofer Institute is the research topic of bio-polymers.

Center for Advanced Internet Studies (CAIS)

Developing the potential of digitalisation for human interests, needs and abilities is one of the central challenges of democratic societies. The CAIS is a place of innovative research and a source of impulses for a critical public that comes to an understanding about a self-determined life in the digital age.

CAIS research covers the social, political, economic, cultural and technical changes that accompany digitalisation. It examines interdisciplinary issues that cannot be researched in isolation.

The CAIS is a cooperative institution of the universities in Bochum, Duisburg-Essen, Düsseldorf and Münster as well as the Grimme Institute and the Leibniz Institutes GESIS and RWI.

Münster & Twente: a cross-border European university partnership

The partnership between the Universities of Münster and Twente (Netherlands) offers benefits for both sides. Basic research meets research geared towards practical applications, joint courses of study broaden the students' horizons and associate professorships make academic exchanges possible.