Fields of Expertise

The World Wide Web, multimedia computer systems, smartphones and smart homes: the increasingly rapid pace at which new devices and applications are being developed raises the question of how human machine interfaces should be designed and programmed to ensure that their use is not only intuitive but also fun, and appeals to as many senses as possible.

The experts of the Institute of Health and Tourism Management develop, implement and evaluate health promotion, workplace health management and primary health care projects for the public sector, NGOs and SMEs. They are also involved in developing innovations in participatory health research, health impact assessment and in sports science.

Complex content and procedures demand new and innovative methods of interaction and visualisation. We are developing and applying new forms of input and output devices and methods, such as full-body interfaces, virtual and augmented reality displays, as well as innovative and game-based learning and training methods for specific subject areas.

The expanding timber construction sector is in need of new technological and design solutions. The modern 3-dimensional planning methods available today pose new challenges to manufacturing and the interface with timber production, thus opening up new areas of research.

The focus of research in the field of glass construction lies in determining the flexural tensile strength of various types of glass, as well as developing structures and supporting structures in thin glass.

Sustainability, the conservation of resources and energy efficiency are all receiving increasing attention in the construction sector. Consequently, a lifecycle approach is essential both for new and existing buildings.

Smart cities require interdisciplinary solutions for dealing with the core areas of energy, mobility and urban development. Due to the extensive quantities of data available, it requires state-of-the-art simulation programs to produce meaningful analyses which reveal the actual dynamic processes and complex relationships within cities and regions. The Institute of Energy, Transport and Environmental Management is taking on these challenges.

Socioecological research is transdisciplinary. It takes as its starting point new and complex challenges, involves urban ecology, socioecology and environmental sociology, and recommends means of optimising people's urban or local environment – their home base.

Inclusion means giving people at the margins of society, or in particularly precarious situations, access to relevant social systems such as education, work, homes, energy and mobility. The Institute of Social Work examines forms of social inclusion and the innovations on which they rely.

Research activities at the Institute of Journalism and Public Relations focus on online communication and its prerequisite – web literacy. We explore digital communication processes, journalism, PR and social media, and develop prototypical content strategies for organisations.

This research area examines how transport means and systems can be intelligently designed in order to reconcile ecological objectives, industrial process requirements and regionally differing mobility needs to create new and smart integrated concepts.

Eco-innovative design research at the Institute of Industrial Design examines the design of products and systems which combine ecological objectives and industrial process requirements to form a new and successful integrated concept.