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CAIS was founded in November 2016 as an independent research college in the legal form of a non-profit limited liability company. Since April 2021, it has been expanded into an institute for digitization research. CAIS is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its sponsors are the Ruhr University Bochum, the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Heinrich Heine Universität Düsseldorf, the University of Münster, the University of Wuppertal, the GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, the RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research and the Grimme Institute (Marl).
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Ruhr University Bochum
The Horst Görtz Institute for IT Security (HGI) is located at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum with the DFG Research Training Group “New Challenges for Cryptography in Ubiquitous Computing” (Ubi-Crypt) and the interdisciplinary NRW Research Training Group “SecHuman” with the topic “Security for People in Cyberspace”. The Mercator Research Group “Spaces of Anthropological Knowledge” (MRG) works interdisciplinarily on anthropological questions with a focus on the cultural significance of digital media and the Internet. The Institute for Intellectual Property, Data Protection and IT (IGEDI) of the Faculty of Law contributes legal expertise to Internet research.
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University of Duisburg-Essen
At the University of Duisburg-Essen, the examination of the social consequences of digitization plays an important role in several respects. Central anchors are the Learning Lab in the field of educational research, the DFG Research Training Group “User-Centered Social Media” in the field of computer science and psychology, the participations in the NRW funding line Digital Society, the political science-computer linguistics development project PolMine, and the Research Training Group “Work and its Subjects” funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation.
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Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
At Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, an inter- and transdisciplinary focus on Internet research has been established with three pillars: the NRW Research College “Online Participation”, the DFG Research Unit “Political Communication in the Online World” and the Düsseldorf Institute for Internet and Democracy (DIID). In addition, the Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE) at HHU is already a leading academic center for competition economics in Europe, and one of its focal points is the consequences of digitization for the economy.
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University of Münster
At the University of Münster, the Institute for Information, Telecommunications and Media Law (ITM), the Center for Urban, Regional Innovation and Internet (URI) at the Institute for Political Science, the DFG Research Training Group “Trust and Communication in a Digitalized World” and the European Research Center for Information Systems (ERCIS) are particularly active in the field of Internet research. As a state competence center for North Rhine-Westphalia, the ITM is dedicated to legal issues related to the use and design of the Internet, media and communication. The ITM is also home to a research center for law in the German Research Network (DFN).
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Grimme Institute
The Grimme Institute, known for the Grimme Award for quality television and the Grimme Online Award for journalistic Internet offerings, is one of the renowned research and service institutions dealing with questions of media quality, media education and media communication. The institute’s expertise lies in the observation, analysis and evaluation of media offerings and media developments, in the development of new possibilities for media use, and in the transfer of knowledge between social groups, politics and the media industry. The Grimme Research College, founded jointly with the University of Cologne, investigates questions of digital communication cultures and processes of social change.
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RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research
RWI – Leibniz Institute for Economic Research is a leading center for scientific research and evidence-based policy advice in Germany and a member of the Leibniz Association. It was founded in 1926 and has been operating in legal independence as a registered association since 1943; it serves exclusively non-profit purposes. RWI’s work provides information on economic developments and their causes, facilitates informed decisions by policymakers and companies, and promotes public understanding of economic interrelationships. RWI’s research is critically monitored by an international scientific advisory board. In addition, the Institute is regularly evaluated by the Senate of the Leibniz Association.
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GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences
GESIS is an infrastructure institution for the social sciences that serves to promote social science research. We stand for independence, sustainability, quality and competence in the social sciences. We are a member of the Leibniz Association.
It is our goal to be the most important infrastructure institution for social sciences in Germany and one of the leading ones worldwide. We align our core competencies with methodological, thematic and structural developments in the social sciences in order to develop innovative research-based offerings.
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University of Wuppertal
The University of Wuppertal is research-oriented and offers a broad range of subjects, including disciplines and degree programs that are not offered at any other university in Germany, such as safety engineering or industrial design. Interdisciplinarity, innovativeness and team spirit characterize teaching and research. The university’s numerous successes are reflected, among other things, in good ranking results. Good supervision ratios and a wide range of services and support for students and researchers distinguish Bergische Universität from large mass universities and lead to a high demand for students.