IU establishes Research Institute for Socially Relevant Education

• Launch event at IU Campus Hannover brought together researchers, practice partners and societal stakeholders
• Research focus areas range from promoting democracy to social inequality
• New institute strengthens IU’s research profile in the area of social responsibility

Hannover, 18 June 2026. As part of a launch event, IU International University of Applied Sciences founded the Research Institute for Socially Relevant Education (REGE) on 17 June. The new research institute consolidates IU’s academic expertise on societal challenges in the field of education – from social inequality and democratic participation to questions of social cohesion.

The launch event at IU Campus Hannover brought together researchers, practitioners, and representatives from the educational sector and civil society. At the centre of discussions were the current challenges facing educational institutions and the question of how research can have an even greater impact on social and educational policy practice in the future.

“Education is a decisive factor in whether people experience social participation and can help shape democratic processes,” explains Prof. Dr. Okka Zimmermann, Professor of Social Work, who leads the institute together with Prof. Dr. Stefanie Kessler.

Zimmermann adds: “With REGE, we want to make research more visible and strengthen work that contributes concrete impetus for more equitable, democratic, and sustainable educational spaces in society, making research directly applicable.”

Research with Societal Impact

Social polarisation, educational inequality, and growing uncertainties are presenting schools, universities, and social institutions with ever greater challenges. At the same time, the demand is growing for research that connects academic findings with concrete societal questions.

REGE therefore sees itself as an interdisciplinary and practice-oriented research institute. Its aim is to investigate educational processes academically and to make research findings accessible in a way that allows them to flow directly into educational institutions, organisations, and societal debates.

Interdisciplinary Research Approach

To this end, the REGE Institute brings together expertise from the fields of social work, psychology, higher education and educational research, as well as other social science disciplines.

The research team includes Prof. Dr. Stefanie Kessler with a focus on democratic education and organisational learning cultures, Prof. Dr. Okka Zimmermann researching social inequality, transformative education, and gender equity, Prof. Dr. Caroline Trautwein in the area of teaching and learning in higher education, Prof. Dr. Karsten König with a focus on theory-practice transfer and the professionalisation of social professions, as well as Prof. Dr. Ulrike Lichtinger with research focuses on wellbeing in schools and positive education.

Exchange Between Research and Practice

As part of the launch event, the researchers involved presented their current projects and discussed perspectives for socially relevant educational research with the participants.

“Social tensions demonstrate how important education is for democratic cohesion and critical thinking,” says Kessler. “Research institutions such as REGE can provide vital impetus to align educational offerings more closely with societal challenges,” Kessler added.

Strategic Development of Educational Research

The researchers involved in the institute have been collaborating since August 2025 under the auspices of the REsearch Center GEsellschaftsrelevante Bildung (REGE). With the official founding of the institute, the existing research activities are given a long-term institutional framework. At the same time, IU International University of Applied Sciences underscores its strategic commitment to this research field.

“With the new Research Institute, we are creating a permanent structure for socially relevant educational research at IU,” explains Prof. Dr. Kamal Bhattacharya, Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer at IU International University of Applied Sciences. “Our goal is to transfer academic findings more rapidly into educational practice, organisations, and societal debates.”

REGE will in future consolidate and develop research projects on key educational questions at IU. Areas of focus include, inter alia, educational equity and the impact of societal change on education.

Further Information on the Research Institute for Socially Relevant Education:

• Website of the Research Institute for Socially Relevant Education with information on the launch event: https://www.iu.de/forschung/projekte/forschungsinstitut-rege
• Website of the REsearch Center “GEsellschaftsrelevante Bildung”: https://www.iu.de/forschung/projekte/rege/
• Research projects at IU: https://www.iu.de/en/research/