Cooperation

The WZB cooperates with universities and academic institutions in Germany and abroad.

Academic Cooperation
Close working relationships exist traditionally with Berlin universities. WZB department directors normally hold special positions with teaching responsibilities at these institutions.

Other academic cooperation partners are the Hertie School of Governance, University of  Bremen and the Dahlem Humanities Center of the FU Berlin.

Since 2017, the WZB has served as the coordinator of the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society (The German Internet Institute). This prestigious Berlin-Brandenburg consortium consists of the four large Berlin universities – Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin, Universität der Künste Berlin – as well as the Universität Potsdam and the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOKUS). It is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and receives co-funding from the City State of Berlin. The Weizenbaum Institute investigates the current changes in all aspects of society occurring in response to digitalization and focuses on the interaction of the social sciences, economics and law with design research and computer science. Interdisciplinary basic research and the exploration of concrete solutions in practice-based labs are combined with knowledge transfer into politics, business, and society.

Since 2008, the WZB has been involved in the national education panel – a long-term study of educational processes.

The WZB is together with Humboldt-Universität and the Berlin University of the Arts (UdK Berlin) founding partner of the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG). As the first institute in Germany with a focus on internet and society, HIIG has established an understanding that centres on the deep interconnectedness of digital innovations and societal processes. 

Postgraduate Programs
A series of cooperation programs serve the general education of young academics. The WZB is involved in post-graduate programs at the  Berlin Graduate School for Social Scienes and the Berlin Doctoral Program in Economics & Management Science. Together with the FU Berlin and the  Hertie School of Governance the WZB established the Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies. Within the postgraduate network The Future of Fiscal Federalism initiated by the WZB, the WZB works together with the Center for European Economic Research in Mannheim, Heidelberg University, the FU Berlin as well as the Ifo Institute for Economic Research Dresden.

A cooperation agreement with the Center for European Studiesat Harvard University enables one post-doctoral candidate from the WZB to conduct research in Cambridge every year over a period of several months.

Company Founding
In 2006, the WZB cofounded the Innovation Center for Mobility and Social Change (InnoZ GmbH). Since its establishment the Deutsche Bahn AG, T-Systems International GmbH and the German Center for Air and Space Travel e.V. have become involved.