Since its establishment in 1851, the Department of Geography and Regional Research has a long tradition in geographical research and teaching, always orienting its perspectives towards urgent global, regional and local research topics. A broad curriculum offers a profound basic education as well as research-oriented teaching, eventually guiding students to advanced specialization. The Department hosts seven working groups, representing the discipline of Geography in its whole scientific breadth. The working group ‘Economic Geography’ deals with theory-led, evidence-based, and policy relevant research on geography of innovation, regional development and innovation policies. The Department includes 70 staff members (academic core staff: 26,5 FTEs) as well as 24 PhD candidates in the field of human geography, who are enrolled in the doctoral programme ‘Social Sciences’. Territorially, the department’s collaborations span across both European and global partner networks and relationships with universities from both developed and developing countries are continually fostered.
