Our university values the generation of scientific knowledge for the practical use. Applied research and development projects are regarded as a key success factor. Our research and the transfer of knowledge allows us to provide up-to-date professional qualification of our students for the labour market. In addition, the transfer of research results contributes towards improving the competitiveness of companies, facilities and other institutions in the western part of Schleswig-Holstein and beyond.

We publish in internationally recognised peer-reviewed journals and participate in research projects with multinational partners. The university always cooperates with its partners and other stakeholders at eye level, regardless of whether it is dealing with the development of products or complex research tasks.

If you are looking for a partner at the university, to discuss your topic, please contact the Vice President for Research, Development and Technology Transfer. We will happily direct you to the experts within our organisation. The university also runs a number of institutionalised R&D facilities and major R&D projects, which are outlined in the following.

The priority research topics in the Department of Technology are: the energy transition, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in agricultural processes, digitalisation and Big Data.
Topics related to the energy transition are addressed at the “Institute for the Transformation of the Energy System” (ITE). The institute is an interdisciplinary and supra-regional research and transfer centre for energy transition technologies. It focuses on innovative projects dealing with the current challenges of the transformation from a fossil into a renewable energy system.  The institute is divided into 6 main areas: Building Technology, Sectorial Integration, Grid Integration, Automation, Energy Law, and Economy and Society.
The R&D topic of AI in (organic) agriculture has been pursued since 2013 in cooperation with Westhof Bio-Gemüse GmbH & Co. KG.  Ecological weed control is facilitated by robot technology. In addition to a weeding robot using artificial intelligence to distinguish weeds from crops, work is currently underway on drones that can perform this task in nurseries and fields.

Research and knowledge transfer play a central role in the Faculty of Business Studies. Its activities include funded research projects, studies, research projects with partners from industry and society  as well as the transfer of knowledge through lectures, workshops, brochures and publication. The activities mentioned above are integrated into the research focus “Man as an Economic Subject in Work and Leisure”. The knowledge of human behaviour in different contexts is relevant from an economic perspective and gaining in importance for entrepreneurial activity.Under the umbrella of this focus, various professors bring together the existing know-how and experience in this field with their research associates. The aim is to develop innovative models and methods for business operation. The particular focus is on tourism, marketing and personnel management. In addition to individual initiatives and projects, there are five institutional facilities for research, transfer and further education:

• Institute for the Controlling of Regional Development Processes (IzSRE)
• Institute for Regional Marketing Research and Consulting (regioMAR)
• West Coast Institute for Personnel Management (WinHR)

The advances in knowledge resulting from the research are directly received by our project partners and increase their competitiveness as well as the nationwide awareness of the region.