German partners

The institute is legally structured as a non-profit limited liability company. The objective of the institute is to research, in interdisciplinary cooperation, current forms of housing and living conditions. One of the main tasks is to investigate the opportunities of minimised, efficient and environmentally and socially acceptable energy use. Apart from the development and implementation of technical concepts, great emphasis has been placed on evaluating energy balances, functionality, costs and profitability, as well as user acceptance. In recent years, the field of energy efficient retrofitting has become more important. Besides the implementation of demonstration projects, a particular lies on overcoming various non-technical barriers. Research and evaluation projects are carried out on behalf of and in cooperation with various key stakeholders (e.g. housing companies, associations, or federal ministries.) and as part of public incentive programmes.

The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) was established by the merger of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH (founded in 1956 as Nuclear Reactor Construction Company) and the Universität Karlsruhe (TH) on October 01, 2009. The University of Karlsruhe was founded in 1825 as a Polytechnic School and has developed to a modern location of research and education in natural sciences, engineering, economics, social sciences, and the humanities, which is organized in eleven departments. KIT combines the tasks of a university of the state of Baden-Württemberg with those of a research centre of the Helmholtz Association in the areas of research, teaching, and innovation. KIT has 9.315 employees (355 professors) and 25.196 students from various fields, particularly engineering (15.204) and natural sciences (4.536).

As an institute of the University of Regensburg, the International Real Estate Business School (IRE|BS) comprises ten chairs and professorships in real estate management, law, economics and business administration. With its broad range of educational programs in Real Estate, IRE|BS is one the largest institutes in Europe. The IRE|BS Department of Real Estate covers with its broad offer all industry-specific features of real estate and real estate companies. Thus, the University of Regensburg as the first public university in Germany offers a complete, interdisciplinary teaching and research in the field of real estate. The department aims to provide students and interested parties a high degree of competence in problem-solving processes of the daily practice of the real estate industry. This close connection between theory and practice should result in highly qualified professionals and executives who are equipped for the challenges of the future in the real estate industry.