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Institute of Geography

Research areas and focus of the institute

The transformation of metropolitan regions offers challenges and opportunities for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The mission of the Institute of Geography is to advance scientific understanding of the developments and design options of spatial transformation processes in metropolitan regions.

Research and teaching at the Institute of Geography focus on three main areas: Resilient Cities, Smart Cities, and Green and Equitable Cities. These focal areas are addressed in close cooperation among the 12 working groups and across the thematic fields of Human Geography, Physical Geography, Geography Didactics, and Geomatics.

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Current news from the Institute of Geography
25. August 2026 – Pagetitle
[Read more] GI-News
11. September 2026 – Retreat AG Urban Ecology & Biodiversity 2026
This year, our working group’s annual retreat took us to the Münsterland region
[Read more] Urban Ecology and Biodiversity, GI-News, Standard
10. September 2026 – PhD Training School on Tools for Tracking Periglacial Change: From Local to Regional Approaches
From 31 August to 7 September, 19 PhD and Master’s students from 12 countries took part in the PermaCOST training course in Trafoi (Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Italy).
[Read more] Urban Remote Sensing, GI-News
04. September 2026 – Nachhaltigkeit klingt für dich erstmal abstrakt? Dann entdeck sie doch einfach selbst!
[Read more] GI-News
03. September 2026 – Studentische Hilfskräfte (WHB) für die Unterstützung der Arbeitsgruppe Geographiedidaktik gesucht
[Read more] GI-News, Studinews, Jobs
06. August 2026 – Dissemination workshop of the COINS Project:
Research is more than publications
[Read more] Urban Remote Sensing, GI-News
05. August 2026 – Welcome Dr. Melanie Werner
New member in the urban ecology and biodiversity group
[Read more] Urban Ecology and Biodiversity, GI-News
23. Juli 2026 – Presentation at the 2026 Congress of the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing in Toronto, Canada
In July 2026, Hannah Kemper, a PhD student in the Urban Remote Sensing Research Group (Jun.-Prof. Valerie Graw), presented her research at the Congress of the International Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Canada. The ISPRS was founded in Austria in 1910, comprises six technical commissions and brings together over 90 national institutes.
[Read more] Urban Remote Sensing, GI-News