Mission Statement

The teaching and research activities at GDI pursue the goal of promoting sustainable, innovative and future-oriented research and development. This is achieved by integrating perspectives of diversity and heterogeneity at different levels in organizations as well as in research and development processes. The implementation is characterized by a participatory and interdisciplinary approach.

Supporting Transformation Processes

On the one hand, we examine and accompany organisational development processes. To what extent do organisations succeed in winning over a wide variety of people, recognising their potential and developing it to the benefit of both the individual and the organisation? We deal with how change management processes can be actively and fairly designed.

On the other hand, we pursue the goal of integrating diversity perspectives into research and development processes. Including different experiences and backgrounds in these processes and thus representing the diversity of users of any "end product" facilitates the development of custom-fit products. Involving a large variety of addressees in advances enables ecologically, economically and socially sustainable solutions in research and development processes.

On the basis of social science methods, our research looks at micro- and macro-societal phenomena, private-law organisations and public structures. For this purpose, an interdisciplinary team from the social sciences, natural sciences and technical sciences as well as economics works at the GDI. The interdisciplinary approach to research questions enables the development of a wide range of scenarios.

Sustainable Development Goals

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals reflect the interrelated ecological, social and economic aspects of sustainable global development. They are at the centre of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development and illustrate the interrelationships between the goals under the five core messages "people, prosperity, planet, partnership and peace (5Ps)".

The GDI is guided by the goals for sustainable development (SDGs). Under the five core messages "people, prosperity, planet, partnership, peace", the GDI is committed to integrating the interrelationships of the sustainability goals into teaching and research activities.

The focus is on the integration of the social dimension and to reflect its importance for a sustainable global development, exposing interdisciplinary fields of action for sustainability. The research results also form the basis for the Institute's teaching content. The GDI aims training socially responsible engineers by combining interdisciplinarity and the teaching of interdisciplinary skills in practice-oriented teaching formats. By linking social and economic science expertise with the engineering and natural science disciplines, a holistic view of technical developments and their effects is conveyed. Learn more about the teaching concept