Intro

Science and practice for the immigration society

The ZfTI has been focusing on migration and integration since 1985. Through the scientific study of immigration, it contributes to social cohesion and mutual understanding between different population groups. By combining migration and integration research with work on the countries of origin of migrants (especially Turkey), the ZfTI is able to shed light on the reality of contemporary life for migrants.

The ZfTI not only conducts research and policy advice, but also creates measures that are directly linkable to local immigration reality and which aid coexistence as well as equal opportunities.

The ZfTI is a foundation of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), and is institutionally supported by the Ministry for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration (MKFFI). Since 2010 it has been an institute at the University of Duisburg-Essen. At the ZfTI, psychologists, sociologists, political scientists and economists work in an interdisciplinary, bilingual team. The scientific director is the German-Turkish psychologist and literary scholar Prof. Hacı-Halil Uslucan, who also holds the professorship for Modern Turkish Studies at UDE.

The ZfTI organises its work in programme areas that are structured as follows:

Education, training and health in migration

Social integration and data infrastructures

Intercultural communication and labour market integration.

Civil society, religious diversity and political governance

Migration and integration in the Germany-Turkey cross-border area. 

Currently, the ZfTI is conducting five major research and model projects within the framework of these programmes, financed by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (civic education in the immigration society), the Ministry for Children, Family, Refugees and Integration of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKFFI NRW) (current German-Turkish migration movements), the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) (labour market integration of refugees), the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) (social services of migrant organisations) and the City of Essen (social structure of the Syrian population in Essen). A total of eight scientists are working on the projects at the Institute, in joint projects with other institutions.