Institute of Information Management - Profile
Aim of the Institute
The Institute for Information Management (IIM) has the task of preparing, implementing, and coordinating research, development, and consulting projects in the field of information management. Its main aim is to bundle the research activities within the faculty in terms of organization and space, thus creating transparency and exploiting synergies. It offers a wide range of different services and infrastructures for its members.
Due to the spatial proximity of the employees and projects, synergies are inevitable and a useful side-effect. Competences for the design of project websites, for the management of projects, for the support of the IT infrastructure, for public relations as well as for training and education can be jointly developed and used.
Within the IIM, not only the researchers of the faculty find a platform for cooperation and the exchange of information between individual sub-disciplines. The staff of the individual projects can also exchange information and help each other; this creates a strong sense of togetherness.
The IIM offers a forum where the research activities and projects of the individual members of the faculty are presented and discussed. The resulting scientific discourse intensifies the cooperation between the researchers, staff, and students of the faculty and promotes the research competence of the faculty externally.
The IIM was established in 1997 within the former Cologne University of Applied Sciences as an interdisciplinary central scientific institution for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia following § 25 Paragraph 2 of the University of Applied Sciences Act. In 2001 the IIM was incorporated as a research institute of the Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences (Faculty 03).
Projects at the IIM
The IIM hosts all research projects of members of the faculty with a duration of at least six months and a minimum volume of 20,000 euros. The funding might come from industry, organizations, project sponsors (e.g., DFG, BMBF, EU) or internal university research funding.
Exceptions to these general conditions are possible in justified cases following a decision by the Faculty Council or the IIM Executive Board.
A current overview of the research projects carried out at the IIM can be found here.
Services and Infrastructure of the IIM
In the IIM, new colleagues can benefit from the wealth of experience and knowledge of the established researchers. The exchange between colleagues is beneficial from the moment the idea is developed and matures to the concrete project proposal. When applying for funding from the various institutions, the more experienced colleagues can provide just as valuable assistance as they can with efficient processing and, finally, with accounting issues. When initiating new projects and gaining partners from industry and research, existing contacts can be useful. Successful research projects serve as reference projects and blueprints for new endeavors.
The spatial and office infrastructure of the IIM is freely available to all research projects. The IIM currently offers six large rooms in the building Claudiusstraße 1 of the TH Köln - University of Applied Sciences. The rooms are equipped with flexible workstations and can accommodate up to ten people in a modern co-working space. The costs for this are often not financed by the project sponsors and are not part of the third-party funding applications. If projects acquire technology or infrastructure through project funds, this is transferred to the IIM at the end of the project and is then available again for new projects.
A list of services and infrastructures at the IIM is available on a separate webpage.
Management of the IIM
The Executive Board consisting of the Dean of the Faculty 03, the Executive Directors of the two teaching institutes of the Faculty 03 and the professors working at the institute, as well as one representative per research project from the group of academic staff, form the head of the IIM. From the group of professors, the Executive Board elects an Executive Director and a Deputy Director.
The iLab - The Information Science Research Lab
The IIM hosts the iLab - the information science research laboratory of the Faculty 03. The iLab is primarily designed for studies that focus on people as addressees and producers of information and as users of information systems. The "i" stands for different ideas: First of all as information, the central research subject of the IIM, as interaction, which brings the user/producer of this information into focus, and as innovation. The focus here will be on the innovation potential of systems and processes as well as their user experiences and needs as research objects.
Financing of the IIM
Annual allocations from the faculty' material budget finance the IIM. This amount is available to the IIM to finance the infrastructure, pay assistant staff, or other research-related activities. The funds provided by the project executing agencies for the respective research projects are available for the implementation of the project activities and are not included in the IIM budget.
Summary
The IIM offers an ideal platform for (interdisciplinary) research projects. The more projects the IIM hosts and the more researchers are involved, the better the cooperation between the individual research disciplines. It is not only beneficial for the individual research projects, but also creates synergies in joint projects, and the organizational and technical infrastructure of the institute continuously improves.
In this way, the IIM fulfils the function of an innovative "research incubator" for the faculty.