Services for Companies

Your recognition and concrete application is the benchmark of our work. With the expertise of the ICI and the resources of its associated universities, we can support you to systematically develop the competitive advantages of your company.

There are different possibilities and forms to access our expertise and to benefit from our competencies. We would be pleased to work with you in a tailor-made form that optimally meets your needs. Should you have any inquiries, please feel free to talk to us. The services that we offer to companies include but are not limited to the following:

 

Research Collaboration

  • Joint Research

    Laying emphasis on applied research, we are interested in which problems you are facing and which challenges you are confronted with in your daily practice. We are glad to help you improve your practice through joint efforts in research where you bring the research topic/s and we contribute our expertise and scientific methods.

    Joint research projects are a very cost-effective way to involve top experts from various fields in the accomplishment of concrete assignments. You will get full access to our comprehensive network of experts, which includes not only professors but also field experts.

  • Contract Research

    Our collaboration can also be carried out in the form of contract research. In this case, you assign a research assignment to us, set the research objectives and define the extent to which the research results are to be accessed. Any rights of publication, protection, or copyright can also be described with the respective regulations.

    Since this form of collaboration is based on a classical service relationship where the services and returns are clearly described, the research contracts are subject to VAT.

Use of Research and Training Facilities

The ICI also provides comprehensive facilities, tools and equipment for conducting empirical research. Depending on the form of collaboration, many of our facilities may be available to you at little or no cost, including:

  • Creativity Assessment Lab (for both individual and group assessments)
  • Organization Innovativeness Assessment Center (for consulting or field studies)
  • Eye-tracking Systems (both PC and mobile versions are available)
  • Multimedia Rooms (for experiments or interventions)
  • Interview Lab (for both individual and focus group interviews)

Involvement of Students

  • Research Seminars
    Research seminars prepare students for their academic projects, theses, dissertations or publications through systematic instruction covering basic and advanced research methods demonstrated with concrete research examples. Students will meet with experienced researchers to discuss methodological and organizational issues related to research.

    Topics to be discussed in the research seminars include:

    • Formulating and defining research questions
    • Literature search and literature review
    • Qualitative research methods
    • Quantitative research methods
    • Triangulation of research methods
    • Assessment of creativity and innovation
    • Design, implementation and evaluation of creativity programs
    • Multivariate data analyses
    • Making scientific publications
  • Thesis Projects (Bachelor / Master) and Doctoral Dissertations

    For their final thesis projects and dissertations, our students work independently on a topic applying scientific methods. In doing so, research topics directly from the working world are more than welcome because students can get support from the companies in data collection and obtain relevant knowledge about the topic from company experts. In addition, the contacts that the students will make through this collaboration is beneficial for their later professional life.
    There are many benefits for companies to sponsor in-house student research projects. Under the guidance of experienced scientists and in consultation with a company supervisor, dedicated students will develop new insights and solutions for practical questions from the sponsoring company.

  • Project Seminars
    Special assignments or unique challenges from your company can be integrated into our project seminars. In such seminars, highly qualified and motivated students work on specific tasks from real-world settings under the guidance of competent professors. Through this collaboration, companies profit not only from valuable results and solutions, but also have the opportunity to get to know the students as they complete their projects, which can lead to future candidates for job placements.
  • Internship
    All undergraduate students at our university complete a compulsory internship of approximately six months during their study. Many students, and this also applies to the Master students, are interested in additional opportunities to expand their personal competency profile. Often the students bring not only the knowledge and skills needed for the internship, but also creative ideas and solutions to the companies.
    The German minimum-wage policy is not necessarily applicable within the scope of compulsory internship. Nevertheless, the students are highly motivated to obtain working experience and are happy to receive recognition for their valuable contributions.