Research Projects

Erasmus+ project BESTNATURE: Forests in focus

What is biodiversity? What role do our forests play in biodiversity? How is nature conservation realised in Europe and what is the role of national parks? An international Erasmus+ project has been addressing these questions since the end of 2023.

EU Horizon project REGROUP - Resilient governance in Europe after the coronavirus pandemic

On account of COVID-19, the EU sees itself confronted by multiple legal and political tensions. How has society and politics changed, and how can the EU be supported in light of the ongoing challenges?

„Dark-field study“ on antisemitism in North Rhine-Westphalia

A "dark-field study" to shed light on the spread of antisemitic prejudice and resentment in society is being conducted by Professor Lars Rensmann, political science scholar at the University of Passau, in collaboration with the sociologist Professor Heiko Beyer from Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf.

Bavarian research cluster ForGeRex: How far-right extremism is using conspiracy myths to mobilise antidemocratic sentiments

As part of the Bavarian research cluster ForGeRex – a research alliance examining contemporary right-wing extremism – a team of researchers from the University of Passau study the role of antisemitic conspiracy myths within right-wing extremist mobilizations and cultures, and their relationship to crises.

How to make the online dialogue between science and society on climate research work

Professor Hannah Schmid-Petri, who holds the Chair of Science Communication at the University of Passau, has been put in charge of a new project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) that takes climate research as a case in point to study how researchers handle online input from society.

Heisenberg Professor: The transparency and credibility of empirical research

Professor Ingo Rohlfing, PhD, who holds the Chair of Methods of Empirical Social Research at the University of Passau, has been appointed Heisenberg Professor. The position is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with the objective of assessing the transparency and credibility of quality research and is one of the most prestigious and highly endowed funding programmes.

DFG Research Unit 5254/1 "Lasting Learning": How learning becomes lasting knowledge

How must knowledge be conveyed so that it is retained over the long term and can be applied flexibly? This is the central question addressed by the DFG research unit "Lasting Learning". The spokesperson of the research unit is psychologist Professor Tobias Richter from Würzburg.

DFG Project "Experiencing Ethnoracial Exclusion": How Everyday Racism Feels

The Affective and Emotional Dimensions and Dynamics of (Non-) Belonging and Experiencing Ethnoracial Exclusion—A Comparison of Three Groups of Germans of Migrant Background

Cultural sociologists and scholars of migration have increasingly focused on immigrants’ experiences of ethnoracial exclusion such as stigmatization and (perceived) discrimination.

Project FutureCropFarming

Agriculture is facing major challenges. It is expected to produce quality food and raw materials while increasingly accounting for the need to protect soils, water, climate and biodiversity. What could future crop farming look like?

EU project LIFE Prognoses – Taking stock of Europe's natural heritage

Europe's old-growth forests are invaluable – scientists agree on that point. But there are no clear, scientific criteria to assess the state of these forests. This is where the EU project LIFE Prognoses takes action, and Professor Christine Schmitt from the University of Passau, who is a geographer by training, has joined in the endeavour.