Since 2008 the IKM has concentrated its research on transformation processes in culture and media.

The principal areas of research are:

1. Audience Development

With a focus on audience research and cultural market research; culture and media education; “migrants as audiences of public cultural institutions”; audience empowerment based on the development of media competence and cultural techniques.

2. Web 2.0 Cultures

Research into communities; youth cultures as media cultures with an emphasis on practices of self-staging; life in the media; game-based social learning.

3. Structural Transformation of the Media

New media spaces, new publics; citizen journalism/empowerment, changing media value chains and impacts on media industry and media use.

 

Apart from empirical and fundamental research, the IKM undertakes different forms of applied research projects (research commissioned by the cultural and media industry). Studies, publications, conferences and combined research and practice projects are the core parts of our portfolio.

The IKM adds to the scientific profile of the Department of Philosophy and Humanities by combining methods from the Humanities with Social Science empiricism. Our research into youth cultures as media cultures, including large scale online surveys conducted on “MySpace”, “SchülerVZ” and “StudiVZ” as well as our cultural market research are examples of this approach.

In addition, the IKM is core of and platform for various transdisciplinary and practice oriented research and consulting activities in areas of media research, the media industry, and cultural education. These are usually undertaken jointly by teaching staff, graduates and current students.

The IKM concentrates its research activities in two sub-institutes: the BerlinMediaProfessionalSchool (BMPS) covers all media-related activities, the Zentrum für Audience Development (ZAD) covers arts management.The Institute for Arts and Media Management is the starting point and, at the same time, the platform for various consulting and research activities that cross disciplines and subject areas to deal with application-oriented issues focusing on media research and practice, cultural mediation, and university marketing.

Members, especially students, of the Institute for Cultural and Media Management are involved in all of these projects, in both research and practical capacities.