Established in 1994, the Institute of East Asian Studies (IN-EAST) at the University of Duisburg-Essen integrates teaching and research on China, Japan, Korea as well as the East Asian Region as whole from the perspectives of political science, economics and sociology. With seven full, one senior, and two junior professorships, and more than 30 other faculty members, East Asian Studies provides BA, MA, and doctoral programmes as well as a postdoctoral qualification phase in East Asian Studies. IN-EAST is a central institute of the University; the professors are rooted in the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Mercator School of Management; each is fluent in at least one East Asian language and contributes 50 per cent of his/her work load to IN-EAST.
The Modern East Asian Studies bachelor program at IN-EAST started in 2011 and is rapidly expanding. Mainly taught through the medium of German, it is a four-year program which includes a one-year stay in East Asia and requires each student to have a focus on either politics, sociology or economics and to learn either Chinese or Japanese. The current annual intake of students (2013) is around 70. The German Academic Exchange Service has provided a substantial grant to support the establishment of the program.
The MAs in East Asian Studies are two-year programs, which have been taught at Duisburg for the last eight years. They enroll, every year, more than 20 students from across the world and are taught in English. The focus is on contemporary East Asian societies, polities and economies.
The doctoral program, the Research Training Group "Risk and East Asia" is financed by the German Research Foundation (DFG) 2009-2018, has so far involved 21 doctoral students (of whom 15 funded and 6 affiliated) and will fund another 10 doctoral students in the next four or so years. A small number of post-doctoral positions have supported the program.
Starting in 2013, the IN-EAST School of Advanced Studies carries out research on innovation in East Asia, with a focus on e-mobility and urban development. Six research groups, each consisting of one post-doc (or junior professor) and two doctoral students will contribute to the overall research theme. Based in IN-EAST and with the collaboration from other faculties at the University of Duisburg-Essen, the program will enable cross-regional and cross-disciplinary research. The School is financed by a large grant from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
The University of Duisburg-Essen arises out of the merger of Duisburg and Essen Universities in 2003, and is situated in the Ruhr district at the historical heart of Germany's industrial development.
