Köln International School of Design

What Köln International School of Design does

Köln International School of Design (KISD) is the design school within TH Köln (Technische Hochschule Köln), a public University of Applied Sciences in Cologne, Germany, operating since 1991. KISD offers a Bachelor in Integrated Design and a Master in Integrated Design Research, organized around four transdisciplinary research clusters: Material Systems & Lab Culture, Social & Public Innovation, Urban Intensities & Resources, and Visual Cultures & Politics. Its core pedagogy is an 'Integrated Design Research' model that treats design as material-based experimentation, linking digitality and materiality across media such as light, code, sound, color, DNA, and language.

The school's research infrastructure includes the Motion Experience Lab (robotic music instruments, kinetic art), the Living Objects Lab (AI in design teaching within the BMBF-funded KITeGG consortium), and the cross-faculty Real-Time City Research Center (urban-systems design). Public-facing assets include the KISDtalks lecture series, the annual KISDparcours student exhibition, the Kölner Design Preis, the Ringvorlesung interdisciplinary lecture series, and the KISDedition publishing platform (including the 'un/learn ai' open-access series). Funding flows primarily from the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia via the TH Köln public higher education budget, supplemented by competitive research grants such as ~5 million euros from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and project-specific support from the RheinEnergie Stiftung and BMBF. KISD's commercial revenue model is non-applicable: as a state-funded Fachhochschule department, it does not sell products or charge market-rate tuition, and revenue is not publicly disclosed at the KISD level. Customer segments are prospective BA/MA design students (primary) and academic/industry research collaborators (secondary).

Name

Köln International School of Design

Legal name

Köln International School of Design (KISD)

Website

https://kisd.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Design Higher Education

NAICS

Industrial Design Services (54142), Industrial Design Services (541420)

akta.pro primary industry

Design Colleges (Graphic, Industrial, UX/UI, Interior) (EDAHAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Engineering Design & Project-Based Learning Programs (EDAMADAB), Accessibility, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) & Inclusive Content Services (EDAGAKAJ)

Keywords

• Design education programs
• Transdisciplinary design research
• Integrated design degrees
• Public university design
• Higher education design

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Köln International School of Design (KISD) is a design school within TH Köln that delivers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Integrated Design. It offers a Bachelor's program in Integrated Design and a research-oriented Master's program in Integrated Design Research, supplemented by public lectures, exhibitions, publications, and research clusters covering material systems, social innovation, urban resources, and visual cultures.

Product overview

Köln International School of Design (KISD) is a design school within TH Köln offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Integrated Design. The institution operates as a unified educational platform with the Bachelor 'Integrated Design' as the foundational undergraduate program and the Master 'Integrated Design Research' as the research-oriented graduate offering. Beyond formal degree programs, KISD provides supplementary academic services including KISDtalks (public lecture series), Ringvorlesung (interdisciplinary lecture series), annual exhibitions (KISDparcours), design awards (Kölner Design Preis), publishing platform (KISDedition), and specialized research centers like the Real-Time City Research Center. The institution pursues a transdisciplinary research approach combining design with scientific methods across four thematic clusters: Material Systems & Lab Culture, Social & Public Innovation, Urban Intensities & Resources, and Visual Cultures & Politics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bachelor Integrated Design Undergraduate degree program in integrated design combining technology, arts, and sciences through a transdisciplinary approach, offered to prospective students applying to KISD.
• Master Integrated Design Research Research-oriented graduate program in integrated design with thematic clusters in Material Systems & Lab Culture, Social & Public Innovation, Urban Intensities & Resources, and Visual Cultures & Politics, for students seeking advanced research-oriented design education.
• Real-Time City Research Center Research center focused on urban dynamics and real-time city research, headed by Prof. Dr. Carolin Höfler, Prof. Philipp Heidkamp, and Prof. Andreas Wrede, supporting interdisciplinary research projects and academic publications.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.

• University Hospital Cologne (Uniklinik Köln)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 October 2023Collaborative research project 'Robotic Operations – Mensch und Maschine im Verbund' funded by the RheinEnergie Foundation. The project examines the interplay of image, space and action in robot-assisted surgery, developing design research perspectives on the relationship between design and medicine.
• TH Köln (Technical University of Cologne)coreOthersKISD is an integral part of TH Köln, specifically the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. As a department within the university, KISD benefits from institutional resources, interdisciplinary collaboration across faculties, and access to research centers.
• International Partner UniversitiesmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerKISD maintains global partnerships for student exchanges, international teaching, and research collaborations including participation in the Master European Studies in Design (MEDes) program.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Design Academy Eindhoven: Internationally renowned Dutch design school with a strongly transdisciplinary, research-driven design philosophy, comparable in approach though operating under a different national higher-education framework.
• Bauhaus-Universität Weimar: German public university combining art, design, media, and built environment disciplines with research focus, directly comparable in transdisciplinary design education and state-funded model.
• Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK Berlin): One of Germany's largest and most prestigious arts and design universities; offers a broader portfolio of design programs but competes for the same top German and international design students.
• Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste Stuttgart: German state-funded arts and design academy; comparable as a public-sector design school with research orientation, though traditionally more focused on fine arts and industrial design.
• Staatliche Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe (HfG Karlsruhe): A German state-funded design school with a comparable transdisciplinary, research-oriented design philosophy. Closest domestic peer in terms of mission, scale, and academic positioning within a public university framework.
• Folkwang University of the Arts: German public arts university with strong design programs, comparable in state funding model and focus on design research, though with a heavier arts/performance orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Royal College of Art (RCA): A leading global postgraduate design school with strong research focus; comparable in research-led design philosophy, but operates at significantly larger scale and with broader international reach.
• Parsons School of Design (The New School): Major U.S. design school with strong transdisciplinary programs and design research output; broader and more commercially oriented, but a relevant global reference in integrated design education.
• Politecnico di Milano – School of Design: Italy's leading design school embedded in a major technical university; broader and larger in scale than KISD, but a key European reference for design research and industry collaboration.

Emerging players

• Aalto University – School of Arts, Design and Architecture: Nordic public university school combining arts, design, and architecture with strong transdisciplinary research; a relevant European peer in integrated design education and research.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kisdonline
• Facebookfacebook.com/kisdonline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fkisd.de%2F
• Instagraminstagram.com/un__trouble

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Köln International School of Design