IfMK

What IfMK does

IfMK (Institut für Medien und Kommunikationswissenschaft) is an academic research and teaching institute within the Faculty of Economics and Media (Fakultät Wirtschaftswissenschaften und Medien) at Technische Universität Ilmenau, a public state university in Thuringia, Germany. The institute conducts interdisciplinary research and delivers degree programs in media and communication science across subject areas including empirical media research and political communication (EMPK), computational communication science, media psychology and media conception, media and communication management, and virtual worlds and digital games. It operates cross-faculty research groups including the DECIPHER project on pandemic communication and the International Risk, Crisis, and Science Communication Research Group (iRisCS-Com), and participates in the SUNRISE Hochschulallianz for international university collaboration.

The institute has no proprietary technology products or commercial offerings. Its outputs are academic teaching (Bachelor, Master, certificate, and continuing education delivered through PATONakademie and Bürgercampus) and scholarly research, disseminated through traditional university channels such as lectures, seminars, publications, and conferences. Outreach is conducted through organic social media (LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook) and the TU Ilmenau news platform. The institute is led by Prof. Dr. Jens Wolling as Head of Group, with 164 employees at its Ehrenbergstraße 29 campus location.

The institute does not operate a commercial business model. It is publicly funded through state educational appropriations to TU Ilmenau rather than via tuition, product sales, or private investment. Customer segments are best understood as academic constituencies: university students, academic researchers, and the broader public engaging with science communication; there are no commercial customers, logos, or revenue mechanics.

Name

IfMK

Legal name

Institut für Medien und Kommunikationswissenschaft

Website

https://ifmk.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

IfMK is an academic research and teaching institute at TU Ilmenau in Germany, conducting interdisciplinary research in media and communication science and serving university students, researchers, and the broader public through degree programs and cross-faculty research groups.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ilmenau

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, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IfMK is an academic research and teaching institute at TU Ilmenau that delivers university degree programs in media and communication science and conducts interdisciplinary research across subject areas including empirical media research, political communication, computational communication science, media psychology, media management, and virtual worlds/digital games. It operates collaborative research groups such as DECIPHER and iRisCS-Com, and does not offer commercial products or services.

Product overview

IfMK (Institut für Medien und Kommunikationswissenschaft) is an academic institute at TU Ilmenau University within the Faculty of Economics and Media. It offers interdisciplinary research and teaching across multiple subject areas (Fachgebiete) covering empirical media research, computational communication science, media psychology, media management, media science, and virtual worlds/digital games. The institute provides academic degree programs combining economic sciences with technology and practical media education. It operates cross-faculty research groups including DECIPHER and the International Risk, Crisis, and Science Communication Research Group (iRisCS-Com). IfMK does not offer commercial products or services—its offerings are purely academic research and university education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Academic Degree Programs in Media and Communication Science
• iRisCS-Com Research Group (International Risk, Crisis, and Science Communication Research Group)
• DECIPHER Research Project
• Continuing Education via PATONakademie and Bürgercampus

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SUNRISE Hochschulallianz (SUNRISE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSUNRISE is a strategic university alliance involving TU Ilmenau and other partner institutions. The alliance focuses on collaborative research and international cooperation. IfMK participates in cross-faculty and cross-institutional collaborations through this network.
• International Risk, Crisis, and Science Communication Research Group (iRisCS-Com)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn interdisciplinary research group spanning multiple subject areas within IfMK, focused on international research in risk communication, crisis communication, and science communication. The group conducts collaborative research projects including the DECIPHER project on pandemic communication.

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung, LMU München: Major German university department for communication science and media research at LMU Munich. Comparable to IfMK as a leading academic media/communication research group offering structured degree programs and research clusters.
• Hans-Bredow-Institut für Medienforschung: Leibniz-Institut in Hamburg conducting interdisciplinary media and communication research. Direct peer in scope: academic research institute focused on media effects, digital transformation, and communication science, comparable in mission and funding structure to IfMK.
• ZeMKI – Zentrum für Medien-, Kommunikations- und Informationsforschung, Universität Bremen: Interdisciplinary media research center at the University of Bremen covering communication, media, and information studies. Comparable to IfMK as a German public-university-based research hub with cross-disciplinary media and communication science focus.
• IKMZ – Institut für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft, Universität Leipzig: Communication and media science institute at the University of Leipzig. Comparable to IfMK as a German university-based research and teaching institute with broad coverage of media and communication sub-disciplines.
• Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft, Universität Münster: Large German university institute for communication science at the University of Münster. Comparable to IfMK in offering academic research and teaching across political communication, media effects, and digital media.

Broad incumbents

• Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM): Leibniz Institute in Tübingen researching knowledge acquisition with digital media. Comparable to IfMK in being a publicly funded interdisciplinary research organization studying media, learning, and cognition.
• Institut für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft, FU Berlin: Communication science department at Freie Universität Berlin. Comparable to IfMK as a large public-university academic unit producing research and teaching in media and communication.

Others

• DGPuK – Deutsche Gesellschaft für Publizistik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft: German academic association for communication science that convenes researchers and institutions including IfMK. Comparable as a peer ecosystem/association rather than a competing institution.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ifmk.de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ifmk
• Instagraminstagram.com/medien.kw_tu.ilmenau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 IfMK