Institut für Schulentwicklungsforschung (IFS) TU Dortmund

What Institut für Schulentwicklungsforschung (IFS) TU Dortmund does

The Institut für Schulentwicklungsforschung (IFS) is an academic research institute at TU Dortmund University, founded in 1975 and operating with approximately 24 staff as of 2025. Its functional remit is empirical research on school development, reading literacy, and educational inequality in Germany, combined with knowledge transfer to schools, ministries, and the broader public. Core activities include coordinating Germany's participation in the international IGLU/PIRLS reading study cycles (including IGLU 2021 and the forthcoming IGLU 2026), contributing as a cooperation partner to the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), and operating a portfolio of practitioner-oriented event series such as the Dortmunder Tage der schulischen Inklusion, the reading conference series, and the Summer Academy "Fit für die Schule." Applied outputs include the IGLU-Transfer programme for dissemination of study findings.

The institute's technology footprint is modest and research-oriented. It participates in the joint project LeseKI:DS, which develops AI-supported reading learning environments for use in schools, representing its primary incursion into applied digital/AI tooling. Underlying technical capability is anchored in large-scale assessment methodology, multilevel modelling, and longitudinal survey infrastructure developed over five decades, rather than in proprietary software platforms.

The business model is non-commercial. IFS is publicly funded as part of TU Dortmund University, with operating support from the Land Nordrhein-Westfalen and project-based third-party grants from federal sources, principally the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF). There is no disclosed commercial revenue stream; monetisation occurs indirectly through commissioned research, policy advice, and knowledge-transfer products rather than market sales. Customer relationships are institutional rather than transactional, with the institute serving ministries, school authorities, and educational practitioners as primary stakeholders.

Name

Institut für Schulentwicklungsforschung (IFS) TU Dortmund

Legal name

TU Dortmund University (Technische Universität Dortmund)

Website

https://ifs.ep.tu-dortmund.de

Company type

Public

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Institut für Schulentwicklungsforschung (IFS) at TU Dortmund is a publicly funded academic research institute founded in 1975, employing around 24 staff, that conducts empirical research on school development, reading literacy, and educational inequality in Germany and transfers findings to ministries, schools, and practitioners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Research Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Educational Services (611), Testing Laboratories and Services (541380)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Remedial & Academic Intervention Programs (Reading/Math Recovery) (EDAJAGAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Psychoeducational & Educational Assessments (IEE Support) (EDAKACAD), Diagnostic & Adaptive Assessment Content (Skills/Readiness) (EDAGADAJ), Content-Area Remediation (Science & Social Studies Academic Support) (EDAKADAE), Research, Evaluation & Program Effectiveness Reporting (EDADAIAM)

Keywords

• Empirical educational research
• School development research
• Large-scale assessment studies
• Reading proficiency diagnostics
• Educational knowledge transfer

Headquarters

HQ city

Dortmund

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: Government-funded research through TU Dortmund University with support from the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ministry of Culture and Science
2. Third-Party Research Grants: Externally funded research projects through competitive grants from federal and state ministries, research foundations, and EU programs

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

IFS is an interdisciplinary research institute at TU Dortmund University that conducts empirical educational and school development research, designs and implements large-scale assessment studies (IGLU/PIRLS, TIMSS), and translates findings into practice-oriented resources for schools, teachers, and policymakers. Its deliverables include validated learning-progress diagnostics, the MTSS framework, AI-supported learning environments, and multiple dissemination platforms such as lecture series, the Praxisportal, and the podcast "Pausenhof."

Product overview

The Institut für Schulentwicklungsforschung (IFS) at TU Dortmund University is an interdisciplinary research institution focused on empirical educational and school development research. IFS operates as a research center with multiple event series and resource platforms. Its product portfolio includes public lecture and conference series (IFS-Ringvorlesung, IFS-Bildungsdialog, IFS-Virtual Keynote Series, Dortmunder Symposium), knowledge transfer programs (IGLU-Transfer with its MTSS framework), educational media (Podcast Pausenhof, Videoportal), practical resources (Praxisportal), and academic programs (Graduate School). Research projects like LeseKI:DS explore AI-supported learning environments for reading promotion. The institute does not offer commercial software products but provides research-based educational resources, tools, and professional development opportunities for educators and researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dortmunder Symposium der Empirischen Bildungsforschung: Annual symposium organized by IFS on empirical educational research
• IFS-Bildungsdialog
• IFS-Ringvorlesung
• IFS-Virtual Keynote Series
• Praxisportal

Products and services

• IGLU/PIRLS and TIMSS National Coordination and Research (Large-Scale Assessment Studies) Empirical research and national coordination for international comparative education studies, including IGLU/PIRLS and TIMSS, delivering comparable data on reading literacy, mathematics, and science achievement for German schools, the Ministry of Culture and Science of NRW, and international research consortia.
• IGLU-Transfer (PIRLS-Transfer) Program with MTSS Implementation Framework Knowledge-transfer program that translates IGLU/PIRLS findings into practical reading promotion materials and the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) framework for schools, providing tiered intensity levels of support, data-based support decisions, and evidence-based teaching methods.
• LeseKI:DS (Reading AI:DS) — AI-Supported Learning Environment for Reading Promotion Research project and digital tool that develops AI-supported adaptive learning environments for reading promotion, utilizing digital media to deliver adaptive reading support and digital language intervention programs for primary school students.
• Praxisportal (Practice Portal) Online platform providing practice-oriented materials for educational landscapes and classroom instruction, including reading promotion resources from IGLU-Transfer, evidence-based reading programs, learning progress diagnostics, and video content for teachers and educators across Germany.
• IFS-Ringvorlesung (IFS Lecture Series) Annual public lecture series featuring national and international experts discussing current topics in educational research, covering themes such as educational inequalities, school system quality, intervention studies, civic literacy, and digital education.
• Dortmunder Symposium der Empirischen Bildungsforschung (Dortmund Symposium on Empirical Educational Research) Annual scientific conference bringing together educational researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to discuss current empirical research findings on topics such as teaching quality and educational development.
• IFS-Virtual Keynote Series International online conference series featuring renowned researchers presenting on significant topics in empirical educational research, including themes on AI in education, multilingualism, gender, and civic literacy.
• IFS-Bildungsdialog (IFS Education Dialogue) Discussion forum series addressing current educational topics such as language support in early education phases, bringing together researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in a structured dialogue format.
• Tuesdays for Education Event Series Series of educational events bringing together practitioners and researchers to discuss current topics in education, with multiple completed runs.
• Podcast "Pausenhof" Educational podcast published by IFS making research findings accessible to practitioners and the public, with episodes covering reading promotion, educational assessments, and school development themes.
• Videoportal (Video Portal) Video portal featuring educational videos including reading promotion content for parents and classroom materials for educators and families.
• Graduate School (Doctoral Program in Educational Research) Graduate program at IFS offering doctoral studies in educational research with supervision by IFS researchers and integration into the TU Dortmund University research environment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multi-tiered support systems implemented across participating schools for systematic reading promotion
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• TU Dortmund University - Faculty of Educational Sciences and PsychologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCore institutional partnership within the Faculty of Educational Sciences, Psychology and Educational Research. IFS is an integral part of the university and contributes to its profile area 'Bildungs- und Arbeitswelten von morgen' (Education and Work Worlds of Tomorrow).
• IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFS serves as the German coordinator for international Large-Scale Assessment Studies including IGLU/PIRLS and TIMSS, conducted under the auspices of the IEA.
• DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership with DIPF for shared research projects and joint events such as the IFS-Ringvorlesung speaker exchanges.
• NEPS (Nationales Bildungspanel) - Leibniz Institute for Educational TrajectoriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFS participates in NEPS as a consortium partner, contributing to Germany's largest longitudinal study on educational processes across the lifespan.
• UA Ruhr (University Alliance Ruhr)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFS participates in the regional university alliance together with Ruhr-Universität Bochum and Universität Duisburg-Essen, supporting interdisciplinary research collaborations.
• Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-WestphaliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState-level governmental partner providing institutional funding and supporting IFS's contribution to the Masterplan Wissenschaft der Stadt Dortmund.
• Masterplan Wissenschaft DortmundmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIFS contributes to the scientific competence field 'Schul- und Bildungsforschung' (School and Educational Research) within the city's science master plan.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• IPN (Leibniz-Institut für die Pädagogik der Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik): Leibniz institute focused on STEM education research, including co-coordination of TIMSS in Germany. Direct peer in large-scale international assessment studies (TIMSS) and education research infrastructure.
• NEPS (Nationales Bildungspanel / Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories): Germany's largest longitudinal study on educational trajectories across the lifespan — IFS is a consortium partner. Highly comparable in longitudinal educational research design and policy orientation.
• IQB (Institut zur Qualitätsentwicklung im Bildungswesen): Federal institute responsible for developing national educational standards and central exit examinations in Germany. A direct peer in large-scale assessment, educational standards, and policy-adjacent measurement work.
• DIPF (Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education): Germany's leading Leibniz institute for educational research, explicitly listed as an IFS collaborative partner. Operates at national scale on similar empirical educational research, making it the closest direct peer.
• GEI (Georg Eckert Institute – Leibniz Institute for International Textbook Research): Leibniz institute conducting international textbook and curriculum research with similar empirical methodology and public-funding model. Comparable in scale and remit overlap with IFS's school-development research.

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation (Education Division): Large US-based policy research organization with an education division that conducts large-scale assessment-adjacent studies, school effectiveness research, and educational policy analysis comparable in methodology (though different geography).
• CERI (OECD Centre for Educational Research and Innovation): OECD center conducting international comparative research on education systems, innovation, and equity. Comparable to IFS in international comparative education work, but operating at a far larger policy-influencing scale.
• OECD Directorate for Education and Skills / PISA: International organization running PISA and publishing comparative education indicators that overlap with IFS's IGLU/TIMSS coordination and policy advisory work at a much larger scale.

Regional players

• LISUM (Landesinstitut für Schule und Medien Berlin-Brandenburg): State-level institute for school development and media in Berlin-Brandenburg. Regional peer that provides comparable school development, teacher training, and educational material transfer services in a different German state.

Others

• IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement): International consortium coordinating TIMSS, PIRLS, ICCS, ICILS. IFS coordinates Germany's participation; comparable in orchestrating cross-country educational measurement studies.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@IFS-TU-Dortmund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institut-f-r-schulentwicklungsforschung-tu-dortmund
• Instagraminstagram.com/ifs_tudortmund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institut für Schulentwicklungsforschung (IFS) TU Dortmund