At Technische Universität Dortmund research is done in an inspiring neighborhood. Two Fraunhofer institutes and one Max-Planck institute are in close proximity of the university campus and the Technologiepark.
The cooperation between the institutes and the university is contractually settled in a cooperation agreement. The professors hold chairs at the university and are appointed in cooperation with the research associations.
The two affiliated institutes, the Institute for Analytical Sciences (ISAS) and the Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors at University of Dortmund (IfADo) are part of the Science Association Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.
Affiliated institutes are legally and economic independent institutions outside the university which closely cooperate with the university on the basis of a cooperation agreement.
Four institutes, three in Dortmund and one in Wetter/Ruhr, have the status of an affiliated institute of Technische Universität Dortmund.