How do complex relations work?
© Fotografien @A. Haag; Apollon/Justitia: GDJ @pixabay, bearb. v. A. Haag

TRA Individuals, Institutions and Societies

Our coexistence on this planet is a matter of interaction between individuals, institutions and societies. Countless factors influence our capacity to meet the challenges the present and the future hold. The TRA Individuals and Societies bridges the gaps between the fields of law, theologies, philosophy, economics, psychology, sociology, medicine and other disciplines, conducting research projects on ethics, digitalization / AI, social cohesion and other key issues of our time.

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© Bialek/Uni Bonn

Research

Read here about the research profile, topics and funded projects of our TRA.

About us

Learn more about goals and the organization of the transdisciplinary research area

Offers

Information on offers and events of our TRA can be found here.

Funding opportunities

Here you can find out more about our funding opportunities

News from the TRA

Notifications

© Photo: LEIZA/Ursula Brosseder
The Dynamics of Bronze Age Societies
A new study combining archaeological and genetic research offers fresh insights into social organisation and population dynamics in the Late Bronze Age (approximately 1500 to 1000 BCE). Conducted by an international team of researchers—including scholars from the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie (LEIZA) in Mainz and the University of Bonn, both in Germany—the study focuses on burial practices in Mongolia. The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
Sep 26, 2025
© Volker Lannert / University of Bonn
University of Bonn philosopher founds innovation academy
Renowned philosopher Prof. Dr. Markus Gabriel from the University of Bonn has founded the deep-IN Academy for Deep Innovation GmbH to bring more ethics into economic innovation. The academy offers training courses, conferences, and ethical business consulting, and is building a social knowledge network. Its goal is to maintain ethical and moral principles in a profit-oriented world and integrate them into companies.
Sep 26, 2025
© Photo: Volker Lannert/Universität Bonn
Brilliant minds connect disciplines
The University of Bonn has been a University of Excellence since 2019 and is committed to transdisciplinary research collaboration. With eight Clusters of Excellence, the University is now the most successful Universities of Excellence in Germany. As part of its excellence strategy, it has expanded six complementary Transdisciplinary Research Areas in which important social, technological, and scientific topics of the future are addressed from a variety of perspectives. At the heart of this are professorships for brilliant minds at the interface of different disciplines, which anchor this concept across faculties. 
Sep 15, 2025
© Collage: from left: Max Waidhas/University of Bonn; Marc Thürach/ECONtribute; Kristen Grace/Florida Museum of Natural History
University of Bonn Celebrates Three ERC Starting Grants
The University of Bonn has yet another good reason to celebrate as three of its researchers have been awarded an ERC Starting Grant worth €1.5 million each. This European Research Council (ERC) grant program is designed to support early-career researchers. The economist Assistant Professor Amelie Schiprowski, the computer scientist Professor Lucie Flek and the evolutionary biologist Dr. Moritz Lürig will use the funding to progress their own research projects over the next five years.
Sep 04, 2025

Highlights and announcements

Get involved in the TRA

As a member of TRA, you can access funding opportunities, participate in events and build new networks.

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Members area

Click here to go to the member area of TRA Individuals and Societies

Here you will find:

Membership application: Become a member!

Portrait photo: Change your portrait photo!

Change your data: Request a change to your data! 

Member`s Directory: Find cooperation partners!

Meet our Researchers

Inter- and transdisciplinary research is actively pursued at the University of Bonn and is promoted across faculty boundaries - by our TRA-Professorships and our members.

© Bernadett Yehdou

Prof. Dr. med. Christiane Woopen

Hertz Professorship in 'Life Ethics'

© Gregor Hübl / Uni Bonn

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Mink

Argelander Professorship in Environmental Economics, Sustainability and Inequality

© Gregor Hübl / Uni Bonn

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Jacqueline Lorenzen

Argelander Professorship in the Law of Sustainability and Ecological Transformation

Contact

Prof. Dr. André Beauducel

Spokespersons of the TRA; Department for Psychology

Prof. Dr. Hans-Martin von Gaudecker

Spokespersons of the TRA; Institute for Applied Microeconomics

Johanna Tix

+49 228 73 54468

Manager of the TRA Individuals and Societies

Dechenstraße 3-11

53115 Bonn

Discover more

The six Transdisciplinary Research Areas

The six Transdisciplinary Research Areas (TRAs) create areas for exploration and innovation in research and teaching at the University of Bonn.

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Excellence Strategy

We invest in People. We foster Networks. We create Impact. 

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Clusters of Excellence

ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy, a joint initiative of the Universities of Bonn and Cologne, is funded as a Cluster of Excellence. 

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