The department offers an integrated introduction with different course formats as well as a flexible semester structure (including course offerings outside the regular cycle). In addition, students can also take part in interdisciplinary study projects across faculties ("KIVA").

The institute has very good international networks and official exchange programmes with twenty institutes. In addition, through various research projects, it has excellent informal relationships with colleagues in the EU and with Canada, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Cuba, South Africa and more. Finally, the institute participates in research and teaching in the strategic partnerships of the university with Tongji University in Shanghai, China and with Virginia Tech in the USA.

Maastricht University, Niederlande; Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spanien; Aberystwyth University, UK; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), USA; Karlstads universitet, Schweden; Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel; Universidad de Costa Rica, Costa Rica

The institute is involved in various joint projects including the Copernicus project for research on the energy transition, ; a research group on international administrations, ; and a VW project with partners in Vietnam, Costa Rica and England, and also has various research projects funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).