Forschungsinstitut für Telekommunikation (FTK)

Since its foundation as an interdisciplinary research organisation closely related to the University of Wuppertal and the Distance University in Hagen in 1991, the work of FTK  Research Institute for Telecommunications concentrates on the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The continuous monitoring, analysing and evaluation of the development of the markets, technologies and the usage of ICT are the groundwork for the institute’s affairs. The most important aim of all FTK’s activities is to encourage promising developments in the area of Information and Communication Technologies with a high economic and societal potential. Therefore FTK gives recommendations to political stakeholders on the regional and national level, is engaged in EU projects and participates in networks and initiatives dealing on current ICT themes. On behalf of the state chancellery NRW FTK is in charge of the management of the ICT.NRW cluster. This cluster is one of the largest ICT clusters in Europe with more than 134.000 employees, 15.000 ICT companies, 59 universities, many of them with high ICT-reputation and 25.500 students in ICT-related fields of study.