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Research Project

Information Platform for Refugees

Logo Integreat

Context

Upon their arrival in Germany, refugees have many questions, including issues such as medical care, the asylum process, participation in language courses, activities with locals, or finding a job. Since the number of refugees has increased significantly in recent years, it is difficult to provide every refugee with an answer to all their questions. Moreover, this information varies from city to city. Therefore, providing refugees with the right information at the right time in the right format is a major challenge.

Benefit

Integreat makes it easier for refugees to access relevant information during their first months in Germany. In addition, the app facilitates the work of volunteers and social service providers. In August 2019, 52 cities and municipalities in Germany are already using the Integreat app. The collaboration with local job platforms enables refugees to find suitable internships and jobs.

In July 2018, Integreat was selected as a lighthouse project of the Google.org Impact Challenge and awarded a prize of 250,000 € to expand the functionality of the app and increase its reach. In addition, the Integreat project received other awards such as the "Heroes of the Homeland" award (from the Adalbert Raps Foundation), the "Integration Award" from the government of the Swabian region, the Generation D Award, and the Social Impact Award from the TUM School of Management. 

Aim

The aim of the Integreat project is to develop an app that provides refugees in different cities with relevant information in a language they are familiar with. City governments, volunteers and social service providers can share information and offers with refugees using the app.

Realization

To achieve the project goal, we are developing an app for refugees and a platform where city administrators, volunteers and social service providers can share information and offers. Since refugees do not have a constant internet connection, the app downloads information packages from the platform and stores them on their smartphones. The app is customizable for each city to accommodate differences between cities. In addition, we provide a package of general information for Germany to reduce the customization effort for each city. To realize this project, we are working closely with experts such as "Tür an Tür e.V.," an initiative to support asylum seekers.

Location & approach

The campus of TU Dort­mund University is located close to interstate junction Dort­mund West, where the Sauerlandlinie A 45 (Frankfurt-Dort­mund) crosses the Ruhrschnellweg B 1 / A 40. The best interstate exit to take from A 45 is "Dort­mund-Eichlinghofen" (closer to Campus Süd), and from B 1 / A 40 "Dort­mund-Dorstfeld" (closer to Campus Nord). Signs for the uni­ver­si­ty are located at both exits. Also, there is a new exit before you pass over the B 1-bridge leading into Dort­mund.

To get from Campus North to Campus South by car, there is the connection via Vogelpothsweg/Baroper Straße. We recommend you leave your car on one of the parking lots at Campus North and use the H-Bahn (suspended monorail system), which conveniently connects the two campuses.

TU Dort­mund University has its own train station ("Dort­mund Uni­ver­si­tät"). From there, suburban trains (S-Bahn) leave for Dort­mund main station ("Dort­mund Hauptbahnhof") and Düsseldorf main station via the "Düsseldorf Airport Train Station" (take S-Bahn number 1, which leaves every 20 or 30 minutes). The uni­ver­si­ty is easily reached from Bochum, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Duisburg.

You can also take the bus or subway train from Dort­mund city to the uni­ver­si­ty: From Dort­mund main station, you can take any train bound for the Station "Stadtgarten", usually lines U41, U45, U 47 and U49. At "Stadtgarten" you switch trains and get on line U42 towards "Hombruch". Look out for the Station "An der Palmweide". From the bus stop just across the road, busses bound for TU Dort­mund University leave every ten minutes (445, 447 and 462). Another option is to take the subway routes U41, U45, U47 and U49 from Dort­mund main station to the stop "Dort­mund Kampstraße". From there, take U43 or U44 to the stop "Dort­mund Wittener Straße". Switch to bus line 447 and get off at "Dort­mund Uni­ver­si­tät S".

The H-Bahn is one of the hallmarks of TU Dort­mund University. There are two stations on Campus Nord. One ("Dort­mund Uni­ver­si­tät S") is directly located at the suburban train stop, which connects the uni­ver­si­ty directly with the city of Dort­mund and the rest of the Ruhr Area. Also from this station, there are connections to the "Technologiepark" and (via Campus Süd) Eichlinghofen. The other station is located at the dining hall at Campus Nord and offers a direct connection to Campus Süd every five minutes.

The AirportExpress is a fast and convenient means of transport from Dort­mund Airport (DTM) to Dort­mund Central Station, taking you there in little more than 20 minutes. From Dort­mund Central Station, you can continue to the university campus by interurban railway (S-Bahn). A larger range of in­ter­na­tio­nal flight connections is offered at Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), which is about 60 kilometres away and can be directly reached by S-Bahn from the university station.

The departments of TU Dort­mund University are spread over two campuses, the larger Campus North and the smaller Campus South. Additionally, some areas of the university are located in the adjacent "Technologiepark".

Street navigation from and to the TU Dortmund University:

OpenStreetMap Routing Machine

The document and the graphic represent the motorways and federal highways around the TU Dortmund University in a very simplified way:

Environment map (PDF)

Environment map (graphic)

This interactive map helps you find and navigate between facilities and buildings on campus:

Interactive campus map

This document contains a simple campus map in German and English:

Campus map (PDF)