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25 Years Tropical Center
Image: Patrik M. Loeff/CC.Similar to other research centers at the University of Kassel with interdisciplinary approaches, the Tropenzentrum is an interdisciplinary institution for research projects, in this case dealing with the tropics and subtropics.
The foundation of the Tropenzentrum in 1993 had mainly practical reasons: "Several fields of the Faculty 11 had points of contact with the tropics. With the center, we wanted to bundle these interests and thus created a contact point to represent the international agricultural science profile," says Tropenzentrum Managing Director Dr. Martin Wiehle. The center will be able to apply for funding for research projects, use existing contacts abroad for student projects and excursions, manage alumni databases and organize joint events: Coordinating all this from a central location had many advantages, then as now.
Today, the members of the Tropical Center are primarily concerned with promoting collaborative research projects by students and scientists in the tropics and subtropics and networking them with each other. Current studies are concerned, for example, with material turnover, the efficiency of animal husbandry systems and biodiversity along urban-rural gradients, the further development of ecological cultivation methods and the use of regenerative resources.
Martin Wiehle, who also works at the International Center for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) in Kassel, helps supervise the scientific work of master's students, doctoral candidates and postdocs and supports them in organizational matters. Especially for international doctoral students, the Tropenzentrum is an important contact point and allows for additional training opportunities. Lectures and events with renowned speakers round off the program.
The number of cooperations maintained by the University of Kassel's Tropical Center has grown steadily over the past decades. There is also close cooperation with the German Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture (DITSL GmbH), the Association for Tropical and Subtropical Agricultural Research (ATSAF) e.V., and the tropical institutions of the universities of Göttingen, Hohenheim, Bonn and Berlin. Likewise, the Tropical Center of the University of Kassel-Witzenhausen regularly participates in the Tropical Day, an international conference that takes place every year in a different European city; 2019 then also for the first time directly in Kassel at Holländischer Platz.
Program of the conference on July 13: https://www.uni-kassel.de/fb11agrar/fachgebiete-einrichtungen/tropenzentrum/willkommen.html
Contact:
Dr. Martin Wiehle
University of Kassel
Tropical Center
Tel: +49-5542 98-1372
E-mail: tropenzentrum[at]uni-kassel[dot]de