75 Years of DIPF: Understanding Education, Enabling Change
Education is undergoing profound change. Social inequalities, demographic shifts, digitalisation and artificial intelligence, changing learning conditions, and the growing demand for skilled workers are presenting the education system with new challenges. To drive forward sustainable changes in the long term, we need reliable data, excellent research, permanently accessible information resources, and close collaboration between science and the various sectors of educational practice.
The DIPF has been dedicated to these goals since its founding on October 25, 1951. The Leibniz Institute, with locations in Frankfurt am Main and Berlin, studies the conditions, processes, and outcomes of education. It provides scientific information, research data, and digital tools, and collaborates with daycare centers, schools, universities, education administrators, policymakers, and other research institutions to make findings usable for the further development of the education system.
“The DIPF’s 75th anniversary gives us an occasion to look back on a successful history – but above all, to look ahead,” says Prof. Dr. Kai Maaz, Executive Director of the DIPF, emphasising: “The education system is undergoing profound structural change. This requires excellent research, reliable data and infrastructure, as well as the ability to combine scientific findings with insights from practice, administration, and policy. Our goal is not only to describe this educational transformation but also to create the conditions necessary for it to be shaped in a knowledge-based, responsible, and equitable manner.”
“Education is the foundation of an innovative and resilient society. The DIPF’s research and infrastructure provide the scientific foundation we need to make our education system fit for the future. In this way, the DIPF uniquely fulfills the mission that characterises the institutes of the Leibniz Association: to make a difference in people’s lives through scientific work,” says Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christoph M. Schmidt, President of the Leibniz Association.
Research, Infrastructure, and Knowledge Transfer under one Roof
The DIPF’s distinctive profile lies in the close integration of educational research, scientific infrastructure, and knowledge transfer. These three areas of work complement and reinforce one another.
To monitor and analyse the education system, the DIPF coordinates, among other initiatives, the National Education Report and participates in international student achievement studies such as PISA and ICILS. Through the IDeA Center, it conducts research on early development and learning processes. The TBA Center develops innovative digital methods for assessing competencies. Through the Campus School Program, the institute engages in long-term collaboration with schools on issues related to instructional and school development. As part of the Startchancen Program, the DIPF works with numerous partner institutions to investigate how sustainable improvements for schools in challenging situations can be achieved and embedded in the education system.
At the same time, the institute provides key infrastructures for scientists, educational practitioners, and the general public. This includes the German Education Server, the Education Research Portal, the German Network of Educational Research Data, and the Research Library for the History of Education. These infrastructures make scientific knowledge accessible, secure research data, provide access to specialised information, and preserve sources on the history of education and upbringing.
75 Years: From Institutional Development to Questions about the Future
The DIPF was founded in 1951 as a foundation under public law. Since 1977, it has been jointly funded by the federal and state governments – initially as part of the so-called “Blue List,” and later as a member of the current Leibniz Association, which emerged from it.
Over the course of its history, the institute has continuously expanded its scope of activities. Its research strengths have been complemented by far-reaching scientific information and research infrastructures. Important milestones in this development included, among others, the incorporation of the Research Library for the History of Education in 1992 and the founding of the Information Center for Education in 2001. Since 2015, the “Specialised Information Service Education” – funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and coordinated by the institute – has also provided academic access to international scholarly literature as part of the Education Research Portal.
Today, the DIPF understands itself as an institute that does not treat research, infrastructure, and knowledge transfer as separate entities, but rather systematically integrates them. This anniversary therefore marks more than just 75 years of the institute’s history; it also raises the question of what contribution science must make to education in the future in light of profound social and technological changes.
Anniversary Celebration: Where Is Evolution Enough, and Where Is Revolution Needed?
This question about the future will be the focus of the ceremony on November 4, 2026, in Frankfurt am Main. Under the title “Education in Transition – Where Is Evolution Enough, and Where Is Revolution Needed?,” the DIPF will discuss in which areas education can evolve gradually and where fundamental changes are necessary.
The keynote address will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Petra Stanat, Director of the Institute for Educational Quality Improvement. Other long-time associates of the DIPF will reflect on the development of the institute and educational research. A panel discussion with representatives from the field of education will focus on current challenges and necessary changes. Music and guided tours of the exhibition “Education as Fact: 75 Years of DIPF History” round out the program.
75 Glimpses into the DIPF
During its anniversary year, the DIPF is opening a window into its work and history on a dedicated website. The posts introduce people and projects, showcase items from the archives, offer a peek into staff members’ offices, and highlight the institute’s key achievements in short videos. A total of 75 insights will be published by the end of the year.
The institute’s development can also be experienced in the exhibition “Education as Fact” – running from October 26 to November 17, first at the DIPF in Frankfurt am Main and then, starting December 2, at the institute’s Berlin location.
Contact and Further Information
DIPF Anniversary: Prof. Dr. Kai Maaz, +49 (0)69 24708-200, ay5tYWF6QGRpcGYuZGU=
Press: Anke Wilde, +49 (0)69 24708-824, YS53aWxkZUBkaXBmLmRl
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