Research activities are based on three principles: First, as a non-university center, the institute has an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary focus. Proceeding from the plurality of disciplines, it does not seek to differentiate them any further, but to interlink them through the concrete work on the subject. Second, the IAI is committed to cooperating with other university and non-university institutions that carry out Ibero-American research on a national and international level. Third, wherever possible, it places emphasis on the practice of “researching with” instead of “researching into.”

In the years 2010-2014 the research activities of the IAI concentrate upon the main focus „Cultural transfers and scientific Exchange between Europe and Latin America“.