The Chair of Audiovisual Media, Film and Television and the Center for Media Competence (ZFM) are part of national and international networks, cooperating on diverse research projects and various media practice projects. The chair and staff members are actively engaged in several professional societies, including the Gesellschaft für Medienwissenschaft (GfM), the Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), the Society for Animation Studies (SAS), the Society for Cognitive Studies of the Moving Image (SCSMI), the European Network for Cinema and Media Studies (NECS), and the Animation Media Cluster Region Stuttgart (AMCRS).

The research focus on colour and the Journal Colour Turn maintains constant contacts with renowned researchers such as Prof. Dr. Anna Franklin (University of Sussex, UK), Anya Hurlbert (Newcastle University, UK), Prof. Dr. Almut Kelber (Lund University, Sweden), Prof. Dr. Yoko Mizokami (Chiba University, Japan), Prof. Dr. Kayo Tajima (Rikkyo University, Japan), Prof. Dr. Kirsten Thompson (Seattle University, USA) and Prof. Dr. Kazuhiko Yokosawa (University of Tokyo).

The third-party project Media Ambassadors India–Germany (Robert Bosch Stiftung, 2018–2020) facilitated the exchange of Indian and German journalists. The programme was associated with a steadily growing network of alumni. The range of topics of the programme included aspects of democracy, social cohesion, environmental protection and health promotion, among others.

Lively exchanges with international contacts are an essential part of the research focus on animation, for example, with Dr. Franziska Bruckner (FH St. Pölten, Austria / Animafest Zagreb, Croatia), Prof. Dr. Suzanne Buchan (Royal College of Art, UK), Prof. Dr. Donald Crafton (University of Notre Dame, USA), Prof. Dr. Barbara Flückiger (University of Zurich, Switzerland), FH-Prof. Juergen Hagler (FH Upper Austria Campus Hagenberg / Ars Electronica, Austria), Assoc.-Prof. Hans-Martin Rall (Nanyang Technological University, Singapore) and Prof. Dr. Paul Wells (Loughborough University, UK). Student exchanges take place regularly between the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore – School of Art, Design and Media and the Institute of Media Studies of the University of Tübingen.

In addition, many national and international contacts are maintained in the areas of film studies and film and television production, especially with Indian colleagues, for instance, with Prof. Dr. Madhavi Reddy (Pune University). Film scholars and filmmakers regularly speak at lectures, workshops and public events in Tübingen.