TUM-IAS Focus Groups are the basic units of organization of the Institute. They provide the social environment where Fellows, Hosts, their students, and collaborators meet to share the development of their topic, organize activities, and cater for mutual support. Ideally, these teams are also diverse in terms of disciplines and gender.

• Focus Groups are headed by either a Carl von Linde Senior Fellow or a Host Professor, who becomes a member of TUM-IAS by virtue of providing the leadership.
• Focus Groups have a coordinator, typically a Carl von Linde Junior Fellow, who documents the activities of the group and keeps the TUM-IAS office informed about the groups' activities (workshops, special lectures, events, or other programs), especially for the TUM-IAS web calendar.
• Focus Groups are gathered for a period of at least one year. They reconvene frequently in order to advance their research projects. They also organize workshops and seminars with the same intent.
• Focus Groups can apply for Start-up funding, and for any kind of Fellowship furthering their goals (Fellow nominations have to meet the requirements of the individual Fellowship categories, but natural embedding of new Fellows in established Focus Groups is seen positively).
• Well organized/established Focus Groups may apply for additional PhD funding, especially for talented female doctoral candidates.
• A limited amount of management funding is available to established Focus Groups.

Plans for a Focus Group should include the sustainability of the project at TUM beyond the active fellowship period. Joint applications for Fellowships and Focus Groups are welcome. A Focus Group can also grow organically with not all fellowships starting at the same time. The TUM-IAS encourages the formation of Focus Groups, but individual projects are also possible.