The IHRS BioSoft has been established at Forschungszentrum Jülich and is run in collaboration with the universities in Cologne and Düsseldorf and caesar Bonn. The school is funded by the Helmholtz Association; thirteen groups actively participate in teaching and research. Fellow PhD students mainly work within their group, but are also part of the IHRS BioSoft that provides them with additional support and training opportunities.

The research centers and universities are located in the west of Germany, close to the borders of the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. Düsseldorf, Cologne, and Bonn offer a rich cultural program; all cities provide a variety sports opportunities. Jülich is a small city situated between Cologne, Düsseldorf, and the student city Aachen. For more information on the region visit e. g. TourismusNRW or Wikipedia.

The Helmholtz Association is a community of 15 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centres. Its work follows in the tradition of the great natural scientist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894).