Initiative Funding for Research

The renewed call for proposals for the RMU Initiative Funding for Research, funding line 2, offers scientists of the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) the prospect of substantial support for the establishment and further development of cooperations and networks at the three universities in case of approval. The funding volume per approved cooperation project is up to 20,000 euros p.a. for a maximum of two years (total funding per project: 40,000 euros across all three locations). The selection decision is made by the RMU Steering Committee based on the recommendation of the vice-presidents responsible for research at the three universities.

Independent of the current call for proposals for funding line 2, there is a year-round, non-term-limited application option for funding through funding line 1 of the RMU Initiative Funding for Research. Funding line 1 is used for joint start-up funding of proposals for large, strategically relevant collaborative projects, such as DFG Collaborative Research Centres and DFG Research Training Groups. Funding line 1 is aimed at projects that can reach outline maturity within one year. Regardless of the call deadlines, the designated spokespersons of the projects submit their proposals to the respective Vice-Presidents for Research. The maximum funding amount is 50,000 euros.

Initiative Funding for Teaching

With the Teaching Initiative Funding, RMU supports cooperations for the development of new, attractive study programmes, for the cooperative further development of existing curricular offerings and for the joint testing of innovative teaching/learning formats within the RMU.

The current call for proposals focuses on the development of specific RMU study programmes (in module form), the conception of digital modules or blended learning formats, as well as the conception and planning of joint study programmes. Applications can be made for funding of up to 40,000 euros for a maximum of one year. The selection decision is made by the RMU Steering Committee on the basis of the recommendation of the vice presidents of the three universities responsible for studies and teaching.

Applications for the initiative fundings must be submitted by March 15, 2022. Funding decisions for both initiative fundings are expected by June 1, 2022. The calls for proposals for the initiative fundings and other application documents can be downloaded below.

The strategic alliance of the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU), formed by the Technical University of Darmstadt, Goethe University Frankfurt, and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in late 2015, is well prepared to take part in the next round of the German Excellence Strategy program. Operating across federal state borders, the alliance has achieved outstanding results, particularly in the field of research: For example, the number of joint RMU Collaborative Research Centers (CRCs) funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) has more than doubled since 2015 – from five to 11; the number of joint DFG research training groups has risen from two to six since 2016. Innovative cooperation projects have been launched and fruitfully implemented, supported through targeted grant schemes such as the RMU Initiative Funding for Research, which has so far contributed a total of more than EUR 2.5 million in financing.

In the field of learning and teaching, the more than 100,000 students at the partner universities benefit from the establishment of the RMU Study Program and its future-oriented range of courses offered by all three universities either side of the Hessen/Rhineland-Palatinate state border. Since its launch in the 2020/2021 winter semester, over 3,400 courses have been opened up to RMU students. The RMU Initiative Funding for Teaching has so far provided some EUR 500,000 for the development of innovative and sustainable collaborative teaching schemes which enhance the attractiveness of studying at Mainz, Frankfurt, and Darmstadt. The Rhine-Main Universities already offer seven joint study courses – in Anthropology/African Studies, Biomedical Engineering, or Political Science, for example.

The Rhine-Main Universities are dedicated to continuously refining and raising the profile of the alliance over the coming years. They specifically aim for the submission of joint Cluster of Excellence applications to the next German Excellence Strategy competition and, as an alliance with an overall concept for extending its leading position in top-level international research, to collectively apply for the second funding line for Universities of Excellence. The German Research Foundation (DFG) and the German Council of Science and Humanities are currently preparing the call for draft proposals for the Clusters of Excellence funding line, which is expected to be issued in late 2022. deciding on the specific timing of the competition. The next call for proposals in the Universities of Excellence funding line will take place after the funding decisions on the Clusters of Excellence in 2025.

In view of the coming nationwide Excellence Strategy competition and beyond, the three Rhine-Main University presidents – Professor Tanja Brühl (Darmstadt), Professor Enrico Schleiff (Frankfurt), and Professor Georg Krausch (Mainz) – have developed a joint RMU vision which invites students, researchers, and all university staff to help transform the alliance into a high-quality strategic university partnership over the next ten years.

• The Rhine-Main Universities aim to become a leading innovation hub in the international academic landscape and to position themselves among the global pioneers in the key research areas of the future. The partners want to define and implement programs for the collaborative, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary development of those research fields – with the support of special RMU research structures. For researchers in the early stages of their careers, the RMU offer attractive options for independent professional advancement thanks to its unique funding environment and the diverse further qualification and funding opportunities offered by the three universities.

• As for learning and teaching, the RMU plan to extend the existing RMU Study Program and to develop additional joint degree programs. The Rhine-Main Universities also intend to augment its tried and tested RMU Initiative Funding for Teaching in order to further enhance existing structures and formats as well as to create new cooperation models for learning and teaching, such as co-teaching courses and joint international summer schools.

• The three universities have already opened up of parts of their continuing education programs to each other's academic and technical administrative staff. In the long term, an RMU career development scheme will be established in which structures will be put in place designed to promote uniquely attractive career paths. Both short-term RMU-internal shadowing opportunities and agreements on professional exchanges between the three universities will contribute to this. There are great opportunities here to improve various aspects, such as work and family life balance, the appointment system, and dual career options.

• The Rhine-Main Universities will enlarge their knowledge transfer activities to include the areas of academic training and research and technology transfer. Thanks to the diversity and breadth of options, the alliance will create career and training opportunities in all fields, making the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main metropolitan area an attractive location for studying, pursuing a research career, or working in administration and science management.

The Hessian Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science, and the Arts and the Ministry of Science and Health of Rhineland-Palatinate endorse and support the implementation and establishment of measures and options for the long-term development of a shared RMU identity at the universities of Darmstadt, Frankfurt and Mainz.

The Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) are supporting joint projects for the qualitative development of studying and teaching for the third time this year with the RMU Initiative Funding for Teaching. As in previous years, the RMU Initiative Funding for Teaching has a total of 150,000 euros at its disposal.

The RMU Initiative Funding for Teaching provides funding for cooperative projects involving teachers from at least two of the three RMUs. The current call for proposals places particular emphasis on 1) the conceptual development of joint digital modules or blended learning formats, 2) the planning and anchoring of joint elective modules in the respective curricula of the study programmes of the three universities, 3) the planning and implementation of joint study programmes. In addition to these core areas, the call is open to other topics, so other ideas and projects can also be funded.

Proposals must be submitted by June 28, 2020. The selection decision on the funding of projects is made in the RMU Steering Committee on the recommendation of the Vice Presidents for Studying and Teaching of the RMUs. If approved, the cooperation projects are expected to start in the winter semester 2020/2021.

In the past four years, numerous cooperative research projects at RMU have been supported by the RMU Initiative Funding. With its funding line 2, the RMU Initiative Funding for Research aims to establish and further develop research-based cooperation and networks in the scope of the RMU.

The current call for proposals under funding line 2 offers personnel and material resources to finance networking activities such as conferences or workshops. The funding aims to support the establishment and expansion of RMU-internal cooperation and networks. Funding is subject to initial joint preparatory work as well as recognisable potential for sustainable cooperation oriented towards joint collaborative projects. Proposals must be submitted by 29 May 2020.

Independent of the current call for proposals under funding line 2, it is possible to apply for funding under funding line 1 of the RMU Initiative Funding for Research all year round, without any time limit. Funding line 1 is used for joint start-up financing of proposals for large, strategically relevant collaborative projects, such as DFG Collaborative Research Centres and DFG Research Training Groups. Funding line 1 is aimed at projects that can reach outline maturity within one year. Regardless of the submission deadlines, plans for the proposal of a large joint collaborative project are submitted by the designated project spokespersons to the respective Vice-Presidents responsible for research. The maximum funding amount is a one-off 50,000 euros.

Funding from lines 1 and 2 of the RMU Initiative Fund for Research is open to all disciplines and topics.

Climate Research: ‘Empirical Transport Time Scales in the Tropopause Region’

Vera Bense tracks the course of the HALO high-altitude research aircraft live on her laptop. The meteorology graduate points to the screen: “At present, it is just passing over Tenerife”. In three days, the HALO plane will be arriving in Tierra del Fuego in the far south of Argentina. Then a complex measurement project will be initiated which will provide more information on the atmospheric processes in the southern hemisphere.

What is of specific interest in this context is the tropopause region, the transition zone between the troposphere, where weather events originate, and the more stable stratosphere located above it. The processes that occur here have a direct effect on the climate. Both Prof. Peter Hoor of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Prof. Andreas Engel of the Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at Goethe University Frankfurt have been undertaking research in this field for many years.   They have joined together for this project, entitled ‘Empirical Transport Time Scales in the Tropopause Region’, which is being sponsored by the RMU Initiative Funding for Research.

“Our two research teams complement each other perfectly,” says Bense. “The Frankfurt group focuses on measuring levels of the trace gas sulfur hexafluoride, while we in Mainz are more interested in carbon dioxide.” It is necessary to determine the concentrations of both gases in order to understand the processes in the tropopause region. Data is already available for the northern hemisphere but this is lacking to a large extent for the southern hemisphere. That is now set to change. The two universities are cooperating within a larger consortium of other partners all of whom are working towards better understanding the role played by the tropopause region in the Earth’s climate system.

 Master’s degree program: Children’s Literature/Book Studies

“The Department for Children’s and Young Adult Literature at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Department of Book Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz are already leading lights in this discipline,” points out Prof. Ute Dettmar.  “Now we have come together to offer a joint degree course. Thanks to the close proximity of both universities we can provide something really unique.” The new joint Master’s degree program will be launched shortly, and for the just 20 available places 55 applications have already been submitted originating from all over Germany and even from abroad. “We couldn’t have wished for a better start.”

Dettmar represents the Frankfurt side of the collaboration. “Our focus is on literary criticism aspects in particular. We are interested in narrative style, narrative form, and the question of how that narration is developed.” Junior Professor Corinna Norrick-Rühl, a member of the Mainz team, takes up the thread: “Whereas we look, among other things, at the financial side of book publishing and the media market.” Common to both teams are their close contacts with the world of practice and the local publishing world.

“As part of this unique collaboration, we will also be undertaking new research,” announces Dettmar. This will also go beyond subject boundaries, as interdisciplinarity is an important feature of the course program. “We don’t want to simply offer activities at two locations, but create common formats,” concludes Norrick-Rühl. “A monitoring system will also be in place to enable us to fine-tune and take new insights into account.”

For a practical course in Medical Technology: A robotic operating room assistant 

The articulated robotic arm tirelessly and precisely pricks a hollow needle into the soft pad in front of it. “This robot was created by a 3D printer, which means we only needed to buy a few additional parts,” says Prof. Mario Kupnik, who heads up the Measurement and Sensor Technology Group at Technische Universität Darmstadt.  Felix Herbst is a student of Electrical Engineering who constructed the robotic operating room assistant as part of his Bachelor thesis. One of the requirements was that it had to be inexpensive, a prerequisite that Herbst has managed to meet. It actually costs only €600 to produce.

“This robot will not be for everyday clinical use, but will be employed in the context of our recently created ‘Practical Course in Medical Technology’”, says Kupnik. The concept for this innovative course was developed as a result of the introduction of a joint study course in Medical Technology offered by TU Darmstadt and Goethe University Frankfurt. “It was clear to us that in this context it is particularly important to provide our students with practical insight into the use of medical robots.” In the coming years, students of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering will also be able to attend the practical course. The course scenario - automated needle insertion - will give them the opportunity to program and work with a number of robots in small groups. 

“We in Darmstadt are contributing our technical know-how to the project,” states Kupnik. The medical aspects of the project are being handled by Prof. Thomas J. Vogl, Director of the Institute of Interventional Radiology at Frankfurt University Medical Center.  The collaborative project is being sponsored by the RMU Initiative Funding for Teaching.

AccellencE Research Training Group: Accelerator Science and Technology for Energy-Recovery Linacs

Darmstadt is home to the first energy recovery linac (ERL) in Germany, the S-DALINAC electron accelerator. In Mainz, planning and development is underway for a further ERL for the PRISMA+ Cluster of Excellence. The MESA accelerator will begin operation in 2023. “This is a unique set of circumstances for our doctoral students,” declares Prof. Norbert Pietralla of the Institute of Nuclear Physics at Technische Universität Darmstadt.  “At our facility they can learn and familiarize themselves with an existing ERL. At the same time they’ll also be able to contribute their own input to the development of the new ERL in Mainz and follow its construction. You can’t get a more rounded approach than that.”

Since 2016, the German Research Foundation (DFG) has financed the AccellencE 2128 Research Training Group, which is a joint undertaking of the Nuclear Physics institutes at Technische Universität Darmstadt and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. The focus, therefore, will be entirely on the new ERL, a device that has yet to be fully researched. These particle accelerators work particularly efficiently because they recover a large portion of the energy used to accelerate the particles. In other words, while standard accelerators simply fire particles at a target, an ERL is able to recycle many of them.  For example, where one gigawatt of energy would normally be needed for a particular operation, one megawatt would be sufficient in the case of an ERL.

“Our institutes of higher education in Mainz and Darmstadt already have outstanding expertise when it comes to energy recovery electron accelerators,” says Pietralla, “and our young researchers can profit from that.” The research training group, he argues, is helping shape the next generation of experts in an important future technology.

Africans in the Rhine-Main Region: Linguistic integration research project

Earlier this year, the Institute of African Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Institute of Ethnology and African Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz launched a joint research project entitled ‘Africans in the Rhine-Main Region’. It is designed to investigate linguistic integration - and discover how people who originate from Africa or have an African heritage learn the German language. The aim of the project is also to identify the strategies they employ in this context and what language learning means to them while, at the same time, also of interest is finding out what happens with the languages these individuals bring with them.  

“This is a genuine pioneering project, as nothing comparable has ever been done before,” emphasizes Dr. Sabine Littig of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. ‘Africans in the Rhine-Main Region’ is being financed by the RMU Initiative Funding for Research. The project coordinators are Prof. Axel Fleisch in Frankfurt and Junior Professor Nico Nassenstein in Mainz.  The implementation of the project is largely the responsibility of Littig and her Frankfurt colleague Dr. Klaudia Dombrowsky-Hahn. They combine various methodological approaches in order to investigate conceptions of language and communicative practices. It would appear that African people more readily learn languages through informal processes that take place outside the classroom and language courses. There has so far been very little academic research into this spontaneous form of language learning, although it seems to be highly effective. 

“Most of those questioned were remarkably multilingual,” Littig said of the project’s early findings. It also became apparent that in acquiring everyday speech, different cognitive processes come into play that differ from those involved in learning German in a formal course. However, the findings are as yet tentative as the project has only just been launched.