The "RMU Initiative Funding for Research", with which the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Goethe University Frankfurt and the TU Darmstadt want to further strengthen their mutual scientific networking in the long term, proves to be a success story: In the third round of tenders, a total of 49 grant applications have been received for promising cross-university research collaborations - approximately twice as many as in the previous two rounds combined. The selection process was proportionately competitive. “We see the great interest in a grant from the RMU Initiative Funding for Research as a clear sign that the scientists of the RMU are cooperating ever more closely. Researchers are actively living the strategic alliance of the RMU,” says a delighted Professor Hans Jürgen Prömel, President of the TU Darmstadt.

A sustainable perspective, for example through the intended entry into large third-party funded follow-up projects, was a key criterion in the selection of the projects now funded. Similarly, the innovation potential or the pilot character of the research project was assessed. In addition, a sound justification or deepening of cooperation in the framework of the RMU was considered.

Finally, based on the recommendations of the RMU Research Council and after intensive consultation, the RMU Steering Committee adopted six projects for the support of the RMU Initiative Funding for Research. The support for a maximum of two years is up to 100,000 euros per year. The number of all the projects funded by the Fund will thus increase to 16, covering the entire spectrum of subjects offered by the three universities.

The projects that have recently been accepted focus on computer science, pharmacy, meteorology, educational research, African studies and business studies. "With this year's funding, we have specifically supported cross-location cooperation that benefits from the high degree of complementarity of the RMU and its extraordinary innovative strength. We want to exploit the synergetic potential of RMU as effectively as possible, especially in research,” said Professor Georg Krausch, President of Johannes Gutenberg University.

Birgitta Wolff, the President of Goethe University, concludes: "The three research-intense universities in the Rhine-Main area are ideal partners in a region that wants to develop as an attractive scientific landscape. Only a few regions in Germany have this strength. Our common task as RMU is to further develop these strengths from the inside out and to attract partners from science, politics and business. "

The next call for tenders for the RMU Initiative Fund for Research is expected to be in the coming year.

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