The European Union has repeatedly experienced setbacks since it came into being. "But this is the first time I have actually become really worried," admits Professor Michèle Knodt of the Institute of Political Science of TU Darmstadt. "The financial crisis was bad enough, and now with the development of the refugee crisis it’s not become any easier to sustain the concept of European unity. Currently, it is essentially the Eastern Europeans at loggerheads with the Western and Northern Europeans." The East is stonewalling when it comes to accepting refugees, and is also failing to cooperate in finding solutions to other political problems.

Knodt cites Poland as an example. "The EU has always worked on a consensus basis. Solidarity has been a major aspect of the EU concept since the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009. Poland has been particularly active in calling for solidarity with regard to the energy policies of the other EU countries and has been loudly demanding the EU work towards energy security. It is still dependent on Russian gas to a considerable degree. So, as far as energy is concerned, Poland has been constantly reminding the EU that we all need to stick together." And, yet, as soon as the refugee problem comes into play, the idea of solidarity seems to instantly go out the window. In view of this, Knodt opines: "What we need is a new core narrative from the EU, but it doesn't yet look like we'll be seeing this anytime soon."

In December 2015, Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and TU Darmstadt joined together to form the strategic Rhine-Main Universities alliance. "On the very same day, we also celebrated the inauguration of our Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence," Knodt recalls.

Knodt collaborated with Professor Arne Niemann of the Institute of Political Science of JGU on a proposal submitted to the European Commission for support for the establishment of a Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence EU in Global Dialogue. "There is a lot of competition in the case of proposals like this." Their concept was convincing and won them the necessary funding. Knodt and Niemann have known each other for a long time and both hold an EU-sponsored Jean Monnet Chair of European Integration. In addition, at their own universities, they have set up various research units to study EU foreign policy, which now supplement the newly created Centre of Excellence.

"What we do at the Jean Monnet Centre ties in with what we are already working on. This gives us the opportunity to go into more depth but also to broaden our horizons and integrate new aspects." At CEDI, the focus is on interdisciplinary teaching and research. Moreover, it also aims to engage with the broader public and to stimulate interest in aspects relating to the EU.

One of the major topics that TU Darmstadt addresses on an interdisciplinary level is EU energy policy. The engineers at its Energy Center conduct research here side by side with academics from a wide range of other disciplines. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research was certainly impressed, and in 2015 it recruited TU Darmstadt for its Kopernikus program, the largest research undertaking to date in the field of energy transition. TU Darmstadt is now involved in three of the four Kopernikus projects. Knodt herself is a board member and acts as one of the proposal applicants for a consortium that is considering energy transition in terms of a process that will require the transformation of society as a whole.

The research performed at the Jean Monnet Centre supports the work being done in this and similar projects. Knodt points out that CEDI plays an important role in a network of projects and at the same time acts as a major source of impetus thanks to its diverse activities. One of its workshops was concerned with the EU in crisis. "We discussed what effect crises have on EU institutions. In such situations, it is not uncommon for the various heads of state to go their own individual ways. In the meantime, this seems to have become the usual state of affairs." The EU institutions are being circumnavigated or confronted with done deals. "What comes of this is not necessarily better than what the EU would have achieved, while at the same time it undermines the authority of the European Union."

Knodt's colleague in Mainz, Professor Arne Niemann, gives an example from recent history to show how effectively the EU actually functions. In 2013, when the governments of Serbia and Kosovo finally managed to reach an agreement in Brussels, this was essentially the result of the EU's ability to initiate a dialog between the two quarreling parties. "The EU was very successful as a mediator in the Kosovo dispute," emphasizes Niemann. "In recent years it has become increasingly active in this area, and there is a considerable demand for getting the EU on board when it comes to the resolution of conflicts."

CEDI held a workshop shortly after its establishment, which focused on the EU as a mediator in international peace negotiations. "We have not yet sufficiently explored this new role," explains Niemann, but then adds: "In this context, the EU is often not considered to be as problematic as the USA, for example. In the global arena, it is generally seen as lacking the USA's propensity to be too bellicose and is not perceived to be acting so much out of self-interest. The EU has become a very interesting actor on the world stage and a relatively new contributor to certain areas of politics, such as security policy."

The establishment of CEDI has come at a time in which the EU is facing many challenges. The European Union is making headlines, but the corresponding stories are not always positive. Just like Knodt, Niemann finds the refugee crisis a cause for disquiet. It could turn out to be the acid test that shows whether the various countries of the EU have the will to stay together.

"We also held a workshop on this topic," discloses Niemann. Over two days, the most varied facets of EU refugee policy were put under the spotlight. "Among other things, we also considered the rise of right-wing populist parties against the background of the refugee crisis. After all, there's not just the AfD here in Germany, but also the Front National in France and UKIP in Britain. Right-wing populist parties are represented in the governments of Poland and Hungary."

All of these events demonstrate that the newly established CEDI has already found its feet. Its research covers a wide field of topics. "TU Darmstadt and JGU complement each other here perfectly," comments Niemann. "A special kind of team dynamics has developed. As far as I am concerned, the collaboration to date has not only generated a lot of new insights but has also been really enjoyable."

CEDI will be initially funded by the European Commission for three years. During these three years, the two universities plan to extend their courses of study in the field of European integration. "Existing projects, the future of which had previously been uncertain, are now on a more solid basis," concludes Niemann. And when those three years are up? "We will have to wait and see. The positive reaction to our proposal has shown how much potential we have. Perhaps we have other options for gaining further support."

There is no doubt in the mind of Prof. Helmuth Steinmetz:  "It was five years ago that the neuroscience communities in Frankfurt and Mainz ventured out on a course that others are now only starting to follow." The latest concept for the closer cooperation of the universities in Frankfurt, Mainz, Darmstadt and a number of other institutions of the region was, in part, inspired by the Rhine-Main Neuroscience Network. "The successes we have achieved through our cooperation have caught the attention of other disciplines," continues the Director of the Department of Neurology of the Hospital of Frankfurt's Goethe University. 

Steinmetz is currently the coordinator of the Rhine-Main Neuroscience Network. He finds it easy enough to outline the benefits of the network. "It's not just the quality of what we do that makes us special, but the quantity and the wide range of our work. Mainz and Frankfurt complement each other perfectly as there is sufficient thematic differentiation. The people in Mainz primarily conduct research at the molecular and cellular levels. Here in Frankfurt, one of our primary interests is systemic neuroscience, in other words, the higher cognitive functions." 

Steinmetz sees the founding of the rmn² network as a result of the continuously growing vitality of Mainz and Frankfurt over recent years. "An entirely original diversity of institutions concerned with the neurosciences has developed here. However, we realized that each on its own would not be able to compete with Berlin or Munich." Only a suitable network would enable the Rhine-Main region to keep pace with the other centers of brain research. 

"Our network primarily thrives on our individual projects," emphasizes Steinmetz. The colleagues from the various research fields meet regularly for an in-depth exchange of information. "It is, for example, quite common for patients from Mainz to be examined using our MRI and MEG scanners here in Frankfurt." 

Which brings the professor to the landmark project of Frankfurt neurosciences: the Brain Imaging Center (BIC). Its equipment for high-frequency magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) make the Brain Imaging Center one of the leading neuroscience hubs in Germany. "This is a large research facility that is financed by the federal government, the state, the German Research Foundation and the Max Planck Society." Those in Mainz as well as other institutions outside the rmn² frequently use the Brain Imaging Center and its variety of technologies to, quite literally, get the picture. 

However, the arteries of the neuroscience network not only connect landmarks but run at many different levels. "Once every 3 months, our executive committee meets to discuss current topics." Representatives of both sites sit on the appointment committees of the partner universities and hospitals in order to decide who will fit into the network and what gaps need to be closed. "Furthermore, our students have unrestricted access to the teaching and doctorate resources of both universities." 

Such a network that extends beyond the borders of the states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate is a relatively new thing. "A mere 20 years ago, no one would have conceived that this would be possible. The idea of providing support to your neighbor was simply not on the agenda. But here too, the neuroscience community is breaking new ground." 

Prof. Robert Nitsch, on behalf of Mainz, now picks up the ball and runs with it: “It is particularly important nowadays to systematically develop core research fields. Of course, the outcome needs to be much more than just a great website. A long term concept is required and things must have a lasting effect. What we must do is recruit the right people, but in order to get them to come, you have to offer attractive structures and particularly promising prospects. And it must also be made possible to continue research over a period of decades. As far as that is concerned, we've succeeded." 

The Director of the Institute of Microscopic Anatomy and Neurobiology at Mainz University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) knows what he is talking about. He has already managed to establish a research center for neurosciences at the Berlin Charité teaching hospital and successfully obtained support through the Excellence Initiative for his 'NeuroCure' cluster there. He also prepared the groundwork for the formation of the Rhine-Main Neuroscience Network (rmn²) in Mainz and Frankfurt.  Since then, the physician and neurobiologist with an additional doctorate in philosophy has been working tirelessly for its further expansion. “It’s rather like taking part in a marathon,” he adds. 

"Among the subjects we deal with in our network are mental health issues. We are concerned with the questions of how we can stay healthy in our complex world and how the brain can overcome the challenges of the modern world of work. How do we manage to withstand all the permanent stress? Some can do this better than others. But why is this?" asks Nitsch, with one eye on actual research projects that are currently in progress.

These are questions that really need to be urgently answered. "We founded the German Resilience Center (DRZ) to do research in this field. Outstanding people came to Mainz to establish the DRZ." Among these, Nitsch names his colleague, Prof. Rafael Kalisch.  "He came from Hamburg, where he worked at a first-class center. At that time, he came with the aspiration of being able to build something new with us. He took a very real risk and accepted the fact that he might well have to make do with makeshift solutions." It then proved possible to obtain funding for the construction of the Neuroimaging Center, of which Kalisch will be head. It is hoped that it will be ready for use on the campus of Mainz University Medical Center by 2018. 

"In recent years, more than a dozen new professors have been appointed in the entire field of the neurosciences," explains Nitsch. For him it is clear that it is these eminent researchers who form the backbone of the rmn². “However, we shouldn’t just rely on professors. Doctoral candidates often have brilliant ideas." They also have their say. "We meet, for example, every two years in a youth hostel. Around 350 people come together there - and these are mainly young scientists - to present and discuss their research." 

In February 2015, the network introduced itself to the general public through its first 'rmn² lecture'. This relatively late point of time was chosen deliberately as by then the network had scored a number of major successes. The celebrated neurophysiologist Prof. Wolf Singer gave a talk on the subject of ‘The brain, a self-organizing dynamic system - the challenges of a paradigm shift'.   Interest was considerable and around 900 guests came to Frankfurt. 

"We have something to say to the public and want to show the residents of the Rhine-Main region what do we as researchers," adds Nitsch. It is with some satisfaction that he is able to evaluate the development of the rmn² to date and its future prospects: “Mainz and Frankfurt are now genuinely linked together in the field of the neurosciences – and the world knows that we are a single entity.”  

Since 2012, scholars of the history of linguistics in Mainz have been collaborating with their colleagues in Darmstadt to put together a unique digital dictionary of surnames - a task that involves painstaking entry-by-entry progress. The underlying source material is the 2005 database of Deutsche Telekom, the German telecommunications provider. Every surname that has at least ten or more phone book entries is being incorporated in the Digital Dictionary of Surnames in Germany (Digitales Familiennamenwörterbuch Deutschlands, DFD). This includes the different spelling variants of surnames. But the objective is not merely to just record the current situation with regard to surnames in Germany. The meanings of names are also explained while a specially developed mapping system is used to show their distribution. It perhaps thus comes as no surprise to learn that this project has a planned duration of 24 years.

Dr. Rita Heuser opens the DFD website that has been available online since mid-2015 and selects a name. "Let's take 'Aydin'," she says. "This surname is not particularly uncommon in Germany. It actually ranks 1134th by frequency.” A diagrammatic map of the Federal Republic now appears on the screen of her computer. Red circles show where Aydins have been registered. The name most commonly occurs in towns and urban conurbations. "We rarely find the name 'Aydin' in rural areas, and it hardly occurs in the former East Germany." It is most probably the case that the first Aydins came as guest workers from Turkey to West Germany in the 1950s and 1960s. That would explain the distribution pattern. Heuser has even more information to offer: "The name means 'light' or 'illuminated'." This may be one of its main meanings, but the internet page also provides alternative interpretations.  It is possible that the Seljuk Prince Aydin who lived in the 14th century may have once stood godfather to an Aydin ancestor or the name could derive from a region in Turkey, although this is much more unlikely. A concise and clearly intelligible entry provides all this information. Its author is one Mehmet Aydin, who is studying at JGU and is a student assistant working on the DFD project.  

"Our personnel often provide important input," explains Prof. Damaris Nübling of the German Department of JGU.  Together with Heuser, who is a research associate at the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature, she is responsible for the project in Mainz. "What we particularly need is information on non-German surnames," says the linguist. "Student assistants with the necessary language skills who come from, say, the Baltic region, Sweden or Turkey would be of considerable help in this respect.” Heuser adds: “There is no single region in Germany in which we find names that are exclusively of German origin.” The name landscape is colorful - and this dictionary makes it fully apparent just how colorful it is. 

The DFD represents the continuation of the ‘German Surname Atlas’ (Deutscher Familiennamenatlas, DFA) project commenced in early 2005 by JGU and Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg that was sponsored by the German Research Foundation (DFG) - the aim of this was also to document the status and distribution of surnames in Germany. "This project had a specialized linguistic slant and the results were actually primarily intended for academics," clarifies Nübling. "But we received a large number of inquiries from journalists and private individuals while working on it. It seems there is enormous public interest in this subject." So a concept was needed through which it would be possible to provide ready access to the latest findings in research not just to specialists but also to laymen. “As a result, the idea for the DFD came into being and we got TU Darmstadt on board.” "In the beginning, there were a lot of technical issues we needed to deal with," discloses Heuser. “So we decided to develop a digital design and also had to consider what we should include." That took them two years. "This sort of aspect is often underestimated, but we knew that it would take that long." Here it was TU Darmstadt that was able to provide the necessary linguistic expertise and, in particular, the required IT skills. "What began as a marriage of convenience has become a love match," says Nübling with a grin, describing the cooperation between the three institutions. 

Surprisingly little is known about family names in Germany. It is estimated that there are 800,000 surnames here. The previous standard works on the subject listed at best 70,000 of them. "We are also still identifying frequent inconsistencies or errors with regard to the previous information available on origin or meaning," says Heuser. And nowhere else are there carefully plotted maps showing the distribution of family names. This is something that the DFD is only now putting right while, at the same time, this demonstrates how important surname geography is when it comes to interpreting the morphology of family names.

"The Telekom database we are using is the only source of the information available,” points out Nübling. “But it is particularly suitable since it covers the entire country." The linguists are employing the 2005 records as there was a subsequent significant increase in the use of cell phones, meaning that later landline phone books became less informative. "We register every surname that has at least ten or more phone book entries - these include typically German names such as ‘Meyer’, ‘Müller’ and ‘Schmidt’ alongside those of foreign origin,” clarifies Heuser. When complete, the DFD will cover about 200,000 surnames. The result will be a resource that will prove invaluable to many research disciplines and a reference work that can be used by everybody.  

“Now 'Müller', the most common surname in Germany, might not seem particularly interesting," Heuser admits. "But that is only at first glance." All the personnel working on the DFD project are assigned a particular name group. In the case of ‘Müller’ there are also alternative versions such as ‘Neumüller’ and ‘Kumpfmüller’, so that information on different types of mill suddenly becomes of interest, the names all being related to the profession of miller. This means that variants have to be dealt with in addition.  It could be assumed that the German variant 'Miller' has its origins in the English-speaking world. The map, however, shows that those called 'Miller' are predominantly at home in southern Germany. The local dialect meant that an 'i' came to be used instead of the 'ü'.

Many German surnames actually originate from outside this country, although it is frequently the case that these are no longer perceived as such. The names 'Endrulat' and 'Wowereit' come from the region around the Baltic, 'Schimanski' and 'Grabowski' have affinities with Poland while 'Schirra' is French in origin. The ‘Lunkenheimers’, on the other hand, have their origin in the Rheinhessen region. But where exactly? “The name seems clearly to be derived from that of a settlement that must have been called ‘Lunkenheim’,” states Heuser. "But such a place no longer exists and there are no historical records that refer to it." Each name seems to generate fresh puzzles. “This is also pioneering work," remarks Nübling. And work on the DFD thus provides opportunities for students and young academics. "You take on a surname group, are thus thrown immediately in the deep end when it comes to research, and you can even publish through us. The authors of our articles are all named.” 

The interests of the DFD extend beyond the borders of Germany. Information on the surname landscape outside Germany is indispensable. “In the Netherlands and in Sweden, family names are systematically corrected to ensure they conform to the established rules of orthography,” says Heuser, describing national characteristics. “As a result, there are far fewer spelling variants. It would thus be inadmissible to have a 'Weißbrod' alongside a 'Weisbrodt' there. What makes German surnames so very special is their diversity." 

Prof. Andrea Rapp and Prof. Nina Janich are responsible for ensuring that all features of the online dictionary function as they are supposed to.   Janich and Rapp represent the Darmstadt team involved in the long term project. “Our focus is on the Digital Humanities,” explains Rapp. Basically, the idea is to use computer technology to explore fundamental aspects of the humanities and cultural studies. “The Digital Humanities are at the interface between computer science and the humanities but are also at the point where the various individual humanities disciplines converge,” says Rapp. “TU Darmstadt is acting as a bridge builder here.” 

When it is complete, the DFD will be unique in surname research but, at the same time, it will not simply take the form of some brick of a book gathering dust on a shelf but will be made freely available to everyone online. “I am a strong believer in open access,” emphasizes Rapp. “Thanks to digitization, we are now giving something back to the populace.” The German Studies scholar was involved when Trier University began to post the dictionary prepared by the Brothers Grimm online in 1990. "“We were thus able to make people aware of the fact that the Grimms did more than just collect fairy tales.” 

“We have set a new standard in surname research,” points out Janich. “We were forced to consider how exactly we should present the information online. We had to think about what needed to be included in an article about a surname and what could be left out. Then there was the question of how articles could be standardized to the point where each new contributor would be able to start working with the surname database immediately.” 

“We asked ourselves the fundamental question of what a dictionary like this can actually be used to illustrate,” continues Rapp. “So we wondered if it would be better to use a strict categorization approach or more of a free form.” In the end, they decided to strike a balance between the two. “We also wanted to make sure that our Digital Dictionary of Surnames in Germany remains useful over the long term. We thought about what would happen if, for example, a business whose software we were using stopped providing support so that the program ceased to be compatible.” Open source software was used to prevent this eventuality from occurring. “In addition, we also gave the entire thing a modular structure.” So if the worst thing that happens is that a single component fails, it all becomes much easier to repair. 

“Another important factor for us was citability,” asserts Janich. The Digital Dictionary of Surnames in Germany will represent an important resource for many different academic disciplines. “But we are constantly updating it. We can quickly correct an error in an entry about the etymology of a name. This is one of the advantages of the dictionary.” However, what would happen if somebody were to cite an older version of the Digital Dictionary of Surnames in Germany and the original entry has been changed so it is no longer possible to verify the citation? “Together with the Digital Academy Mainz, which also has extensive IT know-how, we are working on a concept to give each version of the dictionary an independent address,” reports Rapp. This means that it will be possible to track edition history and verify each citation.

But one thing is already clear: The DFD will form part of a constantly growing, increasingly closely interwoven network online. Citations will be made and cross-references will be provided that link to other digital sources. “These are things over which we have no control,” acknowledges Rapp. "The Digital Humanities are simply providing the bridgework.” This is something everyone can stand on to look down and contemplate the flow of information. But the teams in Mainz and Darmstadt have already been working for years on collating, interpreting and making available the information - and they will continue to do so for many years yet. An online dictionary is the kind of work to which it is impossible to add the final touch.

When Prof. Christina E. Bannier talks about the GSEFM her enthusiasm is tangible.  “All the students accepted into this program subsequently have a clear competitive advantage on the job market.” Bannier, the Professor of Corporate Finance at JGU, is convinced that, in her words: “This form of graduate training has a bright future.”

The project, set up jointly by Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and TU Darmstadt, originated as the Research Training Group ‘Research Training Program in Finance and Monetary Economics’ funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), and as the PhD in Economics program of Goethe University. “None of our universities has enough students studying Business and Economics at doctorate level to make it justifiable to offer a suitably broad range of courses. It would not be possible to provide this sort of thing in Frankfurt, Mainz or Darmstadt alone on a permanent basis.” As a result, the focus turned to combining the resources available. “Goethe University Frankfurt was the first in 2001 to set up a corresponding research training group, which proved to be extremely successful. We were able to use this as a basis to build on." 

The demands placed on students are high. “The Business Management and Economics disciplines are becoming ever more exacting. There are a great number of different methodologies that are now used within them and our students need to master all of them.”  The two-year course at the graduate school makes special provision to take this into account. “The students are confronted with an awful lot in the first year in which fundamental aspects are dealt with.  The core business and financial methods are taught along with statistics and mathematics. However, this is not just a repetition of what they have already learned. The courses are very high level and incorporate the latest research. The program is very rigorous and requires complete dedication on the part of the students.” 

The GSEFM offers five doctoral programs in the fields of Economics, Finance, Law & Economics, Management and Marketing.  Students choose in which field to specialize in their second year. “The courses become more particularized then. They are also very time-consuming for us teaching staff as we have to prepare them very carefully.” 

Classroom numbers are deliberately kept small by limiting each course to a maximum of 20 participants. “Our classroom sessions are very interactive - various ideas are floated and thrown open to discussion. And I personally also benefit from this.” After completing the two years of the course program, students begin work on their doctoral dissertations. "Up to this point of time, we will have already provided our students with an outstanding education. Then comes the dissertation, so that their own independent research activities are added to the mix.”

Bannier is personally familiar with both Goethe University Frankfurt and JGU. She only moved from the Main to the Rhine in 2013. “My decision to come to Mainz was definitely influenced by the presence of the graduate school,” she says. “A valuable academic community has been created that I can interact with.” 

For Bannier, it is also quite apparent how the three universities complement one another. “Frankfurt works a lot with the financial markets, with asset pricing. TU Darmstadt looks at many of the issues from a business engineering perspective. We in Mainz are experts in corporate financing and regulatory issues in the political sector.” 

In Frankfurt, Prof. Michael Binder, Ph.D., concurs completely with the views of his Mainz-based colleague.  "It was the right thing to do to establish our graduate school,” says the Professor of International Macroeconomics and Macroeconometrics, whose office is in the House of Finance on the historical Campus Westend of Goethe University. Outside the campus, the massive banking towers of the financial hub rise into the heavens. The House of Finance, which also is home to the GSEFM, has a mere five floors, leaving it dwarfed by the neighboring skyscrapers, even though its imposing architecture is truly impressive. 

"Our location provides us with a massive competitive advantage,” emphasizes Binder, who is also chairman of the GSEFM board. “This advantage does not simply exist on paper; it is very real and exploited by us, for instance through our research-oriented involvement with many different sectors. Among these are our weekly colloquiums and seminars held in collaboration with institutions such as the European Central Bank and Germany’s Bundesbank, which students of the graduate school are also welcome to attend.” 

Some 60 professors at the three Rhine-Main universities contribute to the work of the graduate school. “When it comes to both teaching and dissertation supervision, we need them all because we want to be able to offer students many opportunities for specialization.” The GSEFM model works, as a consideration of its roughly 250 students shows. “About half are international students, whereby a particularly high proportion comes from China and Iran. 50 different nationalities are represented at the GSEFM." It is clear that the school has a considerable power of attraction. 

“Undoubtedly the reputation of Frankfurt as a major international financial center plays a significant role here. By studying in Frankfurt, our students are particularly well placed to get a foot in the door when it comes to discovering monetary and financial market policy-making at the source. So, for example, those who can prove themselves during an internship at the ECB will of course have a massive advantage when it comes to finding a job later.” However, Binder is quick to stress that: “Although we have contacts with the large financial institutions, the research we carry out is not contract research. Everyone at the GSEFM needs to be and remains independent.”

“When it comes to determining the subsequent success of our doctoral candidates, we first consider the academic world: Who is making a name for themselves at eminent universities? This is what weighs heaviest with us and we seem to be doing rather well in this respect.” Binder points out that graduates of the GSEFM are now working at the universities of Cambridge and Oxford and also at the prominent INSEAD Business School, among other places. “Those with jobs in the research departments of central banks, the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank also help put GSEFM in the spotlight, although to a different extent to teaching and research placements at leading universities.” 

In Darmstadt, it is Prof. Volker Nitsch whose particular focus is the GSEFM.  The holder of the Chair of Law, Management and Economics at TU Darmstadt is happy to confess that the graduate school, as a collaborative project, is not unique in Germany - at the same time, he points out: “Alliances of this kind often have a rather artificial feel to them. Most of them just offer selective courses; so a specialist from one of the participating universities might offer a block course or a seminar on the subject ‘XY’ and the doctoral candidates then travel to the venue to attend these.  What are often lacking though are consistent, well structured and well planned programs that are provided at one single location. And this is exactly what our graduate school does.” 

TU Darmstadt also makes its own contribution to the already extensive curriculum of the GSEFM: Prof. Volker Caspari specializes in the historical development of economic theories.  “Economists are sometimes accused these days of working in too abstract or mathematical a manner,” adds Nitsch. “If you’ve read Keynes, so the assumption, then you should have been able to predict the banking crisis. My colleague Caspari is well versed in the standard reference works of economic theory. He is able to bring the historical perspective to bear." Caspari has close ties with Goethe University in Frankfurt as he studied and taught there.  “He is particularly active in our graduate school teaching program.”

Nitsch himself is supervising a GSEFM doctoral candidate from China who works in his area of expertise, international economics. “We support the graduate school in a number of different ways,” he adds. “It doesn’t always have to be through teaching. When I have a paid post available I can offer to a doctoral student, for example, I can recruit either a male or female applicant. I can also have a look at what’s available in the pool of outstanding young international candidates at the GSEFM. Offers like this give them the chance to finance their doctoral studies.”

Nitsch is also pleased that, in addition to collaborating on individual projects, the institutes of higher education in Frankfurt, Mainz and Darmstadt recently joined forces through a trilateral agreement and the group is now called the Rhine-Main Universities alliance. He considers that the graduate school represented a foretaste of what was to come: “Ability to participate in meetings combined with the short commute for colleagues at the GSEFM are aspects that we have been benefiting from for years. We are a living example of how superbly this type of inter-university cooperation can work. All three of the cooperation partners make important contributions and at the same time profit enormously from this joint project.”

"There aren't many regions in Germany that possess this extent of university and non-university know-how in the field of archaeology, all of which makes the Rhine-Main area a very special one," emphasized Professor Friederike Fless, President of the German Archaeology Institute, in her speech at the VARM kick-off event in November 2015. Attended by numerous colleagues from a wide variety of institutions, the event served to provide an introduction to the project and played host to discussions about the potential and opportunities that will result from collaboration. The planned cooperation will focus especially on research, teaching, and the promotion of talented young researchers, the support of existing academic infrastructures, and the further development of communication pathways. The preparation of a wide-ranging joint research project has already commenced and ideas for future projects are currently being drafted and discussed.

With such a broad spectrum of interests united in one body, the cooperating partners are expecting a wealth of valuable input: "Academic collaboration will be easier, and we will be able to more easily access and more effectively share our infrastructures. In the teaching arena we want to put in place new options that the partners on their own simply wouldn't be able to offer. In addition, the association will allow us to more smoothly integrate our numerous international contacts into the Rhine-Main area."

The VARM cooperation partners cover a vast period of time in their research: from the earliest phases of human evolution to the Middle Ages and the early modern era, with a geographical emphasis on Europe, Asia, and Africa. On top of that, the archaeological disciplines possess a broad spectrum of methodologies that will be positively augmented by the natural sciences. "It's great that our institutions complement each other's research and work so well. It's a trump card that we can certainly make the most of in the future," the initiators agreed.

The European Commission is to provide the financing for the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence (JMCE), which will bring together the expertise of the two Rhine-Main Universities in Mainz and Darmstadt on EU-related topics in order to generate and promote synergies between the various specialist disciplines and resources in the field of European Studies. In addition, the JMCE is designed to make an important contribution to informing the public on aspects concerning the EU and to provide a forum through which the related subjects can be critically examined.

The emphasis of the three-year JMCE program at the universities of Mainz and Darmstadt will be on research and teaching relating to the "EU in Global Dialogue". Among the subjects to be scrutinized are the foreign policy implications of EU immigration policy and regional integration from a comparative perspective. With regard to teaching, the new center will make possible the continuation and development of the innovative teaching methods employed at Mainz University in terms of EU-related simulations such as the Model European Union Mainz (MEUM) and the role-playing game EU+, which is designed for high school pupils.

The Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence "EU in Global Dialogue", which bears the name of the pioneer of European unification, is part of the newly founded strategic alliance of the Rhine-Main Universities in Frankfurt, Mainz, and Darmstadt.

The trilateral agreement will enable the three Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) to combine their strengths, to jointly develop and specify their complementary profiles, and to extend the opportunities for study available to their students. As centers of scholarship and research, they intend to promote the development of the Rhine-Main region as a knowledge hub and improve its international visibility and attractiveness.

The Rhine-Main region with the support of the three Rhine-Main Universities positions itself as a leading center of science and research. According to the most recent Funding Atlas of the German Research Foundation (DFG), the amount of third-party funding acquired in the core academic fields and the total third-party funding obtained by the three Rhine-Main Universities, which amounts to more than EUR 450 million per annum, places the Rhine-Main area among Germany’s top five science regions. Between 2007 and 2013, academics in Darmstadt, Frankfurt, and Mainz received all in all 31 ERC Grants from the European Research Council (ERC), which is the most highly remunerated research funding award in the European Union.

Four clusters of excellence, three graduate schools of excellence, and 27 collaborative research centers funded by the German Research Foundation bear witness to the impressive research achievements at the three universities. The close collaboration with altogether 20 research institutes of the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association, the Leibniz Association, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, and different Academies of Sciences and Humanities in the Rhine-Main region play an important role in these achievements.

More than 70 cooperation projects and discipline-specific collaborations

In 2004, the universities in Mainz and Frankfurt signed the initial framework agreement; since then both have entered into bilateral agreements with TU Darmstadt. In more than 70 cooperation projects and discipline-specific collaborations, the three universities have been able to gather an enormous amount of collaboration experience in working together. They share clusters of excellence, collaborative research centers, and joint research projects in the program of the German Academies of Sciences and Humanities as well as joint degree programs and graduate colleges. The collaborating disciplines range from Political Science to Nuclear Physics and from Neurobiology to Computer Science. The topics covered come from the wide spectrum of disciplines at the Rhine-Main Universities – covering Medicine and the Natural Sciences, the Humanities and the Social Sciences to Engineering.

The President of TU Darmstadt, Professor Hans Jürgen Prömel, explained: "This is an alliance of partners who already know each other well and who are in tune with each another – internationally renowned research universities in the Rhine-Main region, with a complementary range of subjects and successful collaborative projects. The new RMU framework agreement opens up many new opportunities to create additional advantages for our researchers and students." TU President Prömel also sees further joint opportunities and potential for the development of promising research fields: "Our Rhine-Main Universities alliance can target major academic challenges by intelligently combining our specific strengths – in Medicine, Engineering, Computer Science, and the Humanities, for example."

Geographic location as a major advantage

For Professor Georg Krausch, President of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the location of the Rhine-Main Universities is a decisive advantage. "The strategic partnership of the three universities benefits significantly from the geographic proximity of the university campuses and the non-university research institutions together with the excellent transport infrastructure in the Rhine-Main area. The short distances between the universities can be covered in just 30 minutes by car or commuter rail, facilitating the exchange of knowledge right in the center of an important German metropolitan area – and even across state borders. The geographical situation in the Rhine-Main region is thus at least similar to that in certain large municipalities in which several universities and non-university research institutions may well be located within the same city but in fact are often quite far away from one another."

The President of Goethe University Frankfurt, Professor Birgitta Wolff, said: "The three universities can learn a lot from each other and achieve a lot more together than each on their own. We not only have a natural interest in closer collaboration with one another, but also invite potential partners working in research and social institutions to join in project-based collaborations. We will thus be able to significantly build on the strengths of our alliance."

Through their trilateral agreement, the universities in Frankfurt, Mainz, and Darmstadt also confirm their intention to apply for support for collaborative research projects and strategic alliances from national and international funding programs. The partner universities also plan to submit joint applications for third party-funded graduate programs and to improve the networking options for young scientists.

Students at the three universities will also benefit from the framework agreement. They are invited to use the infrastructure – such as the libraries, for example – at all the universities, while also being able to acquire a part of their qualifications and to sit examinations at one of the partner universities. Furthermore, new joint courses of study are currently being planned by the Rhine-Main Universities. Teaching staff at one university will have the opportunity to also teach at the other universities and to act as examiners there. Employees can participate in the continuing education programs offered by all the universities in the alliance.

For the support of the strategic development of the RMU partnership, the presidents have created an initiative fund designed to provide targeted support to new collaborations. At the same time, they are encouraging the faculties and institutions at their universities to develop new fields of potential cooperation.

The rejection of a funding application does not necessarily signal the end for a research project. This was the experience of the urban planner Jochen Monstadt from TU Darmstadt, whose participation in a joint application for a collaborative research centre on urbanity in Africa together with the Goethe University was rejected in 2011.

“The subject was so interesting that we simply continued with the research,” says the Professor for Spatial and Infrastructure Planning at TU Darmstadt. This perseverance was eventually rewarded three years later: The Hans Böckler Foundation in Düsseldorf and the Graduate School for Urban Studies URBANgrad, an interdisciplinary academic institution at Technische Universität Darmstadt, approved funding for a joint graduate programme named “Urban Infrastructures in Transition: The Case of African Cities”. In addition, the German Research Foundation (DFG) has welcomed one partner each from Darmstadt and Frankfurt onto its priority programme “Adaptation and Creativity in Africa”.

There is nowhere else in the world where the urbanisation and dynamic growth of cities is as high as in Sub-Saharan Africa. Cities such as Dar es Salaam in Tanzania or Nairobi in Kenya grow by many hundreds of thousands of inhabitants every year – presenting them with enormous challenges, not least when it comes to the provision of infrastructure services.

The scholars at the TU Darmstadt and the Goethe University are carrying out in-depth research into this subject in their joint graduate programme: They are studying the history of, and the current transition of those cities and their interplay with the provision of energy, water, wastewater, transport and telecommunication services.

The scholars have since been collaborating with the universities in both of these global cities in Eastern Africa. The researchers selected the cities of Dar es Salaam and Nairobi as comparative cases.

“Both cities were part of the former British Empire that have experienced sharp increases in population and the unplanned development of settlements,” says Professor Monstadt. While Kenya’s economy has for a long time been more dynamic, the current security situation and ethnic tensions pose political and economic challenges making up leeway for strong economic growth in Dar es Salaam, according to the 48 year old professor.

Splintered urbanism

In their research projects, the researchers in the graduate programme are investigating, amongst other things, the water and wastewater systems in these capital cities. In the city of Dar es Salaam with its around 4.8 million inhabitants, up to 80 percent of the settlements are unplanned. Accordingly, access to centralized electricity, water and wastewater networks is splintered, and critical services are often provided through alternative solutions such as water kiosks and water traders or informal “spaghetti pipes”.

At the same time, only around ten percent of the population are connected to a central wastewater system, with its associated challenges for urban hygiene and public health. As an example, one PhD student is focussing, amongst other things, on the sanitary challenge for women in unplanned settlements.

However, the researchers are also investigating themes such as stormwater management, innovative bus rapid transit systems, mobile water and energy payment innovations and technology hubs in the field of information and communication technologies in the East African metropolises. How does the supply of necessary infrastructure and urban development change when around 90 percent of the inhabitants own a mobile phone and thus can increasingly pay for their bus or electricity and water bills using the mobile currency M-Pesa that was developed in Kenya?

International teams and the vision of a “networked city”

In order to explore these issues, the PhD students and research scientists spend many weeks and months per year carrying out field research in the African cities. The group of PhD students within the Africa Programme have a very interdisciplinary and international background. They originally come from France, Belgium, India, Germany and three East African countries, while their professions include city and urban planners, architects, geographers or historians.

Are recommendations for action also developed at the end of their research projects? “The primary aim is to carry out fundamental research into historical and current trends in African cities and their planning, with less emphasis on advising African colleagues or local partners in these countries,” says Jochen Monstadt. The professor avoids using the term “development assistance” and prefers to describe the goal as “improving the exchange of academic knowledge”.

The focus of the 48 year old’s own field research is the translation of the ideal of a “networked city” in African contexts. A networked city is the ideal concept for a modern city in which all areas and city districts have access to universal services at uniform prices, quality and comprehensive connections to, for example, electricity, water, health facilities or means of public transport.

Megacities in Africa, however, defy such an ideal of urban modernity developed in the global North. In Dar es Salaam, the reality is that only 30 percent of the population have access to a central water supply networks according to Monstadt. The researcher from Darmstadt is investigating how the transfer of this model of a networked city has shaped urban and infrastructure planning and development, as well as which alternative modernities are being developed in these cities.