The new joint research venture between the Roman-Germanic Central Museum and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

The newly established major project, "Mainz science campus: Byzantium between occident and orient," a research venture between the Roman-Germanic Central Museum (RGZM) and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), has created a unique facility for interdisciplinary Byzantine research. Representatives from all disciplines devoted to the Byzantine empire and its culture are participating at the Mainz Science Campus. The Leibniz Institute for European History and the state museums in Mainz and Trier are cooperative partners. The Science Campus model is a particular type of cooperation between academic and non-academic research. As an initiative of the Leibniz Association, it was designed to create joint focus between universities and non-university research institutions within the Leibniz Association. The first national Science Campus on the subject of "Education in Information Environments" was established in Tübingen in 2009.

The new Mainz Research Association is comprised of representatives from several fields concerned with researching Byzantine history and culture or fields that contribute to that research. This includes, among other things, Byzantine Studies, Byzantine Art History, Christian Archaeology, Prehistoric Archaeology with its various scientific procedures, Classical Archaeology, and Ancient History, Egyptology and Coptology, Medieval History, Greek Studies, Church History, Eastern European History, and Numismatics. The Mainz Science Campus will make interdisciplinary research "under a single roof" possible, which would be difficult to carry out without strong partnerships. The Campus promotes the integration of the relevant disciplines and should lead to an increased public awareness of Byzantine history and culture.

"The fact that the Roman-Germanic Central Museum is on board and that a science campus is now being established here in Mainz shows, yet again, what excellent research the RGZM is capable of," said Doris Ahnen, Minister of Education, Science, Youth, and Culture for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. "The RGZM is an important component of the dynamic research landscape in Rhineland-Palatinate. It has found an equally excellent partner in Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. It is in Byzantine studies, in particular, that the two institutions have had fruitful cooperation for the last few years, which is now expanding in all directions at the most advanced scientific levels."

Professor Friedrich Hesse, Vice-President of the Leibniz Association and spokesman for the Tübingen Science Campus added, "The Science Campus is a model of success. After Tübingen, the Leibniz Association launched two more projects of this kind, one in Halle on the subject of bio-economics, and the Byzantine project in Mainz. We hope to provide new impetus to our already close cooperative ties between universities and Leibniz institutes."

"Establishing the 'Science Campus: Byzantium between occident and orient' is a major step for the humanities and cultural sciences in Mainz," emphasized Professor Falko Daim, General Director of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum and spokesman for the new research association. "It's true that the Science Campus is still under construction and that it will have to be completed and brought to life over the next few months. The enthusiasm for Byzantium displayed by the founding members and the concept of our Science Campus does convince me, however, that we are on the right path. Mainz is already an international center for Byzantine research and the Science Campus will soon put us in the major leagues."

"Cooperation with non-academic research institutions is an important building block of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz research strategy. The Mainz Science Campus is a particularly innovative example of this kind of research association and we're glad to institutionalize our long-term, successful cooperation with the RGZM in this field of research," said Professor Georg Krausch, the President of JGU. "In addition, JGU is making use of the potential for the teaching profession that this research cluster presents, because it is through the participation of Science Campus scientists in teaching that JGU becomes a center of Byzantine studies in Germany and beyond."

The Mainz Science Campus started out as an interdisciplinary research platform, but will soon receive permanent, long-term structures as the number of permanent and fixed-term positions and grants increases.