22.03.2011: Further strengthening of the MAINZ RESEARCH ALLIANCE by incorporating the Institute of European History into the federal and state subsidy program

Institute of European History becomes a member of the Leibniz Association - boosting Mainz as a city of science

The Institute of European History (IEG) in Mainz is to become a member of the Leibniz Association. "We are very pleased that the Joint Science Conference has unanimously decided to incorporate IEG into the joint federal and state subsidy program with effect from 1 January 2012," said Professor Georg Krausch, the spokesman for the MAINZ RESEARCH ALLIANCE and President of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, congratulating IEG scientists. "This decision confirms the position of the Institute of European History as an internationally known research institution." Significant new federal funding has been used to promote a Mainz research institution along with the two Max Planck institutes in Mainz, the Roman-Germanic Central Museum and the recently established Helmholtz Institute Mainz.

"Within a period of only two years, it has thus become possible to increase the number of research institutes jointly financed by the federal and state governments from three to five," says Krausch. "This visibly strengthens Mainz as a location for research and the MAINZ RESEARCH ALLIANCE." The institute not only maintains scientific cooperation with Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, but also with numerous German and international research institutions, and has been incorporated into an international network for European historical research.

The IEG is investigating the historical basis of modern Europe, combining general European history and the history of religion in Europe in a way that is unique from both a national and international perspective. In this process, it is paying particular attention to the religious and intellectual traditions, the changes and crises that have taken place, their effects, and the potential for overcoming them. The IEG wants to monitor and support the process of European integration with this research. At the same time as the joint sponsorship program begins, the IEG is applying for incorporation into the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz e.V. science community.

The Leibniz Association incorporates 87 non-university research institutions and scientific infrastructural organizations, which are being jointly sponsored by the federal and state governments on the basis of their interregional significance and joint economic policy interests.