Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Bielefeld

Last updated March 18, 2019

The Center for Interdisciplinary Research (German : Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung (ZiF)) is the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) in Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1968, it was the first IAS in Germany and became a model for numerous similar institutes in Europe. The ZiF promotes and provides premises for interdisciplinary and international research groups. Scholars from all countries and all disciplines can carry out interdisciplinary research projects ranging from one-year research groups to short workshops. In the last 40 years numerous renowned researchers lived and worked at ZiF, among them the social scientist Norbert Elias and Nobel Laureates Reinhard Selten, John Charles Harsanyi, Roger B. Myerson and Elinor Ostrom.

German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol (Italy), the German-speaking Community of Belgium, and Liechtenstein. It is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg and a co-official language in the Opole Voivodeship in Poland. The languages which are most similar to German are the other members of the West Germanic language branch: Afrikaans, Dutch, English, the Frisian languages, Low German/Low Saxon, Luxembourgish, and Yiddish. There are also strong similarities in vocabulary with Danish, Norwegian and Swedish, although those belong to the North Germanic group. German is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English.

Bielefeld University university in Bielefeld, Germany

Bielefeld University is a university in Bielefeld, Germany. Founded in 1969, it is one of the country's newer universities, and considers itself a "reform" university, following a different style of organization and teaching than the established universities. In particular, the university aims to "re-establish the unity between research and teaching", and so all its faculty teach courses in their area of research. The university also stresses a focus on interdisciplinary research, helped by the architecture, which encloses all faculties in one great structure. It is among the first of the German universities to switch some faculties to Bachelor/Master-degrees as part of the Bologna process.

Norbert Elias was a German sociologist who later became a British citizen. He is especially famous for his theory of civilizing/decivilizing processes.

Mission

The mission of the ZiF is to encourage, mediate and host interdisciplinary exchange. The concept was developed by German sociologist Helmut Schelsky, who was its first director, serving from 1968 to 1971. Schelsky believed that interdisciplinary exchange is a key driver of scientific progress. Therefore, the ZiF does not focus on a single topic and does not invite individual researchers, but offers scholars the opportunity to carry out interdisciplinary research projects with international colleagues, free from everyday duties. The ZiF offers residential fellowships, grants and conference services. Schelsky wrote:

Helmut Schelsky, was a German sociologist, the most influential in post-World War II Germany, well into the 1970s.

... systematic and regular discussion, colloquia, critique, and agreement in a group of scientists interested in the same topics, although perhaps from different perspectives, are of the greatest benefit for a scholar and his work.^[1]

Working formats

The ZiF funds research groups for one year, "cooperation groups" for 1–6 months and workshops of 2–14 days. Public lectures, authors' colloquia and art exhibitions address wider audiences.

Structure

The ZiF is Bielefeld University’s Institute for Advanced Study. Its Board of Directors consists of five professors of Bielefeld University, assisted by a Scientific Advisory Council consisting of 16 eminent scholars. A staff of about 20 organizes life and work at the ZiF. About 1000 scholars visit the ZiF every year, one third from abroad. They take part in about 40 activities, including one research group, one or two cooperation groups, and about 20 workshops per year. So far about 600 publications have been issued by ZiF projects.

Living and Working

The ZiF is situated in the hilly surroundings of the Teutoburg Forest, close to the university. It has its own campus, surrounded by conference facilities and apartments for the fellows and their families. So the ZiF’s fellows can enjoy the tranquil setting as well as the facilities of the nearby University. A professional infrastructure including library and indoor pool offers pleasant working and living conditions.

Teutoburg Forest low mountain range in Germany

The Teutoburg Forest is a range of low, forested hills in the German states of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. In 9 CE, this region was the site of a major Roman defeat, the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. Until the 19th century the official name of the hill ridge was Osning.

Related Research Articles

Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combining of two or more academic disciplines into one activity. It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics etc. It is about creating something by thinking across boundaries. It is related to an interdiscipline or an interdisciplinary field, which is an organizational unit that crosses traditional boundaries between academic disciplines or schools of thought, as new needs and professions emerge. Large engineering teams are usually interdisciplinary, as a power station or mobile phone or other project requires the melding of several specialties. However, the term "interdisciplinary" is sometimes confined to academic settings.

Chemnitz University of Technology is a public university in Chemnitz, Germany. With over 11,000 students, it is the third largest university in Saxony. It was founded in 1836 as Königliche Gewerbeschule and was elevated to a Technische Hochschule, a university of technology, in 1963. With approximately 1,500 employees in science, engineering and management, TU Chemnitz counts among the most important employers in the region.

The Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) is an interdisciplinary research centre of Durham University. The IAS - set up to mark Durham's 175th anniversary - is intended to attract scholars and public figures from across the world to collaborate on 'agenda-setting research'. It is housed in the Grade II* listed Bishop Cosins Hall on Palace Green, Durham, within the Durham UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Institute accepted its first fellows in January 2006 and was formally inaugurated into the university in October that year.

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Philippe Blanchard has been a Professor of Mathematical Physics at Faculty of Physics, Bielefeld University since 1980. He is both director of the Research Center BiBoS and deputy managing director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research at Bielefeld University.

Veronique Zanetti, she is professor of Political Philosophy at Faculty of History, Philosophy, and Theology, Bielefeld University.

The Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society (RCC) is an international, interdisciplinary center for research and education in the environmental humanities located in Munich, Germany. It was founded in 2009 as a joint initiative of LMU Munich and the Deutsches Museum, and is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The center is named after the American biologist, nature writer, and environmentalist, Rachel Carson.

The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is one of six University-wide centers at the University of Minnesota. The Institute for Advanced Study supports and encourages interdisciplinary and collaborative research and creative work across the University and fosters connections between the University and local and regional communities. The Institute is a member of the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes and Humanities Without Walls.

The Faculty for Interdisciplinary Research and Continuing Education (IFF) is one of four Faculties at the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt. It has locations in Klagenfurt, Graz and Vienna.

MAZEM – Mannheim Center for Empirical Multilingual Research organization

The MAZEM – Mannheim Center for Empirical Multilingualism Research in Mannheim, Germany is a linguistic and educational research institute that originated at the University of Mannheim. MAZEM was established as a non-profit company in Mannheim in 2011 and is still headquartered there. It is registered under the legal form of a gGmbH. MAZEM conducs interdisciplinary research on early multilingualism, provides expertise on early language support and intervention to educators, institutions and policy-makers.

Karina Smigla-Bobinski (1967) is a German-Polish intermedia artist, working primarily in new media art and digital art, based in Berlin and Munich.Her work bridges kinetic art, drawing, video, installation, painting, performance and sculpture. Her works have been exhibited in Europe, Asia, North America and South America. One of her major works is ADA, a large, interactive kinetic sculpture and drawing machine.

Polish-Studies.Interdisciplinary (Pol-Int) is a free online platform for information on and international exchange in the field of Polish studies. The platform was launched in 2014 and serves as a tool for a growing interdisciplinary community of scholars worldwide to promote their own research and publications in Polish studies. Users can publish reviews, share information about conferences, events, and career opportunities as well as connect and engage in discussions on current issues. Pol-Int is headed by Dagmara Jajeśniak-Quast and based at the Center for Interdisciplinary Polish Studies (ZIP) at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt (Oder) and at the Collegium Polonicum in Słubice. The platform is co-financed by the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation, the Polish-German Foundation for Science, the European University Viadrina and the European Regional Development Fund.

References

↑ Helmut Schelsky (1964), quoted in "Goals and Mission". Bielefeld University. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.

External links

ZiF official website (German and English)

Coordinates: 52°1′57.4″N8°29′36″E / 52.032611°N 8.49333°E / 52.032611; 8.49333

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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[Schelsky1964-1] Helmut Schelsky (1964), quoted in "Goals and Mission". Bielefeld University. 30 June 2011. Retrieved 30 July 2011.