FORTHEM promotes the internationalization of research

14 July 2024

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and eight other universities from all over Europe are collaborating in the FORTHEM Alliance. To extend the scope of joint research in FORTHEM, the alliance has adopted the concepts and results of FIT FORTHEM, a support project that has been funded for the past three years by the European Commission through the EU's Horizon 2020 framework program. These FIT FORTHEM results are at the core of the new FORTHEM Mission for Research, Innovation, and Transfer. In our JGU Magazine, Professor Stefan Müller-Stach, JGU Vice President for Research and Early Career Academics, looks into the future of this mission and describes the various opportunities and options for researchers in all phases of their careers to participate and profit from the alliance. Veronika Cummings, Professor of Human Geography at JGU, for example, has already taken advantage of what FORTHEM has to offer.


Professor Veronika Cummings and Professor Stefan Müller-Stach, JGU Vice President for Research and Early Career Academics (photo: Peter Pulkowski)
Professor Veronika Cummings and Professor Stefan Müller-Stach, JGU Vice President for Research and Early Career Academics (photo: Peter Pulkowski)

With its three-year funding of the support project FIT FORTHEM – short for "Fostering Institutional Transformation of R&I Policies in European Universities" – through the EU's framework Horizon 2020 program, the European Commission has promoted the development of a shared research agenda for all FORTHEM partners. The FIT FORTHEM project specifically focused on topics like Open Science, science communication and research transfer as well as co-creation with external stakeholders and the ongoing internationalization of science and research in general.

At the end of the FIT FORTHEM project and based on the concepts developed here, the FORTHEM Alliance has now set up its own Mission for Research, Innovation and Transfer. This mission is built on two main pillars: a joint virtual office to support new initiatives, particularly in the area of research transfer to society, and a FORTHEM Academy for researchers in the early stages of their careers.


The 12 episodes of the FIT for Europe podcast address a range of topics related to the process of developing a common FORTHEM strategy for research and innovation: Which kind of resources are necessary for diverse transformation processes? What does the daily work of our experts involved in the project look like? How does a university alliance relate to Open Science? And what influence do we have on our regional socio-economic environment? Just listen in!


How does JGU profit from strong research networks, particularly on the European level?

Müller-Stach: We all – as a university and beyond – benefit from the exchange and collaboration with other universities, non-university institutions as well as partners in the political, business and social spheres – in the region, in Germany, and throughout the world. As a university, we have the task to foster internationalization as such and the mobility of students and researchers. Networks like the FORTHEM Alliance and the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) provide a wealth of starting points and opportunities in terms of research, particularly for our early-career researchers. FORTHEM, for instance, has established an Academy for Early-Stage Researchers (ESRs) that helps these take their careers to the next level.

The FORTHEM Alliance offers an ideal environment for the discussion of issues, topics, and best practice concepts. We learn from each other's knowledge and experience and, where appropriate, we can adapt or adopt the outcome. We invite our FORTHEM partners to team up with existing JGU networks to enhance research, teaching and knowledge transfer at JGU and also, for example, to identify and recruit new talents for our local job market. At the same time, of course, we collaborate with the networks of our partners and contribute our expertise to research topics that are of interest there.

For me personally, we are on the way of becoming a big FORTHEM Family. We learn with and from each other – and this honest and trustful exchange can result in genuine friendships across national and language boundaries. It is these personal connections that breathe life into our goal of establishing a European University in a strong European Union.


In its first funding period from 2019 to 2022, FORTHEM focused on mobility, outreach, and the establishment of the FORTHEM Labs as project-related think tanks. How did you manage to integrate research and innovation as another key priority for the second funding period?

Müller-Stach: The EU-sponsored FIT FORTHEM support project provided outstanding preparatory work on objectives and strategies. When the FORTHEM Alliance prepared its proposal for the second funding period, we seized the opportunity to embed research, teaching, and knowledge transfer within the Alliance.


The FIT FORTHEM team initiated various transformation processes at the partner universities. Over the medium and long term, these will allow close cooperation in research and innovation, such as for example in the field of joint applications for EU funding. (photo/©: Toms Grīnbergs / Latvijas Universitāte)

The FIT FORTHEM team initiated various transformation processes at the partner universities. Over the medium and long term, these will allow close cooperation in research and innovation, such as for example in the field of joint applications for EU funding. (photo/©: Toms Grīnbergs / Latvijas Universitāte)

Research, teaching, and knowledge transfer are closely interlinked. Our researchers are involved in teaching and thus interact with our students, whom we strive to enlist for our objectives through research-oriented teaching. We need both convincing and motivating offers to win the research community for our FORTHEM network. One offer could be a strategy of joint applications for EU third-party funding. Researchers are curious by nature, always interested in innovative subjects, good ideas, and new funding opportunities – and we at FORTHEM can provide and effectively organize all this.


In what areas of research and innovation does JGU benefit most from its collaboration with the FORTHEM partner universities?

Müller-Stach: This includes all sectors in the fields of research, transfer, and the promotion of early-career researchers. Let's talk about the support of young academics, for example. Under the aegis of FORTHEM, we have put together a mentoring program for members of all our universities. It was just launched with a first cohort of 93 registered participants. Or take Open Science. Young academics can publish their research results in open access format in the new FORTHEM Journal and present these at our Researcher Rallies. In November, we will have the first FORTHEM Researcher Grand Prix in the form of a science slam, taking place at our partner university in Agder in Norway. Right now, PhD students and postdocs at JGU are preparing for the pre-final in Mainz on September 12th. The two winners will get a ticket to Norway. The final slam will be then streamed at all partner universities and the audience will have the chance to vote online for what they consider to be the best contribution to the Grand Prix in Agder. This will be a very special event and we are already eagerly looking forward to it! In addition to implementing measures of this kind, we naturally also discuss aspects of research policy with our partners and are working on methods to improve our joint lobbying on the European level.


Professor Stefan Müller-Stach, Vice President for Research and Early Career Academics (photo: Peter Pulkowski)
Professor Stefan Müller-Stach, Vice President for Research and Early Career Academics (photo: Peter Pulkowski)

Cooperation in research often depends on committed individuals taking the initiative. How can the FORTHEM Alliance motivate its members to establish further networks in the future?

Müller-Stach: This will be a challenge, no doubt, but it is also a remarkable opportunity. We talk about FORTHEM on many different levels and we offer means and incentives to get others to learn about the network and become an active part of it. Across the alliance, we all intend to directly involve the members of our universities in the proposal processes relating to FORTHEM projects and programs. Moreover, we emphasize the many benefits and we never get tired to underline that cooperation with European partners in the FORTHEM Alliance is inscribed into the very conception and identity of Mainz University – just as it is our commitment to the regional Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) network or our application in Germany's Excellence Strategy program. Our involvement in FORTHEM is part of JGU's overall strategy, the overriding aim being to ensure that the university maintains an excellent reputation and continues to grow local, national, and international networks.


Professor Cummings, how did FORTHEM help you to initiate new research projects? And, in your experience, what kind of support is required to establish new networks across FORTHEM?

Cummings: The FORTHEM Labs are an extraordinary means of access for the realization of new research ideas concepts. These nine labs cover an enormous range of subjects. Here, we take a transdisciplinary approach to the core issues of our time, grappling with topics such as climate change and nutrition, multilingualism and migration, digitalization, cultural heritage, and much more. I'm convinced that everyone can actually find a starting point here to dock their own specialist area.

The initial objective in each FORTHEM Lab is to bring together and connect individuals working on specific topics – from all partner universities and across disciplines. The result is fascinating in that this breaks new ground and widens everyone's horizon. New ideas arise – often beyond the usual pathways, academic networks, and discipline cultures. The institutional FORTHEM framework facilitates and propagates exchange of this kind, helps with the strategic exploitation of synergies, and thus nurtures the creative and efficient development of innovations. The visibility of the FORTHEM Alliance at EU level and beyond as well as its open communication policy allow for the continuous, interest-driven extension of the current labs with new cooperation partners.


The IncluKIT project in the FORTHEM Lab on Diversity and Migration was co-financed by FIT FORTHEM. What is the purpose of this lab and of the IncluKIT project? And what are the next steps in this special project?

Cummings: Our Lab on Diversity and Migration addresses one of the most controversial sociopolitical problems faced by the EU: how to deal with migration. In the lab, we look at the intersecting challenges of migration, particularly with regard to communication between the worlds of academia and politics, civil society and NGOs. Our training kit by the name of IncluKIT, which is an acronym for Inclusive Intercultural Communication Training Kit for Initial Reception of Migrants, is a tool focusing on intercultural issues that arise in the initial reception of newly arrived migrants in European countries. It is designed for professional and volunteers working with migrants and it is based on in-depth empirical research and developed in cooperation with NGOs. The tool is available as a download free of charge in seven languages We are currently supplementing and updating the project taking into account additional case studies.


Professor Veronika Cummings outlining the current status of the IncluKIT project for Professor Stefan Müller-Stach (photo: Peter Pulkowski)
Professor Veronika Cummings outlining the current status of the IncluKIT project for Professor Stefan Müller-Stach (photo: Peter Pulkowski)

How does FORTHEM combine research, teaching, and learning?

Cummings: FORTHEM is a European campus alliance that promotes the concept and implementation of research-led teaching, naturally with the direct involvement and participation of our students. In addition to summer schools, we have the opportunity to set up student-driven projects. These generate amazing synergy effects, particularly in combination with compulsory modules in the regular curriculum.


The transfer of research results and the promotion of early-career researchers are two of the three cornerstones of the FORTHEM Research Mission. What does FORTHEM offer in this connection?

Müller-Stach: The FORTHEM Alliance maintains valuable contacts with individual businesses as well as the Chambers of Industry and Commerce in the countries of our nine members states and abroad. We can build on established structures and learn form a wealth of experience in this context, coming particularly form partners in the more northern countries. In general, the network can be extremely effective if we use it strategically. There are several recent examples that occur to me in this context. The presidents and rectors of the FORTHEM partner universities were recently invited to visit a large-scale science park in Valencia in Spain. Jyväskylä in Finland has set up a Start-up Factory which is very interesting for us we intend to build similar structures in Mainz and for the Rhine-Main Universities network.

When it comes to early-career researchers, focusing on specific funding lines of European support, such as the Doctoral Networks action of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions program, and the exchange of postdocs through this very program should help the strategic development of support provided to young academics at JGU. This is also of especial interest to our FORTHEM partners. At present, we are integrating our doctoral programs and support measures for young researchers, which will significantly extend the options for this target group. Over the long term, the FORTHEM Academy for Early-Stage Researchers could play a major role internationally.


How can the FORTHEM Alliance also have an impact on JGU's other strategic fields of action such as the Rhine-Main Universities network or the Excellence Strategy program?

Müller-Stach: FORTHEM is active internationalization. When all our networks – regional, national, and international – collaborate, this generates new synergies and opportunities. Here is one example: We are cooperating with Unite!, which – like FORTHEM – is a network of the European Universities Initiative. It is coordinated by one of our partners in the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) network, the Technical University of Darmstadt. Together we have set up an RMU Hub for Early Career Researchers as a point of contact for young academics of the Rhine-Main Universities to make the best possible use of the potentials offered by the European and international networks of FORTHEM and Unite!. This includes, for example, support for our researchers in that they can also take advantage of options provided by our partners. All this will strengthen our RMU application in the Excellence Strategy competition.


What role does FORTHEM play in the internationalization of research and international recruitment?

Müller-Stach: I do see various good approaches here, but we still have to achieve a big breakthrough. Especially in the two areas mentioned above, it makes sense to think of a common platform for all European University alliances. This is currently being developed. Various alliances have joined forces in thematic networks and we as JGU are actively involved in them. We are looking forward to the establishment of the so-called Community of Practice as a network in which all 60 alliances across Europe will work together. At JGU, we could use this network of well over 500 research institutions and their national and international partners for targeted recruiting of academics to our university as well as for the local and regional job market. At present, this is a vision – but we are working step by step towards its realization.


How can the FORTHEM Alliance contribute to increasing the international visibility of Mainz University as a major hub of research and innovation?

Müller-Stach: All FORTHEM partners are strong in research – partly in similar subject areas, partly in very different fields. Our challenge is to make our established researchers more visible for all partners within the alliance. In this connection, it is not just the big research projects that are relevant. There are various possibilities for collaboration on teaching and research issues that can be readily integrated in regular lectures, seminars, and projects. The FORTHEM Team Teaching program comes to mind. Here, teaching staff from two or more FORTHEM universities share part of their syllabus of a similar course and bring their students together with their FORTHEM peers throughout Europe for discussion and exchange. Other examples are digital matchmaking sessions designed to get in touch with other universities and external partners in specific fields or thematic workshops for an exchange of ideas and best practices. Visits by delegations of researchers also help growing together within the FORTHEM Alliance.


What do you envision from and for FORTHEM over the next five years?

Müller-Stach: Ongoing productive and pragmatic collaboration involving an increasing number of researchers, coupled with the further generation and exploitation of synergy effects within the FORTHEM Alliance. Sometimes we are too focused on project structures. In my view, the current funding phase would benefit from more elbow room for creativity, openness, and flexibility – and, of course, a tad more patience. And, last but not least, all FORTHEM universities should concentrate on those aspects of collaboration that are of particular relevance to them.