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Verbund Archäologie Rhein-Main

Excavations, exhibitions, a range of study programs, lectures, conferences, workshops, publications - there is a broad and varied spectrum of archaeological activities in the Rhine-Main area. The Verbund Archäologie Rhein-Main (VARM) (Archaeology Network Rhein-Main), which was established in 2015, pools these activities and, for the first time, offers classical scholars in the Rhine-Main area a shared platform for trans- and interdisciplinary exchange and joint research. The focus is not only on archaeology in the Rhine-Main area, but also on the research of all partner institutions taking place virtually all over the world. 

Within the network, its cooperation partners support each other in their various activities in research, teaching and communicationg archaeology. VARM also coordinates various working groups with interdisciplinary participants and organizes workshops and conferences. Its aim is to further sharpen the profile of the existing innovative top level research in classical studies in the Rhine-Main area and to further promote the science location Rhine-Main.

The Verbund Archäologie Rhein-Main (VARM) is supported by various institutions, namely the Rhine-Main Universities in Mainz, Frankfurt and Darmstadt, the Leibniz-Zentrum für Archäologie in Mainz (LEIZA), the Romano-Germanic Commission of the German Archaeological Institute in Frankfurt am Main and the monuments offices of the federal states of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate. The partners complement each other perfectly and will initiate new projects together that can only be realized within the network. 

Graduate School of Economics, Finance, and Management

The Graduate School of Economics, Finance, and Management (GSEFM) is a leading research-oriented graduate school in economics and business. Founded in 2008, it is a joint initiative of the Rhein-Main Universities Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, and TU Darmstadt.

The school stands for a dynamic and interdisciplinary approach. Its structured PhD programs emphasize methodological training, early engagement in research, and close mentorship by experienced faculty with strong academic and policy-making expertise.

With a diverse student body of over 230 participants from more than 40 countries and a faculty of about 50 members, GSEFM provides a vibrant academic environment. Graduates benefit from strong career prospects, securing positions in academia, international organizations, and the private sector. The school collaborates with leading research institutions such as SAFE, IMFS, IPP, FLEX, and GRADE, further strengthening its academic and professional network.

Africa research Rhine-Main

In the African Studies Rhine-Main alliance, Goethe University Frankfurt, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and TU Darmstadt are pooling their expertise in the field of African research. The work of the alliance is characterized by its strong interdisciplinary nature and combines the disciplines of Anthropology and African Studies as well as Egyptology, Linguistics, Film and Literature Studies, Geography, Botany and Economics, among other subject areas. The pivotal institute that serves the African Studies Rhine-Main alliance, which was formed in May 2016, is the Centre for Interdisciplinary African Studies (ZIAF) in Frankfurt, where many of the various aspects of the project are coordinated. In 2021, the universities in Mainz and Frankfurt introduced the joint bachelor program “Afrikanische Sprachen, Medien und Kommunikation” (African Languages, Media and Communication). As part of this study program, students can learn two African languages and analyze narratives and discourses connected to Africa, including the history of research on Africa. Students can choose this program as major or minor subject.

Since 2021, the collaborative project CEDITRAA (Cultural Entrepreneurship and Digital Transformation in Africa and Asia) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has been investigating the digital transformation of cultural production in West Africa and East Asia. For the first time, this interdisciplinary project combines African and Asian sciences and research centers in Frankfurt and Mainz, namely the ZIAF and the IZO (Interdisciplinary Centre for East Asian Studies) of Goethe University and the Georg Foster Forum of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. In 2025, the project has entered its second phase. Plans for a larger joint collaborative project on cultural industries are currently underway. 

Digital Dictionary of Surnames in Germany

The research project ‘Digital Dictionary of Surnames in Germany’ is designed to provide an overview of the current surname status in the Federal Republic of Germany and is making the results available online to both the general public and for more in-depth academic research purposes. This long-term project involves collaboration between Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and TU Darmstadt under the aegis of the Mainz Academy of Sciences and Literature. It is the aim of the project team to gradually lexographically collate and register roughly 200,000 of the surnames that occur in Germany and also to trace their origins.

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