University of Leipzig

The University of Leipzig has a long tradition of global orientated and culturally comparative historical research and third-level teaching. Since 1990 the University has built upon this tradition with numerous representatives from the humanities and social sciences participating in international research groups. From this basis a structured, doctorate qualification came into being, first in the form of a series of PHD research colloquiums and, since 2001, in the form of an international PHD programme entitled "Transnationalisation and Regionalisation from the 18th century to the present". The programme is coordinated by the Centre of Higher Studies and involves the participation of academics from six different faculties. This programme of research and doctorate study is accompanied by European wide activities, such as the ESF sponsored programme "Representations of the Past: National Histories in Europe", as well as the academic journals "history.transnational/geschichte.transnational" and "Comparativ. Leipzig articles concerning universal history and the comparative study of societies". The latter journal is the organ of the Leipzig coordinated European Network in Universal and Global History, a European association of historians working on questions of global history. With regard to Regional Studies the University of Leipzig has at its disposal an unusually broad spectrum of research areas, with a very positive and advantageous level of cooperation between academics from Cultural Studies and Social Science. Comparative methods and the interweaving of analysis form the basis of this collaboration between specialists on African, Eastern Asian, Western Asian, Latin American, North American, Eastern and Western European Studies. This cooperation is based upon research activities and interaction during the teaching of modular programmes. The central research theme which links the work of academics from various disciplines concerns the spatiality of social and cultural processes and, in reference to the current stage of globalisation, the contemporary process of de- and re-territorialisation. This thematic field incorporates the work of five research groups from the University of Leipzig across the Human Sciences as well as Earth Sciences.

www.uni-leipzig.de

University of Leipzig - Centre for Advanced Study

London School of Economics and Political science

The research programme of the Economic History Department of the London School of Economics and Political science is focused upon economic change in Europe, China, Japan and Africa from the early modern period to contemporary times, the process of development and integration of the world economy in the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the change in the conception of society in various world regions and cultures. The participating academics are recognised experts of not just one world region, but also of comparative studies in the areas of "the organisation of knowledge and economics", "the process of state-building and the development of society", "gender, work and industrialisation", "the institutionalisation of economic processes" and "social risks and changes in society". As well as comparative analysis, the Department is also interested in the empirical research of global integration, from the maritime expansion from the 14th to the 18th century to the flow of capital and migration in contemporary times. The Department of Economic History is currently undertaking a worldwide comparative research project with colleagues from various European universities, Japan, India and North America. This project deals with the formation, development and functions of global markets, the geo-political and imperial context of economic activities, the role of religious morality, ideology, culture and familial systems for economic growth, systems of production, the use of knowledge for economic processes and the convergence and divergence of living standards. From 2003 to 2008 ten international conferences will take place and a PHD programme will be established, and both will spill over into the teaching of the "Global History" course of study in London, and the European Masters Programme in "Global Studies".

www.lse.ac.uk

University of Vienna

At the University of Vienna there has been for many years a conscious effort to advance global historical themes within the Humanities and Cultural Studies. This found expression with a lecture series called the 'Ringlectures', in which interdisciplinary cooperation as well as international networks were given due attention. These efforts have intensified since 2002 and a "Global History" module has regularly been offered as part of the Magister course in "History/ Social and Economic History". The main focus of attention in relation to the area of "Global History" has, in the organisational as well as the conceptual sense, been influenced by the discipline of History.Yet, from the very beginning, there has been a definite sense of cooperation at the University of Vienna between "Global History" and the well established "Area Studies" such as African, Japanese, Chinese, Oriental, Southern Asian, Tibet and Buddist Studies, as well as with Human Geography. This academic exchange has continually intensified in the last few years and has exhibited itself in the publication series "Edition Weltregionen" and "Edition Weltgeschichte" (World history), in which not only the lecturers from the "Global History" module in Vienna were involved, but also colleagues from the other partnership universities.

www.univie.ac.at/Geschichte-Meta/Globalgeschichte/

University of Wrocław

The first and foremost focus of The University of Wrocław is scientific research. Our scholars have numerous links with their fellow researchers from other higher education institutions in Poland and throughout the world. The success of our researchers has been recently recognized by Polish authorities, who significantly increased funding for both equipment and research at our University by 80% compared to previous years.

Like in most countries, in Poland the national quality assessment system is part of a national strategy for improving the quality of education. Every four years the Ministry of Education evaluates faculties of all Polish universities. Last year 9 out of 10 of our Faculties were qualified in the highest category and one was the second highest.

The Academic Incubator of Entrepreneurship is a new unit of the University of Wrocław designed to aid students in starting their own businesses by providing free entrepreneurial advice, organizing conferences, seminars, subsidizing selected investments and offering office space. The Academic Incubator of Entrepreneurship cooperates with the Wrocław Technology Park, a technological centre with laboratories, office space, conference centre and modern multimedia equipment. The objective of the Technology Park is to create conditions for the use of scientific and industrial potential of Wrocław and the region and to stimulate the advanced technologies industry. The University of Wrocław is proud to be one of its shareholders.

Today the University of Wrocław is the largest university in the region and teaches over 40,000 students and around 1300 doctoral students at 10 Faculties. 9000 students graduate from the University every year.

www.uni.wroc.pl