“Advance through Networks” – this slogan characterises life at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. In a great number of research projects, FAU scientists from a variety of disciplines collaborate closely with members from other Departments and institutions. The University has committed itself to promoting this interdisciplinary approach towards research and supports it, for instance, via the establishment of Interdisciplinary Centres. At present, there are 25 Centres, which cover a vast range of topics including, for instance, Religious Studies, the labour market and labour environment, Gerontology, Neurosciences, Embedded Systems and Molecular Materials. The Centres provide a platform for interdisciplinary research and thereby ensure a continuity with regard to work on projects which can only be successful when conducted across the boundaries of faculties and departments and with the cooperation of several disciplines.
Moreover, the high degree of interdisciplinarity at FAU shows in the University‘s participation in a great number of institutionalised collaborations with other scientific institutions. FAU, for instance, participates in 11 Bavarian Research Cooperation Groups. Similarly, the numerous Collaborative Research Centres, Transregios, Research Units, Research Training Groups and Priority Programmes funded by the DFG heavily rely on the collaboration between different disciplines and institutions.
