BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE ORIENT - RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY

BETWEEN EUROPE AND THE ORIENT - A FOCUS ON RESEARCH AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN/ON CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS
It was not only in Central Europe that the geopolitical map was redrawn after the breakup of the Soviet Union; also at the southern borders of the Russian Federation, in Central Asia and the Caucasus, 70 million people representing approx. 100 ethnic and linguistic groups were released into independence.
With this funding initiative the Volkswagenstiftung Foundation intends, on the one hand, to stimulate interest within Germany to engage in research on current developments in this region. On the other hand, it opens up possibilities for intensifying cooperation in research and higher education with academics in these countries. The target region comprises those states in Central Asia and the Caucasus which became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but also includes some neighboring parts of the Russian Federation in the lower Volga and the northern Caucasus regions, plus Afghanistan.
The funding initiative addresses the humanities and social sciences as well as the natural and engineering sciences, including theoretical medicine.