Collegium Budapest
At the initiative of the Wissenschaftskolleg and in cooperation with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Collegium Budapest was set up in 1992 as an Institute for Advanced Study. Its goal was to promote the sciences and humanities in Central and Eastern Europe and to strengthen academic relations between East and West. The work of outstanding researchers from different countries provided the opportunity to reconnect cultural and academic traditions that were separated in the postwar period. In 2011, the Collegium Budapest closed down in its original form.
Zanzibar Indian Ocean Research Institute
Das Zanzibar Indian Ocean Research Institute (ZIORI) was an independent, research-oriented institute stablished and originally founded in June 2007 by Professor Abdul Sheriff (Fellow of the Class of 2002/2003) and a number of other researchers. Its main purpose was to coordinate and foster historical and social-scientific research on Zanzibar, the East African coastal region, and the Indian Ocean as a cultural realm; it was open to researchers from the region and from around the world. At the same time, graduates of the local universities were integrated in the research, fostered with special seminars and events, and prepared for their doctorates. Starting in 2009, the ZIORI was working on its own research program with three thematic emphases on maritime culture in the Indian Ocean, on migration, and on the Swahili civilization and the role of the city-states on the East African coast.
The ZIORI was located in the old city of Zanzibar – Zanzibar Stone Town – not far from the State University of Zanzibar. It assembled a small research library specialized in the Indian Ocean region, an event room, and offices.
The Wissenschaftskolleg supported the establishment of the institute by facilitating contact with interested researchers and by seeking European sponsors.The Institute had to close in April 2012, due to a lack of funding.