Uri wants "Cultures of the Alps"
The Government Council of the Canton of Uri wants to create a university research institute in Uri in collaboration with the University of Lucerne. The "Cultures of the Alps" institute will initially operate for a period of three years, with the aim of continuing the project permanently.
Vice-Rector Markus Ries and Boris Previšic Mongelli from the University of Lucerne played a key role in the development of the institute. Boris Previšic Mongelli is responsible for the development of "Cultures of the Alps" together with two other professorships at the University of Lucerne.
He is a professor of literature and cultural studies, currently at the Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences at the University of Lucerne. He plans to bring several doctoral students to Altdorf from mid-2019. The institute also plans to hold annual academic conferences in Uri. This will contribute to local anchoring and the promotion of interdisciplinary research.
For the three-year start-up phase, the canton of Uri is budgeting an average of around CHF 100,000 per year as a contributor. In the longer term, the canton's financial contribution will increase to CHF 300,000 per year. The cantonal government will submit the project with the definitive amounts to the cantonal council for approval in 2019 as part of a commitment credit.
An actual core element of research funding is a start-up fellowship, which will be advertised annually and internationally from 2020. During the start-up grant, doctoral students will be given time to develop an independent project to such an extent that it can be submitted and further developed for funding by the SNSF or other donors.
