The Academy of Science and Literature in Mainz is promoting a federal platform that will bring together research data in the field of cultural studies. With the construction of this National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI), also suitable for other areas, the scientific world will change fundamentally, Konrad Wolf, Minister of Science of the Rhineland-Palatinate, said on Thursday during a visit to the academy. The new infrastructure will make data much more accessible than it is now, and thus open the way for new research questions, the minister continued.
Networked platforms for digitized data in medicine, chemistry, social sciences and more are also being prepared for launch. The platform for cultural research (NFDI4Culture) connects nine umbrella organizations with eleven professional societies and 52 partners. Participants include the universities of Köln, Heidelberg, Marburg and Padeborn and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.
The Academy of Science and Literature in Mainz has taken over the leadership of the research consortium of the Federal Government and the Länder. “At the moment we are at the start and will be ready by October,” said Thorsten Schrade, spokesman for the consortium. On Oct. 1, state funding of 18.5 million euros will begin flowing in.
During the summer trip, Wolf was shown two examples of how the new network could function in terms of data related to tangible and intangible cultural assets. The first example dealt with the 3D modeling of the Baroque Imperial Hall in Bamberg, the second with the visualization of dance movements. Here we are trying to capture data about the body as a tool for communication and expression without the use of language, Schrade explained. The NFDI4Culture platform covers six specific disciplines: architecture, art, music, theater, dance and media studies.