The CENTRAL network (Central European Network for Teaching and Research in Academic Liaison) was initiated and founded by Humboldt University Berlin in 2014, with the financial support from DAAD, taking aboard four renowned partner universities of the Central European region: Charles University, Eötvös Loránd University – ELTE (Budapest), the University of Vienna, and the University of Warsaw.

The CENTRAL mission

From its beginnings, the network's first and foremost aims have been:

• to strengthen cross-border research collaboration by enabling joint projects, publications and events
• thus to establish new research networks as well as develop existing ones
• to promote early-stage researchers and provide a setting for internationally-oriented academic careers
• and to enhance visibility of the Central European academic discourse and output

Long-established links

United in their position as capital city universities, and through their common history and geographic proximity, there is a traditional sense of shared identity between the CENTRAL partners. Even before the implementation of the network, the universities had strong bilateral links with each other.

Thus the idea to form a multilateral network to strengthen the CEE research region and make it more visible certainly found fertile soil. The network now provides the formal framework for a long-established regional community.