September 27, 2004 | Press Release

Rostock, center for demography of international standing
University of Rostock and Max Planck Institute to open a joint research center for the study of demographic change on October 1st

The University of Rostock and the Max Plank Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) are taking another step in strengthening the successful cooperation between them and will be opening on October 1st a joint research facility, the Rostock Center for the Study of the Causes and Consequences of Demographic Change. The opening ceremony will be held in the Auditorium Maximum of Rostock University, Ulmenstraße 69, and begins at 1.15 pm.

Demographic change in Europe will pose major challenges to politics and society in Germany and many other parts of the world for decades to come. The University and MPIDR are therefore establishing a novel, scientific center to engage in interdisciplinary and politically relevant research on the causes and consequences of demographic change. At the same time, the intention is for Rostock to become a center for training in demography that is broadly embedded in the social sciences in Germany and Europe. This applies in particular to doctoral programs, which will be receiving support from the Rostock Center.

As early as the coming Winter Semester, students will be able to enroll in the newly established BA degree program "Social Sciences: Sociology, Demography, and Economics". Demand for the course is high. The center plans to establish as of Winter Semester 2005/2006 master programs that offer an integral path to doctoral training. Rostock is also to become the center of a European Graduate School for Demography - The European Doctoral School in Demography.

The Rector of the University, Prof. Hans Jürgen Wendel, and the Founding Director of the MPIDR, Prof. James W. Vaupel, are convinced that "the new research facility will further strengthen Rostock's position as a center of demography of international standing."

The opening ceremony is expected to be attended by Prof. Hans-Robert Metelmann, Minister of Education, Science, and Culture of the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The General Secretary of the Max Planck Society, Dr. Barbara Bludau, and the Associate Director of the U.S. National Institute on Aging, Dr. Richard Suzman, will contribute to the ceremonial program.

Contact

Head of the Department of Public Relations and Publications

Silvia Leek

E-Mail

+49 381 2081-143

Science Communication Editor

Silke Schulz

E-Mail

+49 381 2081-153

What next?

To the Home Page

The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock is one of the leading demographic research centers in the world. It's part of the Max Planck Society, the internationally renowned German research society.