First global online social network for research and higher education

Added : ( Mon Mar 07 2005 )

Birmingham, Cambridge, Hamburg, 7 March 2005. During the past two years, one of the fastest growing business trends on the internet has been social networking, with over 20 million registered users on the top five on-line social networks. Now eggheads are getting their own exclusive club. British start-up company academici Ltd., is launching the first networking platform exclusive to higher education and scientific research at www.academici.ac. Prof Dr Markus Vinzent (University of Birmingham), one of the founders of academici, states “Academici is about networking with academics and researchers across continents and about content, facilitating (free of charge) the exchange of ideas, discussing research findings.” Prof Vinzent expects academici to thrive where, according to him internet portals and websites fail: by virtue of the interaction of and communication between its members.

Academics often work worlds apart even when in the same location. University websites have not necessarily been designed to facilitate co-operation. Academici.ac has been set up to promote co-operation across disciplines. Klaas Brumann, Head of Countries at Academici, is convinced that the network will help to overcome these so-called “structural holes”. Mr Brumann points out that a key feature of this network, the fact that membership is free, will facilitate networking for people in higher education and scientific research institutes.

Dr Jonathan Grix, co-founder of ‘academici’, believes that such software “can function as a form of intranet for local, national or international societies by linking all members of a given society with one another on an interactive platform, thereby producing an on-line community with the potential to generate social capital between members”. The opportunities for cross-fertilisation between academic disciplines and cross-disciplinary collaboration are unlimited.

Leading academics and scientists are now joining ‘academici. The Virtual Academy’ at www.academici.ac. The Technical University of Chemnitz, Germany, is one of the first to sign up a “corporate membership”. A number of scholarly societies and scientific publishers have committed to moderate academic forums and publishing boards on www.academici.ac, the launch of which will be announced by Academici within the next few weeks.


About academici Ltd.

academici Ltd is a privately funded company registered in England & Wales. Its aim is to operate an online social network for academics and scientists, improving communication across disciplines and across borders. The platform also offers links and forums with a number of free services useful to academics.

For press enquiries:
Klaas Brumann
Academici Limited
1050 Pershore Rd, Sally Oak
Birmingham West Midlands
B29 7PX United Kingdom
Tel +44 8700 110131
Fax +44 8700 110241
Email k.brumann[at]academici.com




The Management Team:

Markus Vinzent is H.G. Wood Professor at the University of Birmingham. He holds a Doctorate from the Ludwig Maxilian’s University in Munich with his Habilitation at the University of Heidelberg. Prof Dr Vinzent’s research interests cover Social Networking; Intercultural Communication; Diversity Management; Management in Higher Education (including Rankings, Benchmarking, Bologna Process); International Human Resource Management, Post-post modern Critical Theory; History of Cultural Encounters in Europe; Philosophy of Religion and Culture. Prof Vinzent counts on many years of experience in the field of higher education marketing and graduate recruitment. He has been called one of the leading visionaries in connecting higher education to business.


Otto Vinzent was founder and Managing Director of Uni-Partners GmbH. Mr Vinzent is one of the leading business figures in the Continental European academic recruitment market and in the interface between higher education and business.


Tobias Conrad, is one of the managing directors of academici Ltd. He previously worked for the Marketing Society of the University of Hamburg and for Uni-Partners GmbH, Germany. He has a PhD in progress at the University of Birmingham. He holds an MBA from University of Hamburg, Germany, and is one of the founders of academici.


Klaas Brumann is an economist (Lic Eco) from the Universidad Regiomonatana, Mexico where he received an academic scholarship for outstanding achievement. He is currently undertaking postgraduate research in ‘online social networking for business’ at the University of Liverpool. Brumann has set-up and run technology and service companies in Mexico, the USA, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Britain. He lives in Cambridge, UK and has many years of experience in international business development in software, media and internet businesses serving distinguished international blue chips like Canon, Compaq, HP, NEC Packard Bell, Xerox.


Dr Jonathan Grix is Senior Lecturer in German Politics and Research Methodology at the University of Birmingham and co-founder of ‘academici’. He has published widely on politics, contemporary history, German Studies, intercultural communication, research methods and sociological themes, including work on ‘social capital’ and ‘social networking’.


David Rivier is in charge of on-line business development at academici. Mr Rivier holds a Masters degree (high honours) in ICT management from Limoges’ University. He is currently writing his MBA thesis on Online Communities at Montpellier Graduate Institute of Business (Groupe Sup de Co Montpellier). He worked previously as junior country web manager for HP in the EMEA e-business team, and has been internet project manager or business analyst for several IT consultancies and Internet start-ups.

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