UBIAS stands for “University-Based Institutes for Advanced Study”; each member institute of UBIAS is associated with or embedded within a university. Naturally, UBIAS members actively contribute to the academic culture and the scientific achievements of the affiliated university. By offering fellowship programs on different academic levels (junior and senior researchers), UBIAS institutes bring together outstanding researchers from different disciplines, nationalities, and academic backgrounds, creating a productive environment for innovative research. These common characteristics have proved to be a fruitful basis for mutual exchange, although the individual institutes display a large variety of different concepts and academic pursuits. With their individual profiles, each institute answer to the specific needs and strengths of their affiliate university. While many institutes have traditionally concentrated on humanities and social sciences, an increasing number now incorporate theoretical and experimental sciences.