Research centres and institutes are venues for meetings and discussions, supported jointly by the Vice-President for Research and the Faculty.

They have an identifiable and visible research structure, a clear research strategy for the criteria of research excellence, governance of their own and important influence. If the research centres focus on the mentoring of graduate studies, then the institutes offer important programs of study in key strategic fields. In doing so, the research centres and institutes attest to the intensity of research within the Faculty and the University.

Research centres and institutes are jointly funded by the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and the Faculty of Social Sciences.