"The Research Network 1989 is the Visible College of the post-1989 generation. We have received postgraduate grants and postdoctoral scholarships to ‘go East’ and ‘go West’. We lecture abroad, migrate to new countries and pursue international careers in ways not imaginable before 1989. Typically, the transition generation is at home in several languages and countries. We integrate scholarly perspectives in a trans-national and comparative manner. The Research Network 1989 facilitates, over the full term, the transition from PhD to principal investigator and tenure. We foster post-doctoral independence and creativity, in line with new post-doctoral flagship awards in Europe. We provide a platform for the early independence of scholars as they write a career development and research plan and enlist the support of a suitable team of mentors. In the next decade, our generation will take over from the retiring baby boomers. Our network is open towards the future and responsive to a changing environment, yet rooted in a clear structure of working groups with consistent agendas. 1989 signifies a break important enough to warrant a re-appraisal of intellectual history, a re-assessment of scholarly imagination and a re-examination of theoretical foundations."