Over the past decades, a distinct tradition of interdisciplinary research on the Himalaya and its bordering regions has developed at the University of Vienna and has become one of its main distinguishing features in the humanities. The University-funded Research Center CIRDIS “Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Documentation of Inner and South Asian Cultural History” (under the direction of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Martin Gaenszle since 2015) has been crucial in facilitating the cooperation of a variety of disciplines, in particular Tibetology, Buddhist Studies, South Asian Studies, Cultural and Social Anthropology, Art History, Numismatics, Philosophy, Archaeology, Iranian Studies, Sinology and Geography. It is our aim to continue and expand CIRDIS by building on and improving the existing high-quality infrastructure of documentation and archiving and by carrying out innovative research projects focused on the wider Himalayan region.