Focus on key issues such as energy, health,and the knowledge crisis
Austria‘s new Clusters of Excellence serve to advance basic research on key topics at the highest scientific level: Energy storage, quantum technologies, global health, the future of knowledge, and the cultural heritage of Eurasia. The funding can be used to establish long-term structures and attractive research conditions and boost international visibility at the participating institutions. Clusters of Excellence are characterized by a successful combination of cutting-edge research, research-led education, and the advancement of junior researchers, as well as an exchange of knowledge at national and international levels. Collaborations with the business community and the public to facilitate knowledge and technology transfer are another key element of the Clusters.
Joint funding with participating universities and institutions
The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) provides 60% of the funding volume for the individual Clusters, and the remaining 40% comes from the participating research institutions’ own funds. The FWF alone will be investing between €9 and 21 million per Cluster. In total, the FWF will be providing around €81 million for the first five years, €13 million of which will come from NextGenerationEU funding from the European Union. Around €54 million will be contributed by the participating institutions - a record-breaking amount for basic research projects in Austria.
Austria's largest collaborative projects in six provinces
Researchers from 11 universities and non-academic research institutions will be working together in the five new Clusters of Excellence. The University of Vienna is involved in all five Clusters, and the University of Innsbruck, TU Wien, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria will be contributing to three Clusters each. The University of Linz and the Central European University are involved in two Clusters, while the Austrian Institute of Technology, the Medical University of Graz, the University of Graz, and the University of Salzburg complete the Clusters of Excellence by participating in one Cluster each. Teams of over 100 researchers will be collaborating in each Cluster over a period of five years.