Novel insights in science are like truffles: they are difficult to come by. Yet new calls for impact are growing louder. International experts will discuss the seeming contradictions between academic freedom and return on investment during this breakout session by BMBWF and FWF on 28 August. Join in virtually!
No topic has been researched as fast or as much as the coronavirus. The Austrian Science Fund (FWF) wishes to do its part in improving the available data and knowledge base by funding four new research projects to the tune of 1.5 million euros. These include, for instance, a novel test procedure, co-funded by the State of Tyrol, which could lead to the development of new drugs to treat COVID-19. Learn more about the researchers who won funding as part of the FWF’s latest urgent funding round.
The Austrian Science Fund FWF is a partner in the Pathways to Sustainability funding initiative of the Belmont Forum. With its first call for proposals, this international research funding initiative invites researchers in Austria to apply for one- or two-year funding in order to build international and transdisciplinary networks.
Researchers working in basic research want to discover something new. There is always a risk for the researchers involved in breaking new ground, but if they succeed, there is a good chance that they will make an innovation leap. This is the reason why the 1,000 Ideas Programme specifically supports high-risk research with the aim of further enhancing Austria’s innovative power. Learn more about those researchers who beat out the competition in the first call for proposals.
The EU Summit achieved an agreement on the next EU budget and a corona recovery fund. Despite many positive ambitions and the visible joint effort, the resolution remained below expectations, in spite of an increase, in one key issue for the future, the ‘Horizon Europe’ research programme. And especially in a phase in which many people are turning to cutting-edge research for answers.
By developing the “Rights Retention Strategy”, cOAlition S has taken the next step towards the realisation of Plan S. The aim is to make Open Access without embargos possible for all publications.
An international team of experts from Science Europe, the association of European research funding organisations and research performing organisations, has presented seven recommendations on common standards in the allocation of funding. Based on best practice examples, the experts show how topics such as transparency, efficiency, and novel approaches can be further optimised in research funding.
The fourth call for proposals of the Euregio Science Fund is endowed with three million euros and is aimed at scientists working on multi-year research projects in Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino. The Austrian Science Fund FWF supports this cross-border initiative.
Austria's most highly endowed science awards have found their latest recipients: on the recommendation of an international jury of experts, the Austrian Science Fund FWF honours eight researchers – with one Wittgenstein Award and seven START Awards. The mathematician Adrian Constantin was honored with the Wittgenstein Award, endowed with EUR 1.5 million, who will use the funding to consolidate his position spearheading international research. Through its Wittgenstein and START programmes, the FWF launches research projects with a total investment volume of EUR 9.5 million.
In addition to the Wittgenstein Award, the Austrian Science Fund FWF also conferred this year's START excellence awards. From a field of 111 applicants, the jury chose seven researchers in a very competitive selection process.
With its current performance figures the Austrian Science Fund FWF illustrates that top-level domestic research is a forceful stimulus for business and society. In 2019, the FWF invested EUR 237 million in over 700 new research projects from all disciplines. In total, the FWF provides funding to 2,400 ongoing projects involving more than 4,000 researchers at Austria's universities and research institutions who are generating new knowledge and providing momentum for the economy. Due to the corona crisis, the number of research grant applications is expected to hit an all-time high in 2020.
Ten drawings with one common goal: that of using the potential of illustration to convey a better understanding of top research. In the FWF’s Annual Report – hot off the press – you will not only find FWF performance statistics but also encounter ten masterly illustrations. Each work of art is unique, offering you a new perspective on successfully completed research projects. The illustrations are also available as wallpaper for your smartphone.
The cooperation agreement between the Italian province of Alto Adige (South Tyrol) and the FWF is bearing fruit: the researchers Hannes Schuler (Free University of Bozen-Bolzano) and Christian Stauffer (BOKU Vienna) are the first bilateral team to receive joint project funding. In their project, the researchers from Bolzano and Vienna are using genome analysis to explore new ways of protecting fruit trees from the damage wrought by apple proliferation disease. The province of South Tyrol and the FWF are each investing nearly EUR 300,000 in the cooperation project.
In addition to close international cooperation in the SARS-CoV-2 urgent funding programmes, the Austrian Science Fund FWF has set up a further cooperation project with Switzerland: the FWF is participating in the coronavirus research programme run by the Swiss National Science Foundation. Researchers from Austria can form teams with colleagues from Switzerland and jointly initiate research projects.
