More Options for the Rückenwind Funding Bonus

The opportunity to attend more international conferences and workshops - with a Rückenwind funding bonus, private partners support the academic careers of young researchers. Since 2020, this has helped 18 researchers expand their international networks. Now, the alpha+ Foundation's Rückenwind initiative has gained a new partner: law firm Binder Grösswang.

October 10, 2022

The Rückenwind funding bonus was launched as part of the philanthropic activities of the Austrian Science Fund’s (FWF) alpha+ Foundation. The objective is to open new doors for internationally active researchers in the Erwin Schrödinger Programme. With the support of philanthropically inclined individuals and organisations, the initiative supports the academic careers of aspiring researchers at an international level with up to €5,000 per person.

Since the launch of the Rückenwind funding bonus in 2020, 18 researchers - with a funding volume of almost €60,000 - have been given the chance to strengthen their networks with international colleagues.

The new cooperation with the renowned law firm Binder Grösswang now creates further opportunities for the next generation of top researchers. With their generous donation of €10,000, Binder Grösswang will be financing two Rückenwind funding bonuses (current press release from Binder Grösswang). “Supporting young researchers who invest in future-oriented projects which make an important contribution to the further development of our society is particularly important to us,” explains Dr. Andreas Hable, managing partner and spokesman of Binder Grösswang.

“We are delighted to be working with Binder Grösswang. This collaboration will give researchers more opportunities to network internationally and work together to discover new findings. This is an important contribution which will make it easier to get forward-looking ideas rolling,” says Ursula Jakubek, Commercial Vice-President of the FWF and Deputy Chair of the alpha+ Foundation, on Binder Grösswang’s commitment.

Third round of the Rückenwind funding bonus completed

The alpha+ Foundation awarded privately financed Rückenwind funding bonuses in the fields of biology and medicine again this year. The following five researchers from the Schrödinger Programme were awarded a Rückenwind funding bonus:

Krishna Mohan PADMANABHA DAS
Erwin Schrödinger research project “Accelerated discovery of novel coronavirus inhibitors”
Herbert MICHLMAYR
Erwin Schrödinger research project “Deoxynivalenol detoxification by glutathione transferases”
Christian NITSCHE
Erwin Schrödinger research project “Myocardial scar in aortic stenosis by CMR without contrast”
Katharina ARTINGER
Erwin Schrödinger research project “Contribution of Atypical Chemokine Receptors ACKR1 and ACKR4 to experimental kidney disease”
Katharina HUBER
Erwin Schrödinger research project “Control of glutamine metabolism by E2F1”

alpha+ Foundation of the Austrian Science Fund (FWF)

With the alpha+ Foundation, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) offers philanthropically inclined individuals and organisations the opportunity to support excellent researchers throughout Austria. The alpha+ Foundation and the FWF handle the entire process, from the call for proposals and the quality assurance of the research projects to awarding the grant. This way, 100% of every donation goes to the best researchers in Austria. Currently, private donations allow the FWF to finance research projects worth €1.5 million per year.