Research Meets Business and Society

Sharing new findings from basic research and strengthening the dialog between science, business, and society: Under the title “Spreading Knowledge,” the FWF is funding knowledge transfer events in Graz, Innsbruck, Krems, Salzburg, and Vienna. From cutting-edge medicine and forestry to linguistic research – the events offer a wide range of topics for participants from different fields.

February 11, 2026

Student:innen in einem großen Hörsaal schauen auf eine Vortragende auf der Bühne — Facilitating knowledge transfer between basic research and business, industry, and society: The FWF funds knowledge transfer events on a wide variety of topics. © Shutterstock

The FWF is funding ten knowledge transfer events in 2026, all of which will be implemented by and with researchers from collaborative FWF projects. Whether it’s a symposium, a networking conference, or a matchmaking event – the series of events is open to all topics and includes various formats. One key component they all have in common is the active involvement of stakeholders from research, the business community, industry, and society.

Knowledge transfer events are created, organized, and implemented independently by researchers from FWF’s collaborative programs. The FWF provides funding for the organization of the events and supports the entire event series through PR and communication activities, reporting on all events. FWF funding of up to €15,000 is available per event, with funds from the National Foundation for Research, Technology and Development. Events are held either directly at the research institutions or at other suitable locations. A panel of experts confirms that the events are worthy of funding.

Bringing research expertise to society

The aim of the event series is to make findings from collaborative FWF research projects accessible to experts and relevant stakeholders. At the same time, participants can establish new networks and are given opportunities for exchange, allowing them to transfer research findings into practice and advance innovation-oriented and socially relevant solutions.

The following events are being funded by the FWF with up to €15,000 apiece:

Stakeholder conference on perinatal mental health

Research institution: Medical University of Innsbruck; Event coordination: Laura Hölzle, Marie Sonnenstuhl; FWF project (#ConnectingMinds): Co-Designing Perinatal Mental Health Support in Tyrol, Jean Paul

Symposium on new approaches in cell biology/hematology research for medicine and healthcare

Research institution: University for Continuing Education Krems; Event coordination: Sabrina Summer; FWF project (doc.funds.connect): Extracellular Vesicles in Inflammation, Viktoria Weber

Symposium “Lung Science Austria 2026 – Bridging Research, Medicine, and Society for Better Breathing”

Research institution: Medical University of Graz; Event coordination: Grazyna Kwapiszewska; FWF project (doc.funds): RESPIMMUN - Immune Modulation in Respiratory Disease, Grazyna Kwapiszewska

Regional Mountain Conference 2026

Research institution: University of Innsbruck; Event coordination: Stefan Mayr; FWF project (doc.funds): The Future of Mountain Forests: Responses to a Drier Climate, Stefan Mayr

Symposium “BioToP Meets Industry”

Research institution: BOKU University; Event coordination: Lena Wohlschlager; FWF project (doc.funds): Biomolecular Technology of Protein Interactions, Chris Oostenbrink

Conference/kick-off “Dialect/Language/Education”

Research institution: University of Salzburg; Event coordination: Marlene Hartinger; FWF project (Special Research Areas): German in Austria (DiÖ). Variation - Contact - Perception, Alexandra Lenz

“Mathematical Modeling” conference for students and teachers

Research institution: TU Wien; Event coordination: Ulisse Stefanelli; FWF project (Special Research Areas): Taming Complexity in Partial Differential Systems, Ulisse Stefanelli

Start-up/network conference “New paths in RNA/biotechnology”

Research institution: Medical University of Vienna; Event coordination: Michael Jantsch, Matthias Schäfer; FWF project (Special Research Areas): RNAdeco: Decorating RNA for a Purpose, Michael Jantsch

Congress “Evidence-Based Longevity Medicine 2026”

Research institution: Medical University of Graz; Event coordination: Corina Madreiter-Sokolowski; FWF project (Research Groups): Novel Strategies for Targeting Cellular Senescence, Pidder Jansen-Dürr

Symposium “Gut Microbiota-Immune-Brain Axis Development in Early Life”

Research institution: University of Vienna; Event coordination: David Berry; FWF project (Research Groups): Gut-Immune-Brain Axis Dysfunction in Premature Neonates, David Berry

Thousands of research projects and their results available online

If you want to find out more about the latest research developments and results, the FWF Research Radar, an online database, offers a comprehensive overview of ongoing and completed research projects from all scientific disciplines. The database is searchable by keyword and provides topic-specific access to all FWF-funded research projects and the researchers and institutions behind them.