Sermilik Research Station Greenland
Profile area: Climate Change
Sponsor: Dr. Christian Palmers
Objectives:
- Establishment of Austria's own year-round research station for it long-standing polar research program with room for 25 researchers, which welcomes scientists and students from Austria and international partner organizations
- Promoting important climate research such as basic research related to the melting of polar ice, environmental monitoring, the understanding of climate change in the northern polar regions, investigation of complex relationships between global changes and their effects on regional and local atmospheric processes
Funding amount: €1.6 million
How you can implement infrastructure projects with the University of Graz
Endowed professorship for energy and resource innovation
Profile area: Climate Change
Sponsor: Alfred Heinzel
Objectives:
- Establishment of a professorship for research into future oriented technologies for the use of renewable raw materials
Achievements:
- Establishment of the "Innovation and Transition Research" working group at the University of Graz
- Supervision of around 15 bachelor's and master's courses per year with a total of over 400 students
- Numerous ongoing third-party funded projects, including five international projects and seven with industry partners
- Participation in two industry-related Comet research centers
Holder of the endowed professorship: Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. nat. techn. Tobias Stern, now: Head of the Institute of Environmental Systems Science
How to establish an endowed professorship at the University of Graz
Promotion of bee research by Sebastian Vettel
Profile area: Colibri (Complexity of Life in Basic Research and Innovation)
Sponsor: Sebastian Vettel, former Formula 1 world champion
Objectives:
- Expansion of modern bee research facilities
- Development of the "beehive of the future" to support bees in facing today's challenges (pesticides, parasites, climate change)
- In-depth research into the honeybee superorganism
- Promotion of "Technology for Good"
Funded team: Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr.rer.nat. Thomas Schmickl and team
How you can implement tailor-made funding formats with the University of Graz
Setting up a courtroom at Rewi
Field: Law
Sponsors: Law firms, companies, public institutions – throughout Austria
Objectives:
- Establishment and equipping of a so-called "moot court" courtroom with modern technology and flexible furnishing that can be quickly set up according to the type of proceedings
- Enabling fictitious court hearings (moot courts) to test theoretical knowledge in a practical setting
- Promotion of high-quality and practical legal education
Successes: In 2022, students from the University of Graz won the national competition of the prestigious Franz von Zeiller Moot Court in civil law
Funded institution: Faculty of Law
How you can implement infrastructure projects with the University of Graz
Rudi Roth Scholarship for Research on South-Eastern Europe
Area: Student mobility, research on South-Eastern Europe
Sponsor: Mag. Rudolf Roth
Objectives:
- To enable periods abroad for researchers to carry out academic work dealing with the situation in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe
- Promotion of young scientists
Funded institution: For all fields of study and levels
430 personalized chairs for the University of Graz
As part of a unique fundraising campaign in 2015/16, graduates and friends of the University of Graz were able to donate chairs with a personal message for the new alumni lecture hall. Among the donors are well-known graduates such as pop star Monika Martin and ORF presenter Claudia Reiterer, but former Federal President Heinz Fischer has also acquired his own seat. A funny anecdote from the campaign: well-known radio presenter Robert Kratky collected suggestions from the Ö3 community on his morning program for a suitable slogan for his chair!
Each of the 430 seats now tells a personal story, and we would like to thank our donors.
Stop Covid-19 project
With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, intensive research into SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was conducted worldwide – including at the University of Graz. To promote a promising research approach by Dr Andreas Kungl from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the "STOP Covid-19" fundraising campaign was launched in spring 2020. With the support of numerous sponsors, a real-time PCR instrument was purchased for the highly sensitive determination of viral nucleic acid, which is used as a measure of cellular infection. The aim of the research: to develop an active substance for patients with severe disease progression.
alumni for students
Job losses in the wake of the coronavirus crisis have also affected many students and shaken their financial security. The social fund of the ÖH Uni Graz, which is reserved for cases of hardship, received three times as many requests in spring 2020. To support students in this exceptional situation, the association alumni UNI graz launched the "alumni4students" fundraising campaign. The response to the campaign was enormous. Graduates of all ages, both in Austria and abroad, and across various faculties, showed strong solidarity and supported "alumni4students".