Our Stories

The opening event of the public lecture series “Changing Cities – Changing Societies” at Vienna City Hall brought together perspectives from research, urban planning, politics, culture and civil society. Organised by the Environment and Climate Research Hub (ECH) and the City of Vienna, the series uses examples from European cities to examine how collaboration can support sustainable urban change.

At its Research Retreat in Bad Vöslau, the Environment and Climate Research Hub brought together researchers for workshops, discussions and a moderated Grand Conversation. University of Vienna ViCAS fellows added new perspectives, while keynote speaker Karen R. Lips of IIASA and ECH ambassador Lora E. Fleming contributed to exchanges on current challenges in environment and climate research.

ECH member Ulrike Felt will receive the 2026 John Desmond Bernal Prize. The prize recognises distinguished contributions to science and technology studies. The award acknowledges Felt’s long-standing research on the societal conditions, effects and governance of science and technology.

Economic sociologist and ECH member Valentina Ausserladscheider has received an ERC Starting Grant for STRANDED. The project examines why economic actors respond differently to similar climate-related losses, and how cultural identities, political power and institutional structures shape these responses. Demographer Ester Lazzari has also received an ERC Starting Grant for her project MINDREP.

ECH member Andreas Richter (University of Vienna) will lead the six-year ActiveSOIL consortium funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The project integrates soil biology and microbial activity measurements into soil health assessment to link basic soil parameters with ecosystem processes and functions.

In the 2026 QS World University Rankings, the University of Vienna is ranked 140th, moving up 12 places from 2025 (152). It remains Austria’s highest-ranked university. Gains in Employer Reputation and Academic Reputation contributed to the rise. The result continues an upward trend; in October 2025, the university entered the THE top 100 for the first time.