The Future
of Basic Research

The second annual Think Beyond Summit focused on the challenges that will decide the future of Austria and Europe as a research location: the attractiveness of academic careers, the degree of academic freedom, and the opportunity for international networking.

The Summit offered participants the opportunity to delve into these questions with national and international experts, including Robbert Dijkgraaf (former Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science and former Director, Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton), Manuel Heitor (Head of the Horizon Europe expert group, former Portuguese Minister of Science), and Henrike Hartmann (Deputy Secretary General at the Volkswagen Foundation).

The annual Think Beyond Summit brings together experts and decision-makers from science, business, research policy, and other areas of society to discuss the future of science from a basic research perspective. This FWF event gives participants the opportunity to converse with stakeholders and multipliers, view both national and international perspectives, exchange knowledge and experiences, and search for answers to key challenges Austria is facing as a hub of knowledge and research.

Martin Polaschek (Austrian Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research), Christof Gattringer (FWF President), Ursula Jakubek (FWF Vice-President)

Why is it easier for Harvard, Stanford, or Oxford to attract researchers from Austria than the other way around? Excellent research proposals submitted to ERC and FWF show that researchers in this country are capable of outstanding achievements, but Austria’s top research segment is still too narrow. What is causing this lack of breadth? Does Austria have too few jobs that offer researchers good conditions? What roles do factors like tenure-track prospects, the presence of excellent peers, research autonomy, the balance between teaching and research, and the availability of research funding play? And how much exchange goes on between academic research and R&D in business and industry? These questions will be discussed by:

• Keynote: Robbert Dijkgraaf (former Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science and former Director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton)
• Stephanie J. Ellis (Group leader, Max Perutz Labs)
• Sabine Herlitschka (CEO, Infineon Technologies Austria AG)
• Martin Hetzer (President, Institute of Science and Technology Austria – ISTA)
• Henrike Hartmann (Deputy Secretary General, Volkswagen Foundation)
• Moderation: Christof Gattringer (President, Austrian Science Fund FWF)

Visit the FWF website to read a transcript or listen to a recording of the panel debate.

In order to produce ground-breaking findings, researchers must be able to choose their own focus, and a free exchange of ideas and as unrestricted cooperation as possible must be guaranteed. At the same time, science is coming under increasing pressure from economic, social, and political groups that instrumentalize or even suppress research findings for their own interests, restricting the freedom and autonomy of research. Recent geopolitical developments have also resulted in the need for more attention to research security aspects, and in Europe, attitudes towards dual-use research are changing. What are the limits to freedom and autonomy in science and research in the 21st century?

• Keynote: Manuel Heitor (Head of the Horizon Europe expert group, former Portuguese Minister of Science)
• Katalin Farkas (Philosopher, Cluster of Excellence "Knowledge in Crisis," Central European University)
• Barbara Weitgruber (Director General for Scientific Research; International Relations;

• Gender Equality and Diversity Management, Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research)

• Jens Jungblut (Professor, Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Oslo)
• Markus Aspelmeyer (Quantum physicist, University of Vienna; Director of the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, OeAW)
• Moderation: Birgit Dalheimer (ORF Radio Ö1)

Visit the FWF website to read a transcript or listen to a recording of the panel debate.

40 years ago, the FWF gave the first Schrödinger Fellows the opportunity to spend time at renowned international research institutions as guest researchers. What followed was one of the greatest success stories in Austrian research funding: Since then, 3,500 researchers have travelled abroad on an FWF Schrödinger grant, returning with a wealth of experience, knowledge, and international contacts.

To celebrate the Schrödinger program’s 40th anniversary, the FWF invited alumni and alumnae of the program, many of whom have risen to the top of their field or are in successful positions in business and industry, to come back to the FWF to talk about their experiences and to network.

Click here for a look at the Schrödinger networking event.