Urania Lectures: New Insights, First-Hand

Have you ever wanted to attend lectures by top-class, internationally renowned researchers – not in a large auditorium, but in a more intimate setting, and in easy-to-understand language? Would you like to get first-hand information on today’s key issues, like climate change or artificial intelligence? And what if you could even talk to these researchers in person afterwards?

Then the new Urania Lectures, organized by the FWF in cooperation with the adult education center VHS Wiener Urania, is just what you’re looking for. Vienna's comprehensive network of adult education centers has been offering science-based programs with exciting lectures and discussions since 2012. The idea behind these events is to communicate scientific and research results by both renowned and up-and-coming junior researchers to as wide an audience as possible. The format gives participants ample opportunities for discussion and exchange. The aim is to get the public and researchers in conversation with each other.

“Since 2019, the science program at VHS Wiener Urania has been increasingly committed to continuous knowledge building, encouraging a lively exchange of information, and stimulating discussions with both well-established and junior researchers and experts who pass on what they know with passion and idealism,” explains Doris Zametzer, director of the adult education centers VHS Wiener Urania and Landstraße.

Starting in the 2024 fall semester, the new cooperation will also see researchers funded by the FWF present their latest findings, discuss them, and answer questions. “Whether it's about how climate change affects our lives, how we can grow old in good health, or how language evolves in a multicultural society – the Urania Lectures focus on the latest research findings and offer the opportunity to speak directly with FWF-funded researchers. I invite you to join us and take this opportunity to exchange ideas,” says FWF President Christof Gattringer about the new event series.