Open Calls
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Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators

The Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators (VRG) programme is designed to attract outstanding early-career researchers from abroad to Vienna who seek to advance their research career by establishing an independent research group. Up to € 1.8 million for 6-8 years can be awarded per group. The VRG candidate applies together with a Vienna research institution and the topic of the programme changes every year.

Contact: Petra Steinkogler or Michael Strassnig

Earlier calls

Environmental Systems Research

The 17th Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators call 2026 "Environmental Systems Research" was issued as part of the WWTF’s Environmental Systems Research program. The names of the researchers will be published here in the next months.

The call was open to all topics and areas in Environmental Systems Research, and researchers from all disciplines (e.g., natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, health sciences, climate research ...) were welcome. The funded Vienna Research Group are expected to develop a distinctive research profile that tackles fundamental and interdisciplinary questions in environmental research using cutting-edge methodologies. The call aimed at funding research that should aim to significantly expand current knowledge and have the direct potential to contribute to meaningful societal advancements. Research that extends beyond academia and aims to build strong collaborations with non-academic partners was strongly encouraged. 

 

Funding volume: 5.371.642 €
Number of applications: 17
Awarding procdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearings 
Jury meeting: 24 and 25 September 2026
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 7 October 2026

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

Debra Roberts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, SA

Zahra Kalantari, KTH, SE

Maria Kanakidou, University of Crete, GR

Reinhard Madlener, RWTH Aachen, DE

Elena Paoletti, National Research Council, IT

Xiaoxiang Zhu, TU Munich, DE

Transforming Science with AI/ML

The 16th Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators call 2025 "Transforming Science with AI/ML" was issued as part of the WWTF’s Information and Communication Technologies program. The call aimed to attract excellent, early career researchers who develop cutting-edge AI/ML concepts, approaches, and methods to advance a specific research field or discipline. 

 

Funding volume:  3.315.126 €
Number of applications: 34
Awarding procedure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearings 
Jury meeting: 2 and 3 September 2025
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 29 September 2025

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

Niko Beerenwinkel (Chair) ETH Zürich, CH

Andreas Hotho, Universität Würzburg, DE

Dunia Mladenić, Jozef Stefan Institute, SL

Frank van Harmelen, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, NL

Tatiana Tommasi, Politecnico di Turino, IT

Marius Kloft, TU Kaiserslautern, DE

Sotirios Tsaftaris, The University of Edinburgh, UK

Hervé Panetto, University of Lorraine, FR

Funded projects

Information and Communication Technology

The 15th Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators call 2024 was  issued for up to three group leader positions as part of the WWTF’s Information and Communication Technologies programme. The proposed field of research had to contribute to fundamental scientific advancement in the area of AI/ML. A special emphasis of this call was to link AI theory with data and knowledge of other research fields. Three VRG leaders and their groups could be funded with max. € 1.6 m. each.

Funding volume: € 4,714,315
Number of applications: 19
Awarding procedure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearings 
Jury meeting and hearings: 30.9. and 1.10. 2024
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 9.10.2024

Contact person:

Petra Steinkogler, petra.steinkogler@wwtf.at, Tel.: + 43 1 402 31 43 14

Niko Beerenwinkel (Chair) ETH Zürich, CH

Zeynep Akata, Helmholtz Institut München, DE

Fosca Giannotti, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, IT

Andreas Hotho, Universität Würzburg, DE

Carsten Lutz, Universität Leipzig, DE

Marie-Francine Moens, KU Leuven, BE

Jean Ponce, Ecole normale supérieure-PSL and New York University, FR

Funded projects

Information and Communication Technology

The 14th Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators call 2023 was  issued for up to three group leader positions as part of the WWTF’s Information and Communication Technologies programme. Four VRG leaders and their groups could be funded.

Funding volume: € 6,267,818 
Number of applications: 20
Awarding procedure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearings 
Jury meeting: 21st and 22nd September 2023
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 3.10.2023

Contact person: Michael Strassnig

Volker Markl (Chair), TU Berlin, DE

Alexander Maedche, KIT, DE

Nada Lavrac, University of Nova Gorica, SI

Jana Tumova, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SWE

Elena Ferrari, University of Insubria, ITA

Anne-Marie Kermarrec, EPFL, CH

Olaf Schenk, Universita della Svizzera italiana, CH

Funded projects

The 13th Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators call 2022 was  issued for up to two group leader position as part of the WWTF’s Environmental Systems Research programme.

Funding volume: 3.199.110 € 
Number of applications: 8
Awarding proecdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearings
Jury meeting: 30th of November – 1st of December 2022
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 7.12.2022

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

Members of the call jury:

Peter Søgaard Jørgensen / Stockholm Resilience Center, S (Chair)

Aveliina Helm / Tartu University, EST

Harald Horn / Karlsruher Institut für Technologie, D

Pim Martens / Maastricht University, NL

Claudia Pahl-Wostl / University of Osnabrück, D

Michael Zwicky Hauschild / Technical University of Denmark, DK

Andreas WAHNER / Forschungszentrum Jülich, D

Funded projects

Cognitive Sciences

The twelfth call in the program "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" has taken place in the field "Cognitive Sciences" in 2021. Two positions with a maximum of € 1.6 million in funding were advertised.

Funding volume: 3,2 Mio €
Number of applications: 21 Proposals
Awarding procedure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: 2/3rd of December 2021
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: 16th of December 2021

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

Members of the call jury:

Jan THEEUWES (Jury Chair)

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, NL

Kim BARD

University of Portsmouth, UK

Ophelia DEROY

LMU, D

Gareth GASKELL

York University, UK

Valeria GAZZOLA*

University of Amsterdam, NL

Judith K. MAKARA

Hungarian Academy of Sciences, HU

Elodie Floriane MANDEL-BRIEFER

University of Copenhagen, DK

Funded projects

Computational Biosciences

The eleventh call in the  "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Life Sciences - Computational Biosciences" in 2020. It was issued up for two positions à 1,6 mio €  funding volume.

Funding volume: 3,2 m €
Number of applications: 12 proposals
Awarding procdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: December 3-4, 2020
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: December 16, 2020

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

Members of the call jury:

Peter Arndt (jury chair) | MPI für molekulare Genetik

Franca Fraternali | King’s College London

Martin Lenz | Univ. Paris-Saclay

Carsten Marr | Helmholtz Zentrum München

Natasa Przulj | Barcelona Supercomputing C. / UCL

Blanca Rodriguez | University of Oxford

Tanja Stadler | ETH Zürich

Funded projects

Interdisciplinary Data Science

The tenth call in the  "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Information and Communication Technology - Interdisciplinary Data Science" in 2019. It was issued up for two positions à 1,6 mio €  funding volume. The awardees will be annouced soon. 

Funding volume: € 3,200,000
Number of applications: 11 proposals
Awarding procdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: December 2-3, 2019
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: December 17, 2019

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

Members of the call jury:

  • Barbara Caputo (jury chair) | Politecnico of Torino, Italy
  • Jianqing Fan| Princeton, US
  • Daniel Gatica-Perez | EPFL, CH
  • Volker Markl | TU Berlin, Germany
  • Natasa Przulj| Barcelona Supercomputing Center, ES
  • Anthony Steed | UCL, UK

 

Funded projects

The ninth call in the  "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Information and Communication Technology" in 2018. It was issued up for three positions à 1,6 mio €  funding volume. The awardees will be annoucing soon. 

 

Funding volume: € 4.800.000
Number of applications: 17 proposals
Awarding procdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: November 28-29, 2018
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: December 11, 2018

Contact person: Michael Strassnig

Members of the call jury:

  • Björn Ottersten (jury chair) | University of Luxemburg, LU
  • Luc de Raedt | KU Leuven, BE
  • Lars Ramkilde Knudsen | Technical University of Denmark, DK
  • Marta Kwiatkowska | University of Oxford, UK
  • Angelika Steger | ETH Zurich, CH
  • Rüdiger Westermann | TU Munich, DE

Funded projects

"Mathematics and..."

The eighth call in the  "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Mathematics and ..." in 2017. It was issued up for two positions à 1,6 mio €  funding volume.

Funding volume: 3.200.000 €
Number of applications: 16 proposals
Awarding procdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international 
Jury meeting: November 30 - December 1, 2017
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: December 12, 2017

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

Members of the call jury:

Barbara Wohlmuth (jury chair) | TU München, DE
Rama Cont | Imperial College London, UK
Susanne Ditlevsen | University of Copenhagen, DK 
Stéphane Jaffard | UPEC – Université Paris-Est, FR 
J. Tinsley Oden | ICES – The University of Texas at Austin, US
Angela Stevens | Universität Münster, DE

 

Funded projects

Complexity Science

The seventh call in the  "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Complexity Science" in 2016. It was issued for one position à 1,6 mio €  funding volume.

Funding volume: 1,600,000 €
Number of applications: 5 full proposals
Awarding procdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: December 5, 2016
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: December 13, 2016

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

For more information see the Call Fiche 2016

Members of the call jury:

  • Sorin Solomon (jury chair) | Hebrew University of Jerusalem, IL
  • Alfred Hubler | University of Illinois, US
  • Gero Miesenböck | University of Oxford, UK
  • Michal Linial | Hebrew University of Jerusalem, IL
  • Vittorio Loreto | Sapienza University Rome, IT
  • Frank Schweitzer | ETH Zürich, CH
  • Karoline Wiesner | University of Bristol, UK

Funded projects

"Computational Biosciences"

The sixth call in the "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Computational Biosciences" in 2015. It was issued for up to 2 positions à 1,6 mio €  funding volume.

The successful appointment of a woman will be rewarded with a financial benefit for the Vienna host institution in order to support their gender mainstreaming activities ("ergänzendes Instrument").

Funding volume: 3,197,900 €
Number of applications: 9 full proposals
Awarding procdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: December 9-10, 2015
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: December 14, 2015
 
Contact person: Petra Steinkogler
 
For more information see the Call Fiche 2015
 

Members of the call jury: 

Anna Tramontano (jury chair)| Sapienza University of Rome, IT
Peter F. Arndt | Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, DE
Sebastian Bonhoeffer | ETH Zurich, CH
Juni Palmgren | Karolinska Institutet, SE
Fabian Theis | Helmholtz Zentrum München
Janet Thornton | EMBL-EBI, UK

Funded projects

The fifth call in the "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Life Sciences" in 2014. It was issued for up to 3 positions à 1,6 mio €  funding volume.

The successful appointment of a woman will be rewarded with a financial benefit for the Vienna host institution in order to support their gender mainstreaming activities ("ergänzendes Instrument").

Funding volume:  4,799,000 €

Number of applications: 25 full proposals
Awarding procdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: November 24-25, 2014
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: November 28, 2014

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

For more information see the Call Fiche 2014

Members of the call jury: 

  • Andrew George (jury chair) | Brunel University London, UK
  • Cosimo De Bari | University of Aberdeen, UK
  • Gerhard Haszprunar | LMU Munich, DE
  • Michal Linial | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Cathie Martin | John Innes Centre, UK
  • Sylvie Mazan | CNRS UPMC, FR

Funded projects

The fourth call in the "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Cognitive Sciences" in 2013. It was issued for up to 2 positions à 1,5 mio €  funding volume.

Funding volume: 1,499,466 €
Number of applications: 7 full proposals
Awarding procdure: One stage procedure with full proposals, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: November 25, 2013
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: December 17, 2013

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

For more information see the Call Fiche 2013

Members of the call jury: 

  • Gero Miesenböck (jury chair) | University of Oxford, UK
  • Sarah-Jayne Blakemore | UCL, UK
  • Ina Bornkessel-Schlesewsky | University of Marburg, DE
  • Cynthia Macdonald | University of Canterbury, UK
  • Jochen Steil | Bielefeld University, DE
  • David W. Stephens | University of Minnesota, US
  • Jan Theeuwes | Vrije Universiteit, NL

 

Funded projects

The third call in the "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Mathematics and..." in 2012. It was issued for up to 2 positions à 1,5 mio €  funding volume.

Funding volume: 2,995,450 €
Number of applications: 28 short proposals, 11 invited for submitting a full proposal
Awarding procdure: Two stage procedure with short and full proposal, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: December 10-11, 2012
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: December 18, 2012

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

For more information see the Call Fiche 2012

Members of the call jury:

  • Barbara Wohlmuth (jury chair) | Technical University Munich, DE
  • Sebastian Bonhoeffer | ETH Zurich, CH
  • Emilia Del Bono | University of Essex, UK
  • Anna C. Gilbert | The University of Michigan, US
  • Maciej Lewenstein | ICFO Barcelona, ES
  • Philip K. Maini | Oxford University, UK
  • Ingrid Van Keilegom | Université catholique de Louvain, BE

Funded projects

The second call in the "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Information- and Communication Technology" in 2011. It was issued for up to 2 positions à 1,5 mio €  funding volume.

Funding volume: € 3,000,000 €
Number of applications: 22 short proposals, 10 invited for submitting a full proposal
Awarding procdure: Two stage procedure with short and full proposal, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: December 8-9, 2011
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: December 14, 2011

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

For more information see the Call Fiche 2011

Members of the call jury: 

Alexander L. Wolf (jury chair) | Imperial College London, UK
Hans Ulrich Buhl | University of Augsburg, DE
Anja Feldmann | Technische Universität Berlin, DE
David Harel | Weizmann Institute of Science, IL
Carol O’Sullivan | Trinity College Dublin, IRL
Björn Ottersten | Royal Institute of Technology, SE
Tom Rodden | University of Nottingham, UK

Funded projects

The first call in the "Vienna Research Groups for Young Investigators" programme took place in the field of "Life Sciences" in 2010. It was issued for up to 3 positions à 1,5 mio €  funding volume.

Funding volume: 2,999,600 €
Number of applications: 25 short proposals, 13 invited for submitting a full proposal
Awarding procdure: Two stage procedure with short and full proposal, selection by international expert panel based on review report by peers and hearing
Jury meeting: September 8-10, 2010
Formal decision by WWTF Board of Directors: September 13, 2010

Contact person: Petra Steinkogler

For more information see the Call Fiche 2010

Members of the call jury: 

  • Alan Coman (jury chair) | A*STAR Institute of Medical Biology, SG
  • Edda Fiebiger | Harvard Medical School, US
  • Henrike Hartmann | Volkswagenstiftung, DE
  • Kay Huebner | Ohio State University, US
  • Dirk Inzè | University of Ghent, BE
  • Michal Linial | Hebrew University, IL
  • Chris Mason | University College London, UK

Funded projects

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