Funding Resources for Upper Austrian Digitization Researchers

This page is designed as a resource for researchers from Upper Austria. Here you can find the different funding agencies pages where calls will be published. Also on this page are opportunities for mobility funding, both incoming and outgoing, funding for training young researchers, and fellowship and scholarship opportunities for PhD students from Upper Austria who want to study in the other RLS regions.

Multilateral Funding for International Projects

Horizon 2020  |  European Union
According to the European Commission, Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU Research and Innovation programme ever with nearly €80 billion of funding available over 7 years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to the private investment that this money will attract. It promises more breakthroughs, discoveries and world-firsts by taking great ideas from the lab to the market.​ EU member states are automatically eligible to compete for funding. 

Non-EU RLS partners can participate in Horizon 2020 through bilateral agreements between their home countries and the European Union. Every RLS member state has these types of agreements. These agreements vary in the type of funding the the non-EU RLS partner is eligible for. For further information on how participate as a non-EU member, please visit the regional funding page for the partner in question. Additionally, in specific instances, consortium partners in non-EU member states can receive EU funding, provided they bring a unique competence to the consortium that is not available in the EU. 

Visit the Horizon 2020 page. ​
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Research Studios Austria (RSA) - Forschung ganz nah am Markt | Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy (BMWFW)
(Please note this call is now closed)
Value: Up to €1.3 Million
The Research Studios Austria programme promotes the application and implementation of results from pre-industrial research, thus strengthening collaboration between Austrian science and industry. Consortia may be formed with international partners which are not economically linked to Austrian businesses, and partners from regions outside of Austria (within or outside of the EU) can also be funded (up to 20% of the total funding).

A Research Studio is a group of researchers, from which the majority of research primarily work for the Studio. Research Studios can either be founded as "Verwertungsstudios" (application studios) or "Diversifizierungsstudios" (diversification studios). "Verwertungsstudios" are expected to result in innovative, prototype development with a direct application. Within "Diversifizierungsstudions" fundamental knowledge is the basis for further advancements leading to new application-oriented research and development expertise and is transferred to the market through contract research. The goal of the contract research is the generation of prototype developments at the contracting businesses.
The current call has named "Information and Communication Technology for Industry 4.0" a priority discipline.

The target groups include universities, universities of applied sciences and their transfer offices, cooperative and non-university research institutions, Research Studios as independent legal entities (spin-offs). Applications for the establishment of a Research Studio may be submitted by a studio operator alone or in cooperation with other potential studio operators or funded cooperation partners. A proposal may be submitted by a single institute or company, or as a consortium of up to 3 partner institutes and/or businesses.

The funding available to each of the project partners is dependant on the organizational type:
 - Institutes for research and the dissemination of knowledge: max. 70%
 - Small businesses: max. 60%
 - Medium-sized businesses: max. 50%
 - Large companies: max. 35%

Research Studios Austria are small and flexible research units that are usually affiliated to existing institutions. RSA may be established alone or in collaboration with a partner with the aim to translate research results into marketable products and services in a short period of time. Research Studios support networking activities and help to overcome structural bottlenecks and weaknesses and adapt existing structures to new challenges on a continuous basis. This approach is designed to enhance competitiveness and innovative strength of companies in the long term.

The Research Studios address topics that:
 - can be converted into marketable products and services in a short period of time,
 - are or importance for the Austrian economy,
 - have the potential to find broad application and
 - enable transition from basic research to application if the companies alone do not have sufficient relevant research expertise and capacity.

For consortia with international partners, an Austrian institution or business must act as the main applicant to the RSA Programme. Funding is possible for partners both within and outside of the EU. The conditions for the inclusions of foreign partners:

 - The international partner must contribute a significant benefit for the Austrian partner and for Austria as a location of science and research - this must be detailed in the funding proposal
 - The funding for the non-Austrian partner is a max. of 20% of the total funding value
 - The review committee must recommend the foreign partner

Alternatively, non-Austrian organizations may provide their own financing or financing from their home country. Cooperation agreements exist for joint financing with both European and non-European countries.

Visit the program website here.

Incoming Mobility Funding
Bringing RLS-Sciences students to Upper Austria

Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide (GROW) |  National Research Foundation (USA) and FWF (Austria) and CAPES (Brazil)
(Please note this call has now closed)
​Value: $5000 USD, for four to twelve months
Note: this opportunity is for students from Georgia to go to either Upper Austria or São Paulo
GROW provides NSF Graduate Research Fellows (referred to as "Fellows") with opportunities to engage in international collaborations with investigators in partner countries around the world. Through GROW, Fellows benefit from partnerships developed by NSF with counterpart funding organizations in other countries, including FWF in Austria and CAPES in Brazil.

Eligibility: GROW is open to active Fellows (both "on tenure" and "on reserve") who have completed at least one year of their graduate program at the time of application and will retain their active status for at least 12 months following the application submission deadline. They must be certified by the GRFP Institution to be making satisfactory progress towards their degrees and have fulfilled all GRFP reporting requirements.

General Program website.
Program website (Austria specific)
Program website (Brazil specific)

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Outward Mobility Funding
Visiting RLS-Sciences counterparts outside of Upper Austria

Programm des Landes Oberösterreich zur Förderung von Forschung, Lehre und Internationalisierung an der Johannes Kepler Universität (JKU) Linz  |  The State of Upper Austria and the Johannes Kepler Universität Linz
(Please note this call has now closed)
Value: dependent on the type of award given, please see below (in German)
These funding opportunities are open to applicants from any discipline within faculties of the JKU Linz. The proposed measures are aimed at researchers at the JKU within their dissertation phase, PraeDoc, as well as in their habilitation, PostDoc and young lecturers. This is an initiative of the state of Upper Austria and the JKU to provide financial support and improve the visibility of the accomplishments of the research and teaching at the JKU. Funding is available for:
 - Leaves of absence/sabbaticals
 - Research visits abroad
 - Awards to honour particular contributions in teaching
 - Incentive bonuses for interdisciplinary research