Josef Ressel Centers

The Josef Ressel Centers support application-oriented research centers at Austrian universities of applied sciences in close partnership with companies. The goal is to sustainably strengthen scientific excellence and innovative capacity by having interdisciplinary teams from research institutions and industry jointly develop novel technologies and methods. The funding covers compact research groups of three to ten people, guarantees a high scientific quality standard, and provides the participants with the necessary freedom to build competencies. With a maximum duration of five years, the program creates long-term planning security for designated leaders at universities of applied sciences and their corporate partners.

A grant of up to €1,380,000 per center is funded at a funding rate of 60%, distributed over a project period of 60 months. Applicants must demonstrate cooperation between a university of applied sciences and at least one company and submit their application via the CDG ePortal. Evaluation criteria include application orientation, degree of innovation, scientific quality, integration within the university of applied sciences environment, and sustainability of the collaboration. The call for proposals runs from March 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026, with submissions made digitally. For the application, among other documents, the signed application form, the General Funding Conditions, and template forms must be provided in the ePortal. Interested university of applied sciences management and business partners thus gain straightforward access to funding that specifically promotes high-quality research projects.