Austrian Ministry of Research Danubius Awards 2022
The Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, in cooperation with the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe, honored scientific talents from the countries of the Danube Region for the ninth time this year. The Danubius Award 2022, Mid-Career Award and Danubius Young Scientist Awards were presented to 13 emerging researchers from the Danube region awarded in Maribor.
The Danubius Award 2022, Mid-Career Award and Danubius Young Scientist Awards were presented this year in Maribor, Slovenia. / Picture: © Flickr / flavioxf
By granting these awards, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) contributes to the implementation of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR) adopted by the European Council in 2011. By honoring outstanding scientific achievements, the Danube region is made visible as a research area and the perception of its multidisciplinary challenges and potentials is strengthened.
The award ceremony in Maribor was performed by section head Barbara Weitgruber from the BMBWF and the chairman of the board of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM) Friedrich Faulhammer.
Referring to the solidarity with Ukraine as a partner country of the EUSDR, Barbara Weitgruber emphasized: "We will continue our support for Ukrainian researchers who have come or want to come to the EU, as well as for those who have remained in Ukraine. We also hope for an early start to reconstruction and are preparing for appropriate support measures."
The 2022 "Danubius Mid-Career Award" will be presented to the Ukrainian scientist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tamara Martsenyuk. She is an associate professor at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. Her areas of focus are gender research, issues of social inequality, gender policies, social movements, and empowerment. In addition to numerous stays abroad and participation in international research projects, she also contributes her expertise to national policy forums and NGOs. Currently, she is researching the topic of "Women's involvement in Russia's War against Ukraine".
The "Danubius Mid-Career Award" is endowed with 2,200 euros and has been awarded since 2017 to researchers who are 5 to a maximum of 15 years after their last formal scientific degree or who have equivalent scientific experience. The award winners were selected by an independent expert jury chaired by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Stefan M. Newerkla (University of Vienna).
Friedrich Faulhammer added: "I am very pleased that together with the Ministry of Education, Science and Research we are once again awarding scientists who significantly contribute to the development of knowledge and understanding in the Danube region in their various fields of research. This year, I am particularly pleased that we can also highlight the scientific work of Ukrainian women researchers, as they are currently forced to work under the conditions created by the unjustified Russian attack on their country."
The "Danubius Award" 2022 goes to the Bulgarian scholar Prof. Dr. Diana Mishkova, Professor of History and Director of the Centre for Advanced Study (CAS) in Sofia, Bulgaria. She has contributed significantly to research on the Balkans with her work on focal areas of modern and contemporary history of Eastern Europe, modernization of Southeastern Europe, European societies and peripheries, and national identities. She is also the founding director of CAS Sofia, which is funded by numerous international sponsors, including the Wissenschaftskolleg Berlin. Prof. Dr. Mishkova has received several awards for her scientific work and is involved in numerous international projects - currently in the Horizon 2020 project "PREVEX - Preventing Violent Extremism in the Balkans".
The "Danubius Award" was established in 2011 to honor individuals who have outstandingly dealt with the Danube region in their scientific work or creations. The prize is awarded annually on a rotating basis for achievements in the humanities, cultural and social sciences (2022) or in the life sciences and is endowed with € 5,000.
In addition, 13 young scientists from the Danube region will be honored for their scientific work with the Danubius Young Scientist Awards.
The Danubius Young Scientist Award is a young scientist award to stimulate young scientists (up to 5 years after the award of the Master/Ph.D.) to deal with the Danube and the region from a diverse scientific perspective. In addition, it is intended as a long-term impulse to contribute to the revitalization of the scientific community in the Danube region. One scientist in each of the 14 countries of the Danube Region will be awarded. The prize is endowed with 1,350 euros per person.