Africa
The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) has continuously expanded funding opportunities for cooperation with African countries in science and research since 2013. These efforts involve providing funding for bi- and multilateral cooperation projects with African countries that are leading in RTI, such as South Africa. This includes measures on capacity building and knowledge transfer for countries with low resources in science and research. The goal is to address local challenges in those countries through science and research, thereby fostering economic development and reducing the emigration of qualified workers from Africa to Europe (brain drain).
Besides funding programmes for bilateral research projects (Scientific & Technological Cooperation) and participation in multilateral EU-initiatives, the BMBWF launched two new global initiatives at the “High Level Forum EU-Africa” in 2018 in Vienna to strengthen research cooperation with Africa: a funding programme for development research projects called “Cooperation Development Research” and the Austrian-African research network “Africa-UniNet”.
“Africa-UniNet” is a long-term cooperation and information platform for Austrian and African universities and research institutions, with coordination provided by the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU). The BMBWF supports the network by funding a network-bureau as well as through a funding programme for the members of the network for joint research projects, faculty exchange and networking events.