UNIVERSITAET FUER BODENKULTUR WIEN

Their core work

BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna) is Austria's leading university for agriculture, forestry, environmental sciences, and biotechnology. They bridge natural sciences with engineering and social sciences to address challenges in food security, land use, ecosystem management, and bioprocess technology. Their applied research spans from soil science and climate adaptation to biopharmaceutical downstream processing and mycotoxin management, making them a go-to partner for projects that require deep understanding of biological systems in agricultural and environmental contexts.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2017), BOKU focused on ecosystem resilience, biodiversity monitoring, soil-sediment systems, and strategic research agendas — largely policy-oriented environmental work. By 2018–2021, their portfolio shifted visibly toward climate change mitigation, citizen science, nature-based solutions, and applied soil and agriculture research, alongside a new thread in advanced materials (graphene, 2D materials). This evolution shows a university moving from foundational environmental assessment toward actionable climate and sustainability solutions with stronger public engagement.

BOKU is increasingly oriented toward participatory climate adaptation research and nature-based solutions, making them a strong future partner for Green Deal and Mission Soil initiatives.

How they like to work

BOKU overwhelmingly operates as a consortium partner (94 of 116 projects), contributing domain expertise rather than leading large-scale coordination. With 13 coordinated projects they can lead when needed, particularly in food safety and fundamental research (AuxinER ERC, MyToolBox, SCATAPNUT). Their 1,527 unique partners across 79 countries indicate a massive, diverse network — they are a well-connected hub rather than a loyal-to-few organization, making them easy to integrate into new consortia.

BOKU has collaborated with 1,527 distinct partners across 79 countries, making them one of the most broadly networked life-sciences universities in Europe. Their partnerships span from African agricultural institutions to Western European research powerhouses, reflecting both their EU-wide reach and development-cooperation activities.

What sets them apart

BOKU occupies a rare intersection of agricultural sciences, environmental engineering, and biotechnology — few European universities combine deep soil and forestry expertise with biopharmaceutical process engineering under one roof. Their strong citizen science and public engagement portfolio makes them especially valuable for projects requiring societal impact evidence. As Austria's primary life-sciences university, they bring credibility and established infrastructure that complements both research-intensive and innovation-action consortia.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SCATAPNUT
  Largest single EC contribution (€1.99M) and coordinator role — an ERC-level fundamental research project demonstrating BOKU's capacity for scientific leadership.
• MyToolBox
  Coordinated a major food safety project on mycotoxin management (€970K), showcasing their ability to lead applied, multi-partner research in agriculture.
• AuxinER
  ERC-funded project (€1.44M) on plant hormone signaling — evidence of BOKU's strength in fundamental plant biology at the highest competitive level.