UNIVERSITAET GRAZ

Their core work

The University of Graz is a broad research university in Austria with particular strength in climate change economics, energy efficiency policy, bio-hybrid robotics, and social sciences including Europeanization and post-Yugoslav studies. They contribute applied research in areas ranging from pharmaceutical nanotechnology and drug delivery systems to solar physics and sustainable catalysis. Their work frequently bridges natural sciences with social and behavioral dimensions — for example, studying how people change energy behaviors or how cities are reclaimed in post-conflict societies.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), the University of Graz focused heavily on energy efficiency, climate mitigation policy, and behavior change — projects like TRIBE, IN-BEE, and TRANSrisk dominated their portfolio alongside FET-funded bio-robotics experiments. From 2019 onward, the focus shifted noticeably toward Europeanization and political science, pharmaceutical nanotechnology (drug delivery, 3D biomodels), and ambitious bio-hybrid systems like HIVEOPOLIS. The university appears to be diversifying away from pure energy-climate work toward life sciences and interdisciplinary social research.

Graz is moving toward pharmaceutical nanotechnology and interdisciplinary life sciences while maintaining its social science strengths — expect future projects combining biomedical engineering with computational modeling.

How they like to work

With 27 coordinated projects out of 66 (41%), the University of Graz is an unusually active project leader for a university of its size — they don't just participate, they initiate and run projects. Their 467 unique consortium partners across 56 countries indicate a wide, non-repetitive network rather than a tight cluster of recurring collaborators. This makes them a reliable coordinator choice for new consortia and suggests they are experienced at managing diverse, multinational teams.

With 467 unique partners spanning 56 countries, the University of Graz maintains one of the broader collaboration networks among Austrian universities. Their reach extends well beyond the EU into Southeast Europe, the Black Sea region, and beyond, reflecting their political science and development research interests.

What sets them apart

What sets the University of Graz apart is the unusual combination of hard science (solar physics, pharmaceutical nanotechnology, robotics) with deep social science expertise (Europeanization, post-conflict societies, behavioral economics). Few universities bridge these domains so actively within H2020. Their high coordination rate (41%) and geographic diversity make them a strong anchor partner for interdisciplinary consortia that need both technical depth and socioeconomic analysis.

Highlights from their portfolio

• HIVEOPOLIS
  Largest coordinated project (EUR 1.73M) combining robotics, computational biology, and ecosystem services in an ambitious smart beehive concept.
• subCULTron
  Coordinated a EUR 901K FET project on long-term submarine robotic exploration — an early and bold entry into bio-hybrid autonomous systems.
• OCLOC
  Largest single EC contribution (EUR 1.54M) for an ERC-level project on optimal control of partial differential equations, demonstrating strong mathematical foundations.