These are the winners of the first Internationalisation Award 2025
Higher education mobility and internationalisation encompass more than just a semester abroad at a partner university. It is a holistic experience that encompasses the entire teaching and learning environment and also the entire mindset at a higher education institution and thus all levels, sectors and all persons working or studying at a higher education institution. This is also the aim of the Higher Education Mobility and Internationalisation Strategy 2030 (HMIS2030).
To highlight outstanding examples of good practice, successful mobility and internationalisation at higher education institutions the Austrian Federal Ministry of Women, Science and Research (BMFWF) and the OeAD, Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation, have created the ‘Internationalisation Award’, which will be presented annually from this year onwards to a higher education institution and its relevant projects. The first award ceremony took place on Thursday, 27 November 2025, within the framework of this year's OeAD Higher Education Conference at the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein.
‘Internationalisation creates opportunities. It opens doors, broadens horizons and strengthens social cohesion in a global world. Everyone should have the possibility to learn, research and develop new perspectives across borders – regardless of gender, origin or financial means. The projects presented with the award today show how internationalisation can become a living reality. I would like to congratulate all award winners. They demonstrate how strong our higher education institutions are when diversity, exchange and solidarity are at the forefront,’ emphasised the science minister Eva-Maria Holzleitner.
103 submissions from 38 higher education institutions, including a university college of teacher education
The minister of science and research and the OeAD’s managing director Jakob Calice therefore thanked not only the twelve award winners from six universities, four universities of applied sciences and one university college of teacher education but also all those responsible for the lively participation and interest in the Internalisation Award. 103 submissions from 38 higher education institutions across Austria were submitted to the OeAD for this year's first award ceremony.
The OeAD’s managing director Calice emphasised this diversity: ‘As Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation the OeAD has accompanied and supported the higher education mobility and internationalisation strategy since its inception.’ The Internationalisation Award highlights outstanding examples that should also inspire other higher education institutions to continue investing in their international orientation. We are particularly happy that the initiatives presented with awards today not only cover this breadth but also excellently represent the diversity of the Austrian higher education landscape with eleven different higher education institutions from different sectors.
The winners were selected by a jury of renowned experts from Switzerland and Germany, including representatives from the ETH Zurich and the University of Potsdam.
The twelve winners in four categories
The Internationalisation Award was presented in the following four categories:
- Category ‘Internationalisation of the Curriculum’
1st place: Making mobility possible in dietetics: from exception to structure: FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences
2nd place: WU Global Mindset Initiative WU Vienna Submission by: Vienna University of Technology (WU Vienna)
3rd place: Development of European Joint Master's Programmes ‘GRACE’: USTP – University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten
- Category ‘Measures to promote mobility and skills development for lecturers and general university staff’
1st place: Strategically International: Certificate in Internationalisation of General Staff: University of Innsbruck
2nd place: Lecturer mobility meets diversity: Urban Education worldwide: University College of Teacher Education Vienna
3rd place: Campus without borders – The Internationalisation Academy: University of Salzburg
- Category ‘Measures to promote mobility for underrepresented student groups’
1st place: Thinking about art globally – strengthening mobility for underrepresented groups: Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
2nd place: Going abroad with child: Three students, three paths, one common goal: Salzburg University of Applied Sciences
3rd place: Promoting inclusion for student mobility outside the Erasmus programme: University of Graz
- Category ‘Measures for a vibrant international higher education culture’
1st place: Graz University of Technology’s International House: Graz University of Technology
2nd place: ‘Around the world in one semester’ – When an evening becomes a guide: IMC Krems University of Applied Sciences
3rd place: Welcome Buddy Programme: Mastering the start of your studies with peer-to-peer support: Graz University of Technology
All submitted measures, projects and initiatives will be made available to the general public on the HMIS2030 online platform (www.hmis2030.at) as examples of good practice in the spirit of mutual learning. They are intended to inspire and motivate all higher education institutions to generate new ideas, approaches and impetus for the internationalisation of studies and teaching at their institutions.
To the APA photo gallery: https://www.apa-fotoservice.at/galerie/39634
Enquiries and contact:
OeAD – Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation
Mag. Ursula Hilmar
Press spokesperson
+43 1 53408-270
presse@oead.at
www.oead.at
Austrian Federal Ministry of Women, Science and Research
Florian Atzmüller
Press spokesperson
+43 664 78092423
florian.atzmueller@bmfwf.gv.at
www.bmfwf.gv.at
