Given the travel restrictions and other difficulties the universities are facing in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic, the DRC Presidency, after careful consideration and in consultation with the Uzhhorod National University as the host of this year's meeting, agreed to hold the DRC Annual Meeting on 10-12th of November 2021 in an online form via ZOOM. Apart of many fruitful discussions during the Annual Conference on 11th November organised by the Uzhhorod National University, the DRC General Assembly brought many announcements.

During the DRC General Assembly 2021 were discussed the remarkable achievements of the past year. Two new DRC initiatives - the DRC Initiative Found and the DRC Strategic Foresight - have been agreed upon, two new members were welcomed in the network: the University of Reutlingen and the J. Selye University of Komarno as well as the financial budget for 2022 was approved. A brief summary of many events that were organised or co-organised by the DRC in 2021 has been presented.

Further documents, including the minutes, are available on our DRC intranet. To get access as DRC member, please write an e-mail to info@drc-danube.org

The DRC network continues to grow: two new DRC members

During the General Assembly, the applications of membership from two more universities in the Danube Region were approved. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that the DRC network is welcoming two more members: the University of Reutlingen and the J. Selye University of Komarno,

We warmly welcome the new members to the DRC network!

Two upcoming initiatives: DRC supports students and early-stage researchers

Moreover, two new projects for the upcoming year have been presented and approved by the General Assembly:

1. DRC Initiative Fund
2. DRC Strategic Foresight: The Future of Science and Education in a Globalised World: A View for and From the Danube Region

The Calls for both projects will be published in January 2022. Please subscribe to the DRC newsletter (at the bottom of this page) and follow the webpage in order to be updated on the upcoming activities.

On November 11, 2021, the IDM, together with the Federal Ministry of the Republic of Austria of Education, Science and Research, awarded excellent scientists, whose talent has flourished in the Danube Region.

Due to ongoing pandemic restrictions, the Danubius Awards 2021 Award Ceremony took place in a virtual format. You can find the recording of the ceremony on the IDM YouTube channel.

The Danubius Award Winner 2021

The Danubius Award went to Austrian scientist Prof. Josef  Glößl University Professor for Applied Genetics at the Institute of Plant Biotechnology and Cell Biology of Boku. We are honoured to have awarded this important prize to Prof.  Glößl, who stands out for an exceptional career in physiology, chemistry, plant physiology, and applied genetics - together with his invaluable contribution to the Danube region's academic development. 

The Danubius Mid-Career Award Winner 2021

The Danubius Mid-Career Award has been awarded to the Serbian scientist Tanja Dabović, Ass. Professor at the Faculty of Geography of the University of Belgrade, where she has been working in the field of Spatial Planning since her PhD. Her work has mainly focused on planning disciplines, with particular emphasis on multi-level governance and cross-sector integration. Involved in different national and international projects, Prof. Dabović's research has proved to be meaningful for the Danube Region, as the award clearly demonstrates.

The Danubius Young Scientist Award Winners 2021

Press Release Danubius Awards 2021

Organised by the International Elias Canetti Society (IECS) with the kind support of the Danube Rectors' Conference (DRC)

The chosen candidate to implement their project idea through this year’s “Sharing future” scholarship in Ruse was Thomas Perle. Thomas Perle is of Romanian-Hungarian-German descent. After the fall of the communist regime, he emigrated with his parents from Romania to Germany. In 2020 he took part in the 13th edition of Ruse’s Literature Festival. This year, he was amongst the applicants for the 2021 call for applications of the Sharing Future scholarship, which he ultimately received after his project idea was selected and approved. He has been working for a month in Ruse on the drama "donauwellen"/"Danube waves", which he conceptualised together with local Bulgarian actors and a regisseur.

More information on the Scholarship including the photos can be found in the Report below.

The performance was recorded live at Canetti House and the whole product can be watched on the International Elias Canetti Society’s YouTube channel.

Four students coming from the DRC's target region have been awarded with the DRC scholarship that enabled them to participate at the OeAD's Summer Universities: the Green Building Solution and the Alternative Economic and Monetary Systems. DRC asked them about their experience. Here you can find their impressions. 

Three following winners have participated at the OeAD's Green Building Solutions Summer University. 

Berina Brčaninović is a 24-year-old Bosnian student on the faculty of Architecture of the University of Sarajevo. 

1. How did the Summer University contribute to your already gained knowledge in the field?

The GBS Summer University helped me get further insight in the sustainable approach to the design. As an architecture student I have learned about the principles of sustainable design at home University. This experience enriched my knowledge through interactive lectures, inspiring excursion days and interesting examples of the design. The best part was the opportunity to learn about sustainability and then to go outside and to see the examples.

2. What exactly did you do during these three weeks?

The last week of the program was dedicated to a workshop. I am happy I had the chance to work in such an environment and to meet a lot of inspiring, like-minded people from different cultures and with different backgrounds. For me, as a student, it was a great experience to collaborate on a real-life case study. The location for our project was in the historically preserved area on the edge of the city of Vienna-The Otto Wagner Areal. Our mission was to present how the sustainability principles could be implemented to create the first energy plus campus in Austria.

3. What impact might this experience have on your future professional career?

This Summer University helped me to gain a set of skills needed for a young architect and I would try to implement the acquired knowledge to improve my projects.

Semina Hadžić is a 22-year-old university student, currently enrolled at the University of Sarajevo, where she is graduating in Architecture and Urbanism. 

1. How did the Summer University contribute to your already gained knowledge in the field?

First of all I would like to say that I was pleased to meet colleagues who have the same goal as me, reducing bad environmental consequences and climate changes to creating a better environmental. I learned how people from different professions can and must work together, only together we can build quality solutions.

2. What exactly did you do during these three weeks?

For the first 15 days we listened to lectures from various fields. From architecture, electrical engineering, bioclimatics, about light, sun, ecological influences, ecological conditions. Next 7 days we worked on a project directly related to architecture, urbanism and  and green bouilding solution.

3. What impact might this experience have on your future professional career?

The impact that this experience could have is that I continue to spread awareness of sustainable architecture and implement it in my projects.

Emina Hasanović is a 29-year-old Bosnian undergraduate enrolled on the faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of Sarajevo.

1. How did the Summer University contribute to your already gained knowledge in the field?

This Summer University has given me a new direction in my future career and made me more concious about the decisions I will make in my projects. I have learned and seen that we can invent something that fulfills all human needs and yet does not harm our planet. I learned what steps we can take and what we can change in our design to not harm the planet, and in addition to that what are the future goals for Vienna and other cities, as well as how can we bring these ideas closer to our own hometowns and investors.

2. What exactly did you do during these three weeks?

During these three weeks we met many people from all over the world, we had a lot of fun connecting with each other, even though everything was online. Furthermore, we had the best lecturers from many different fields, so we could approach and solve a problem involving different industries. We also had group work, where we joined forces and applied what we learned in the past weeks on our project.

3. What impact might this experience have on your future professional career?

This experience came to me in a perfect time, just before my Master's and now I know that I want to apply for a Master's degree in sustainable architecture. From now on, I will think twice before taking projects and will also make all my projects environmentally friendly, at least as much as they can be. 

Fabio Ashtar Telarico is a 22-year-old Italian junior expert who is doing a Joint Master’s Programme in Southeast European Studies, at the University of Graz and University of Belgrade. He participated at the OeAD's 2021 Alternative Economic & Monetary Systems Summer University.

1. How did the Summer University contribute to your already gained knowledge in the field?

The AEMS greatly improved my knowledge of economics, especially as far as heterodox approaches go. In particular, most of the focus was on how climate change can be limited through changes in the economic system, an issue which is clearly relevant for both academia and the job market — not to forget mentioning personal development and civic consciousness. 

2. What exactly did you do during these three weeks?

The AEMS combined frontal teaching and informal education, including roleplays. Groupwork was also a fundamental part of our activities. 

3. What impact might this experience have on your future professional career?

The AEMS has provided me with a number of experiences and occasions to improve real-life and problem-solving skills. Namely, I have been incentivised in developing my aptitude to self criticism. I believe that the AEMS will not affect my ability to access the labour market directly. However, it has sure helped my intellectual growth.