Education : School

There is a saying that goes: at school you learn for life. We want to be more precise: life already takes place at school.

As a headmaster/headmistress or a teacher you know best how to optimise your teaching. The following pages of the annual brochure will show you how the OeAD, as Austria’s education and internationalisation agency, can support you in the school year 2024/25. As a national education agency the OeAD implements numerous educational activities and focal points in education for Austria’s schools on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. These have the following objectives:

Enter the exciting world of research and creativity

The OeAD supports schools and pre-school educational institutions with various funding schemes so that children and young people can conduct research themselves, become artistically active and skilled in the use of new digital tools. These initiatives promote practice-oriented learning and spark an interest in scientific and creative processes. Examples include funding for children's and youth universities, “Sparkling Science 2.0” projects, in which pupils are directly involved in research projects, “culture connected” and “Kultur:Bildung”, where cultural education is an integral part of everyday school life. By integrating digital tools and methods pupils are also prepared for the requirements of the modern world of work.

Lehrer zeigt anhand einer Zelle den Aufbau

Arousing curiosity and a willingness to innovate

Children and young people are given insights into different ways of living and working. In many of our projects and programmes they are encouraged to explore their curiosity and innovative potential. This can provide many impulses for their personal and professional development. Programmes such as “Young Science”, “u19” or offers of the Foundation for Innovation in Education specifically promote interest in research, digital technology and innovation by giving young people the possibility to develop and present their own projects. These experiences not only enhance their professional skills but also their social and methodological skills.

At the intersection between education, society, art, culture and science – beyond the regular school system

Education is the capital of the future. On behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research the OeAD supports the education sector with customised offers and extensive expertise. This is done by funding projects that link education with social, artistic and scientific aspects and thus go beyond the scope of regular school education. Initiatives such as “K3 PROJECTS. Cultural education with apprentices” show how interdisciplinary approaches can be implemented successfully. These projects promote the pupils’ creativity and their critical thinking and create a link between theoretical knowledge and practical application.

Transnational cooperation

Transnational teaching and learning stays promote cooperation between people and institutions. The OeAD supports these transnational cooperations to strengthen intercultural exchange and international cooperation. This contributes to global networking and mutual understanding. Programmes such as Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps enable pupils, students, teachers and lecturers to gain valuable experience abroad, get to know new cultures and establish international networks. They also bring exciting ideas back to the Austrian education system.

A wide range of support measures for a safe and tolerant school community

The “Extremism Prevention at School” initiative raises awareness among pupils of all educational levels and types of schools all over Austria of the dangers of inequality ideologies and strengthens their resilience to radicalisation. It offers opportunities to reflect on questions of identity and living together in a pluralistic society. The workshops, which are offered free of charge, cover a variety of topics, including conflict resolution, violence prevention, democratic debate culture, human rights, participation, extremist groups and ideologies, and civil courage as well as Austrian history and remembrance culture. ERINNERN:AT, the programme for teaching and learning about National Socialism and the Holocaust at schools, promotes the transfer of historical and methodological-didactic knowledge and the reflection on its significance for the present. Workshops, professional development courses and teaching materials are used to help teachers strengthen historical awareness and impart democratic values. The aim is to sensitise pupils to the dangers of antisemitism, racism and intolerance and to promote a critical awareness of history in order to learn from the past for the present and future.

DNAustria – science and democracy education are part of us

Science and democracy are closely intertwined like a DNA double helix. Those who doubt science often also doubt democracy. “DNAustria”, an initiative of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research to strengthen trust in science and democracy, provides a common umbrella for all offers for teaching science and democracy. The OeAD contributes to this with a range of measures. “Entdecke.DNAustria”(“Discover.DNAustria”) is a central information platform for offers for teaching science and democracy in Austria: Whether it is higher education institutions, research institutions, funding agencies, museums, libraries or associations – there are countless organisations in Austria that allow people to explore, experience and discover science and democracy. By means of the information platform https://discover.dnaustria.at we enable people to find these offers of science and democracy education for the young and the old all over Austria with just a few clicks. You can filter by federal province as well as by target group or topic. The science ambassadors initiative enables schools to invite persons from different scientific disciplines to their schools and to get inspired by their passion and research fields. They provide insights into their everyday lives, talk about their careers and are available to answer questions. Today more than 460 persons take part in the initiative, which is coordinated by the OeAD. Other Young Science offers, such as the children's and youth universities mentioned above, the funding programme “Sparkling Science 2.0” and the “Citizen Science Award”, round off the OeAD's offers in this area.