Against the background of the results of the Eurobarometer survey EU citizen's knowledge and attitudes towards science and technology from 2021, which were not very encouraging for Austria, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) publicly announced a prize question. In the form of essays, all interested parties were invited to submit ideas on how to combat science skepticism.
The Eurobarometer survey had shown that the Austrians surveyed expressed particularly little interest in science and research in a European comparison, and that confidence in it was low. A survey conducted by the Austrian Academy of Sciences in 2022, the Science Barometer, also confirmed that about one third of the respondents have little trust in science. Particularly striking is that 37% prefer to rely on common sense.
Since there is not just one answer to the question of how to combat scientific skepticism, the jury awarded prizes to three entrants for the first time. The following were awarded prizes:
- Joachim Allgaier, professor at Fulda University of Applied Sciences (D)
- Alexander Bogner, researcher at the Institute of Technology Assessment of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW)
- Klaus Gourgés, Professor at the Nürtingen-Geislingen University of Applied Sciences (D)