Sparkling Science 2.0

Within the research funding programme ‘Sparkling Science 2.0’, the OeAD, on behalf of the BMFWF, supports citizen science projects. In these projects, research institutions collaborate with educational institutions and, where possible, partners from business and society to jointly generate new research results.

As part of the 34 funded citizen science projects in the first call for proposals, more than 120 schools are working together with almost 70 research partners and around 40 partners from business and society in Austria and abroad.
The 27 newly funded projects in the 2nd call for proposals started in autumn 2024.

A total of EUR 21 million has been available to fund “Sparkling Science” projects since 2021. In total, the research funding programme is expected to reach almost 120,000 people (including more than 80,000 school pupils and around 38,000 other citizen scientists), enabling them to actively participate in science and research.

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Here you can find information on ongoing and completed research projects that have received funding under the “Sparkling Science 2.0” programme.

View the projects

Funded projects

Participating institutions

Symbolfoto mit bunten Mensch-Ärgere-Dich-Nicht-Figuren

Contact

Veranstaltungen

Retrospect

Sparkling Science 2.0 in numbers

funded Citizen Science projects since 2021

mio. euro in funding

>400

collaborations between Science, School, Business partners and Society

>110.000

students and Citizen Scientists likely to be reached

News from the projects

Review: Spotlight – ‘How can citizen science enrich history lessons?’

On March 26th, the projects “Digital GameBase/D Learning”, “The Memory of the Classroom” and “Young People with Refugee Experience” took centre stage and discussed the topic. Read the follow-up report…

"Klagenfurt goes climate-neutral" nominated for Sustainability Award

The Sparkling Science project , which has been running at the University of Klagenfurt since autumn 2024, was nominated for the Sustainability Award presented by two Austrian Federal Ministries (BMFWF…

Aquirufa: New film reveals the hidden biodiversity of our waters

The film from the Sparkling Science project on the topic of biodiversity shows the fascinating diversity of bacteria in our waters and their central role in a functioning ecosystem.

Zwei Schülerinnen sitzen vor einem Computerbildschirm. Eine davon zeigt auf das Display.

Teaching materials from current Sparkling Science projects

In addition to scientific publications, Sparkling Science projects regularly produce teaching materials that bring the latest research findings directly into the classroom.

"TRA:WELL" in the children's and youth journal Frontiers for Young Minds

The Sparkling Science project published its research findings on exercise and well-being in the science journal Frontiers for Young Minds, which is aimed at young readers.

Evaluation of "Sparkling Science 2.0"

A comprehensive evaluation of the Sparkling Science 2.0 research funding programme was recently published. It highlights the programme's progress to date and its key objectives.

Spotlight: “From research to the classroom: exploring climate change through Sparkling Science projects!” | 16 June 2026, 1–2 pm

Researchers and teachers from the Sparkling Science projects “WattsAhead: Energy-literate for the Future”, “Klagenfurt Goes Climate-Neutral” and “Climate-Resilient Schools” will share their experiences from these research-education partnerships during the one-hour online event. The presentations are held in German.

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