The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, or simply BOKU (derived from its German name, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien, founded in 1872, is an education and research center for renewable resources in Vienna, Austria. BOKU combines fundamental and applied expertise in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and biotechnology as well as social and economic sciences to enhance the knowledge basis for sustainable management of natural resources. It is a member of the leading Euroleague for Life Sciences (ELLS) university network. There are currently around 12,500 students from over 100 countries enrolled at BOKU.
Citizen Science has a long tradition at BOKU. In addition to individual projects from a wide range of disciplines, BOKU also includes research areas in which citizen participation has always been part of the research concept.
Therefore, it was a logical step for BOKU to support the platform "Österreich forscht" and the Citizen Science Network Austria, which aims to promote this type of research across all institutions.
Link: https://boku.ac.at
The IPM-Popillia Horizon 2020 project aims to address the challenge of a new risk to plant health in Europe's agriculture and food safety: the invasion of the Japanese Beetle, Popillia japonica. This invasive species was introduced accidentally to mainland Europe in 2014 and can quickly spread by transportation and trade. As a species with a wide range of feeding plants, P. japonica threatens the entire agricultural sector, urban landscapes, and biodiversity in invaded areas.
EFFECTIVE, a Horizon Europe initiative, targets the emerging threat to the EU's Mediterranean Blue Natural Capital. By leveraging advanced science, technological nature-based solutions, digitalization, and social implication, the project aims to develop a comprehensive scientific knowledge base and practical guidance for the application of Ecosystem-Based Management to promote large-scale marine protected areas establishment in the European seas.
TRANSEATION, funded by Horizon Europe, aims to validate a new level of ecosystem-based management by integrating social implication digitalization and nature-based solutions to safeguard and restore marine ecosystem health and services. The project focuses on demonstrating the effectiveness of marine and coastal hybrid blue-grey infrastructures and developing digital tools for monitoring, analysis, and social involvement, addressing societal challenges and promoting sustainable management practices.
In Europe and globally, substantial numbers of young people are at risk of social exclusion. Therefore, there is a pressing need to develop more knowledge and innovation to create inclusive and youth-friendly societies. The Horizon 2020 R&I Project YouCount contributes to these needs by developing 'actionable' knowledge for social inclusion of disadvantaged youths in the European Union and creating better means for social inclusion through citizen social science.