Call for entries
The Houska Prize enters its 20th round: established in 2005, the B&C Private Foundation’s Houska Prize was set up to promote business-related research and innovation. By awarding the prize, B&C’s goal is to help strengthen Austria as a business location while expressing its appreciation for the outstanding research work carried out in the country. Innovation performance and economic impact are key criteria in the selection process. With a total endowment of EUR 760,000 shared between the winners, the Houska Prize is Austria’s largest privatly-awarded prize for application-driven research. The Mariella Schurz Prize, endowed with EUR 10,000, will also be awarded as part of the Houska Prize.
Annette Mütze and her team from TU Graz won the main prize in the University Research category for the development of more efficient and cost-effective small electric drives for cars. Markus Makoschitz from the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) and his team impressed the jury, taking home the golden Houska Prize trophy in the Non-University Research category for his work on a high-performance, all-electric charging infrastructure contributing to the mobility transition. In the Research & Development in SMEs category, Siegfried Einhellig from the Austrian company P+F PRODUCTS + FEATURES was awarded for TricValve – an innovative, minimally invasive transcatheter procedure to regulate venous return in cases of tricuspid regurgitation.
Scientists Johannes Peham and Ivan Barisic, along with their team from the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT), received the Mariella Schurz Prize from the student jury of HTL Braunau. The specially designed Houska Prize statue was awarded for their project, "Electrical Cell Lysis for Rapid Antibiotic Resistance Tests".
This category recognises the economic significance of applied research for Austria as a business location. It is open to state and private universities including universities of applied sciences as well as the Christian Doppler Laboratories, the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) and the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria).
For more information please refer to the following documents:
The category is open to non-university research institutions which are able to demonstrate a combination of exceptional research performance and research findings with economic significance for Austria as a business location. Institutions according to the Eligible Non-University Research Institution list below are invited to make submissions in this category.
For more information please refer to the following documents:
Exceptionally innovative research achievements with a lasting economic impact by small and medium-sized enterprises in Austria are highlighted in the Research & Development in SMEs category by the Houska Prize. The prize money is intended to give the recipients the greatest possible freedom and flexibility when it comes to their future research activities.
For more information please refer to the following documents:
The Mariella Schurz Prize will be awarded for the second time as part of the Houska Prize, in honor of the late Secretary General of the B&C Private Foundation. All nominated projects will be evaluated by a high school class, which acts as the jury. The winner of the Mariella Schurz Prize 2025 will be selected by students of the HTL Braunau. In addition to the specially designed Houska Prize statue, the award also includes a prize valued at 10,000 euros.
The three categories of Higher Education Research, Non-University Research and Research & Development in SMEs are evaluated independently of one another. Submissions are evaluated by a carefully selected advisory panel and subsequently by a judging panel of internationally respected experts. The advisory panel engages external experts to assist with the evaluation of submissions and ensure a robust process. It proposes an initial ranking, which is provided to the judging panel, who make the final decisions. The judging panel selects five finalists in each category. The 2025 Houska Prize winners will be announced at the awards ceremony held on 9 April 2025.
