It’s whenever multiple crises play out simultaneously that the key ways in which universities foster lively, society-wide discourse become particularly clear—in light of which the following pages introduce mdw projects that put common ground and dialogue firmly in focus.

"All of the mdw’s areas of study are strongly intertwined with scholarship and research—including music education, which even has its own research department. Teacher training can only be elevated to the highest possible level of excellence if it’s deliberately kept distinct from the training of performers."

Bridging the gaps between multiple fields—specifically, the social sciences and film—as well as between groups within society was the central thrust of the project BUILDING BRIDGES in Polarized Societies: Film – Wien – ArbeiterInnenmilieu – Rechtspopulismus […: Film – Vienna – The Working-Class Milieu – Right-Wing Populism], which ran from 2021 to 2025.

We live in a deeply unsettling era overshadowed by an anthropogenic climate catastrophe, violent conflicts, and the erosion of democratic societies. In times like these, everyone is called upon to help build a more sustainable, peaceful, and mutually supportive coexistence, no matter how modest their contributions may be.

How do kids and teens learn about what’s being researched at universities? And where can the findings of scientists and scholars be directly perceived in our everyday lives? Science communication formats aim to enable people situated outside of academic fields to encounter topics from the realm of science and research in the most accessible way possible.

It is music’s power to overcome barriers and leave people deeply touched that the association Musethica has to thank for its consistent development since the very beginning.

Over the past four semesters, 16 students have engaged deeply with forms of artistic expression, techniques, and processes, also pursuing intensive work on the deepening of their own artistic language, various modes of collaboration, the scholarly undergirding of artistic practice, the cultural landscape’s socioeconomic and/or socio-political structures, and competencies relevant to managing organisations and oneself.

On 20 February, the Future Art Lab’s Sound Theatre hosted the final round of the Sounding Visions Award. Six exceptional artists and ensembles presented their performances to a live audience both in the hall and online.

2025 marks the beginning of a special cooperative project: CCOM, the mdw, and the renowned Austrian music publisher Universal Edition (UE) have teamed up to plan a competition for young composers. This competition is set to take place every two years, alternating between chamber and orchestral music focuses.

12 June will witness an international symposium and, with it, the opening of the International Research Center Gender and Performativity (ICGP) chaired by the theatre studies scholar and gender studies professor Evelyn Annuß. In view of current anti-gender politics, the establishment of the ICGP is a clear statement by the mdw concerning academic and cultural policy.