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Facing the challenges of our time requires courage, perseverance and commitment - the character traits of true heroes. With the Future Hero Award, the University of Applied Sciences Campus Vienna (HCW) honours graduates every two years who make an important contribution to society, are committed to a future worth living and sustainable development, serve as role models and demonstrate a spirit of innovation and foresight.
A jury - consisting of representatives from Gender & Diversity Management, Start-up Service (EICC), International Office, Austrian Student Union, Research and Project Coordination and Corporate Communications - assesses all submissions and selects the top 7 for the next round.
There is then a community vote, from which three Future Heroes emerge.
The Future Hero Awards ceremony is then expected to take place in November 2026.
The winners will not only receive congratulations and admiration, but will also receive the Future Hero Award.
You will receive all information about the nomination in good time on this page, in our newsletters and on HCW's social media channels.
As a civil engineer and visible Muslim, Esma Atak resolutely counters possible prejudices. Especially in male-dominated professions like hers, she has to overcome many hurdles. With school workshops and talks in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, she encourages girls to take up technical professions and raises awareness of the issues of equal rights, gender pay and the dream gap. She is involved in Let's Empower Austria, Fem* and Zusammen:Österreich. "We need more skilled workers and must not leave the potential of women untapped."
Graduate of the Bachelor's degree programme in Civil Engineering and Construction and the Master's degree programme in Civil Engineering and Construction
When a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey in 2023, Mercan lost six of her relatives. She responded to the sluggish aid from the Turkish authorities with a broad information campaign to raise awareness of the situation on the ground, giving interviews and writing articles for days on end. She manages a balancing act: she answers a central question from her studies despite her stressful situation, completes her Master's thesis on time and is nominated for the ORF's "Women's Award for Digitalisation and Innovation", where she makes it into the top six.
Graduate of the Master's degree programme in Digitalisation, Politics and Communication
Parents of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often face long waiting times for treatment places that are already in short supply. The fact that around 90,000 children and young people are affected throughout Austria makes it even more difficult to provide rapid therapy options. Andrea Kerschbaumer developed the ELSA app as a quick intervention with valuable information and instructions on the ADHD disorder and thus supports families in dealing with the diagnosis. More than 1,000 downloads are proof of the demand.
Graduate of the Bachelor's degree programme in Occupational Therapy and the Master's degree programme in Health Assisting Engineering
Integrating the life cycles of buildings and materials into the construction process, avoiding waste: With Liberty.Home, Markus Hörmanseder and Philipp Hüttl are focussing on sustainable construction with natural raw materials. They take their lead from nature and do not seal any floor surfaces. During their studies, they came up with the idea of financing tiny houses for homeless people by selling or renting them to companies and private individuals. Whether at festivals or in the hotel sector - the wooden buildings are well received and lead to further projects. The aim is to bring about a change in building culture: away from profit maximisation and towards maximising meaning and social added value.
Graduates of the Bachelor's degree programme in Civil Engineering and Construction
Improving healthcare and nursing care through scientific findings is important to Cornelia Feichtinger. At the Centre for Applied Nursing Research, she works on community nursing to strengthen care in communities. As a registered health and nursing professional, she looks after underserved and discriminated patients in the Breitenecker team practice, for example those with HIV infections, addictions or transgender* people. As part of the FFG's Innovator Programme and the Future Hero Award, she aims to motivate colleagues to help shape social developments.
Graduate of the Bachelor's degree programmes in Radiological Technology and Health Care and Nursing
Matthias Vostatek wants to reduce animal testing in research and work on models that represent an alternative. To this end, he is researching 3D bioprinting in order to print and cultivate organs from his own cells, which could revolutionise organ donation and drug testing. As a PhD student at the Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering at the Medical University of Vienna, he is working on 3D printing for bone implants. The Future Hero Award brings him closer to his goal of creating more openness for new technologies.
Graduate of the Master's programme in Molecular Biotechnology
