AITHYRA Life Sciences School 2026

From August 23 to August 30, 2026 in Vienna

STEM education and the training of future scientists, innovators, and high-tech entrepreneurs play a key role in Ukraine's future recovery. The Ukrainian education system excels at identifying gifted youths and at nurturing them in specialised STEM schools and a highly-developed culture of science olympiads and research competitions. This experience should be studied and supported at the highest level, recognizing it as a national asset. Collaborative projects in STEM education between Ukraine and the EU will be to everyone's benefit and promote Ukraine's further integration into the EU.

The AITHYRA Life Sciences School is a one-week program for Ukrainian high school students who have excelled at science competitions in chemistry, biology and medicine. The goal is to foster the students’ interest in science, to introduce them to potential research careers, and to inspire them to apply their talents to shape Ukraine’s future. During their week in Vienna, participants will engage with leading scientists of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Vienna, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), and the TU Wien.

This event is made possible by a generous gift of the AITHYRA, the support of the ISTA, our unbelievable volunteers, and the work of Dmytro Rzhemovskyi and his team from Mathematik macht Freude.

AITHYRA

AITHYRA is a young research institute for biomedical artificial intelligence based in Vienna. With a generous donation from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation it was founded in 2024 by the Austrian Academy of Sciences. AITHYRA is led by world-renowned AI expert Michael Bronstein, internationally award-winning life scientist Georg Winter, and experienced science administrator Anita Ender. The institute’s research focuses on applying state-of-the-art AI approaches to problems in the life sciences, bringing together experts from various fields.

Program

Sunday, August 23

11:20 Arrivals in Vienna
12:30 − 13:00 Lunch at TBA
13:30 − 14:30 Check-in at Hotel Geblergasse
16:00 − 18:30 Free time, e.g. exploring the Vienna's city center
19:00 − 20:00 Dinner at TBA

Monday, August 24

Location:
AITHYRA − Research Institute for Biomedical Artificial Intelligence of the Austrian Academy of Sciences,
Helmut-Qualtinger-Gasse 2,
1030 Vienna

07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:30 − 14:00 Program at AITHYRA (Coordinator: Michaela Herzig)
- 09:30 − 10:45 Greeting and Talk by Michael Bronstein (AITHYRA)
- 11:00 − 12:00 Talk and hands-on session by Wali Malik (AITHYRA)
- 12:15 − 13:00 Lunch at Vienna Biocenter's Cafeteria
- 13:00 − 14:00 Talk by Lisa Hoffmann-Haas (AITHYRA)
16:00 − 17:00 Visit to the Museum of Natural History and guided tour "Evolution of Life"
18:30 − 19:15 Dinner at TBA

Tuesday, August 25

Location:
University of Vienna,
Faculty of Chemistry,
Währinger Straße 42,
1090 Vienna

07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:30 − 12:00 Talks and lab tours at the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna
- Ellen Backus and the Research Group "Ultrafast and Nonlinear Spectroscopy"
- Freddy Kleitz and the Research Group "Porous Materials"
- Elise Tomat and the Research Group
- Viktoriia Savchenko and the Böttcher Lab
12:15 − 13:00 Lunch at the University of Vienna's Cafeteria (Kolingasse)

Location:
TU Wien,
Faculty of Technical Chemistry,
Getreidemarkt 9,
1060 Vienna

13:30 − 14:45 Talk by Esther Heid
- TBA
16:00 − 17:00 Visit to Belvedere
18:30 − 19:15 Dinner at TBA

Wednesday, August 26

Location:
Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA),
Am Campus 1,
Klosterneuburg

07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:10 − 09:45 Bus transfer to ISTA (Bus No. 400)
10:00 − 15:00 Program at ISTA
- ISTA Presentation
- Tour of VISTA Science Experience Center
- Jack Bravo and the Research Group "Bacterial immune systems"
- Talk by TBA
13:00 − 13:45 Lunch at ISTA's cafeteria
15:10 − 15:50 Bus transfer to Vienna(Bus No. 400)
16:00 − 18:30 Free time
18:30 − 19:15 Dinner at TBA

Thursday, August 27

Location:
CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences
Lazarettgasse 14
1090 Vienna

07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:30 − 12:00 Program at CeMM (Coordinator: Anna Wolfschwenger)
- TBA
- TBA
12:15 − 13:00 Lunch at the University of Vienna's Cafeteria (Kolingasse)
13:30 − 14:30 Guided tour of Josephinum by Oksana Musiienko
15:00 − 18:30 Free time
18:30 − 19:15 Dinner at TBA

Friday, August 28

Location:
Vienna BioCenter
Campus-Vienna-Biocenter 1
1030 Vienna

07:30 – 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
09:30 – 12:30 Program at Vienna BioCenter (Coordinator: Sina Metzler)
- Elly Tanaka and the Research Group "Molecular mechanisms of vertebrate regeneration"
- Nick Irwin and the Research Group "Horizontal Gene Transfer in Plants and Algae"
13:00 – 13:30 Lunch at Vienna Biocenter's Cafeteria
14:00 – 15:00 Guided tour of the Austrian National Library
18:30 – 19:15 Dinner at TBA

Saturday, August 29

07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
10:00 − 12:00 Tour of Schönbrunn
12:15 − 13:00 Lunch at TBA
13:00 − 18:30 Free time, e.g. hiking to the Kahlenberg and vineyards
18:30 − 19:30 Dinner at TBA

Sunday, August 30

07:30 − 08:00 Breakfast at Hotel Geblergasse
10:00 − 12:00 Cultural program by art critic Kateryna Kinsel
12:30 − 13:30 Lunch at TBA
16:30 Departure to Ukraine

Speakers

Coordinator and Contact Person

For any questions regarding AITHYRA Life Sciences School, please feel free to contact Dmytro Rzhemovskyi via email at dmytro.rzhemovskyi@univie.ac.at .