The awarded works addressed European issues and their implications for Carinthia from four different academic disciplines (see Infobox).

Last year’s call was particularly competitive, with numerous submissions of exceptionally high quality, especially among the master’s theses. This made the selection process especially challenging for the scientific committee, which was composed of experts from CUAS, Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt, and the Pädagogische Hochschule Kärnten.

Research—whether conducted at an early or advanced stage, and whether basic or applied—is about gaining new insights. It is also about fostering change. The three awardees engaged in critical reflection on what Europe is, its connections and divisions, as well as its possibilities and the changes it requires.

As a European University, CUAS is closely watched and widely expected to serve as a role model for future-oriented and innovative higher education in Europe. We have embraced this responsibility deliberately, as we aim to make a difference—for our students, for Carinthia, and for Europe. Our graduates should leave the university with deeper knowledge and understanding of Europe, enriched by diverse European experiences, and with an appreciation of the extraordinary opportunities and shared values that Europe offers.

To cultivate the next generation of European ambassadors and change-makers who will shape the Union and help transform the continent for the better, it is not enough merely to encourage and support students in experiencing Europe’s diversity and building international networks. We must actively engage in discussions about Europe both inside and outside the classroom and develop our institution into a place where Europe and its future become a central concern and shared ambition of both staff and students. 

INFO BOX                                                           

Europe Prize Winners 2025

• Energy security and solidarity among member states in the EU by Alexander Johann Hormann, University of Graz (Law)
• Transnationality and- culturality in the everyday history of the Alpe Adria region by Leonie Loipold, Alpe-Adria University Klagenfurt (Cultural Anthropology & History)
• Bilingual teaching of history in German and Italian by Sophie Marie Kornsee, Alpe-Adria University Klagenfurt (Didactics & History) 

Europe Prize Criteria & Prize

• Students at BA, MA, and PhD levels enrolled in an Austrian HEI having a strong Carinthian reference point (registered domicile, study place or high school diploma in Carinthia).
• Thesis must tackle a European topic and its implications or importance for Carinthia
• Submission deadline always in September published on the official website of the Carinthian Government
• Prize money: for BA thesis € 300,--, MA thesis € 600,--, and PhD € 1.500,--