The Carinthia University of Applied Sciences and the Medical University of Vienna have established a collaboration, supported by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, with the objective of fostering the sustainable interlinking of basic university research and applied brain research. As part of this project, seven doctoral positions will be established with the objective of developing new methods in the fields of ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging, histology and artificial intelligence. The objective of the research is to advance the treatment of brain tumours and demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis. A novel research platform is being established with the objective of consolidating scientific findings. This initiative will facilitate the integration of scientific expertise and cutting-edge technology from three departments of the Medical University of Vienna: the University Clinics for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Neurology, and Neurosurgery; and the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, which offers programmes in Engineering & IT, Medical Engineering, and Analytics. The objective of this collaborative doctoral programme is, among other things, to identify new clinically relevant biomarkers for neurological diseases through the development of innovative MR imaging methods. These technologies are to be employed in the future as analysis and visualisation tools with a high clinical impact. The collaboration between the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences and the Medical University of Vienna should also facilitate the training of the next generation of scientists, developers and doctors who will be able to utilise these technologies in conjunction with one another in routine clinical practice. One example of this would be the optimisation of neurosurgical planning to better determine the type of tumour, its environment and the simulation of the procedure with the help of virtual reality. In order to meet the highest international standards, the doctoral programme includes at least one stay abroad per doctoral student with international research partners. Seven international renowned cooperation partners from academia (e.g. Harvard and MIT) and industry (e.g. ICOMETRIX) have agreed to host our candidates. In addition to the positive effects for all stakeholders involved in this project, this interdisciplinary and cooperative doctoral programme will also significantly increase the proportion of medical research in Carinthia as the latest findings from Austria's largest medical research institution will be incorporated.