Teaching
The Urban Studies Working Group teaches across several curricula, including the Bachelor´s Programme in Geography, the outgoing Master´s programme in Spatial Planning and Spatial Research and the newly established Master´s programme in Geographies of Global Change and Sustainability Transformations (GGCST). This new Master´s programme, starting in Winter term 2025/2026, includes a Specialisation Track in Urban Studies, which equips students with inter- & transdisciplinary skills and competencies to diagnose urban sustainability challenges and to co-develop actions to address them. We work with place-based and innovative pedagogies to connect urban research and practice with a clear intent to foster Urban Sustainability Transformations. Our teaching and learning critically explores urban concepts, theories and methods that are relevant for future urban professionals – including those working in public administration, research, policymaking, the private sector and civil society organisations. Therefore, several of our courses actively engage with ongoing research projects at the Urban Sustainability Living Lab as well as with actors beyond the university, for example, in formats such as the Urban Research to Practice – Science for Policy Hackathon, our project seminar, and the Master´s thesis.
Inquiries
Then you can encounter our teaching and learning, for example, at the Postgraduate Programme Cooperative Urban and Regional Development and at the annual Children´s University (KinderUni Wien).
We publish job openings at https://urbanlab.univie.ac.at/jobs/. In principle, a PhD can also be completed with a self-funded scholarship. In this case, you can contact us with a specific research proposal .
Urban Research to Practice - Hackathon
Where do we come from and where are we headed as urban researchers?
News from teaching
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April 8, 2026Visiting Soon: Harutyun Vermishyan from Yerevan State University YSU – Afterlives of Soviet Industrial Urban Structures
The Urban Sustainability Living Lab is proud to announce that Dr Harutyun Vermishyan (Yerevan State University YSU) will join the Department of Geography and Regional Research as a Guest Professor (Research) in April and May 2026. -
April 8, 2026
Recap and reflections on the ReCITY project 2025
Over the past year, the ReCITY project has made significant progress in its aim to better understand urban transformations in small, former industrial cities in Armenia. A particular highlight in 2025 were three research trips of the Univie project team to Armenia, as well as two visits of the YSU project lead Harutyun Vermishan to Vienna. The field trips to Armenia provided numerous insights into urban development of the three small Armenian cities – Charentsavan, Sisian and Stepanavan, which are at the centre of the research project. On the other hand, all exchanges contributed significantly to strengthening cooperation within our international project team. -
February 10, 2026
Where do we come from and where are we headed as urban researchers? On the positionality of the Urban Studies student cohort (2025–2027)
At the end of January 2026, the first cohort of the specialisation in ‘Urban Studies’ (2025-2027) of the new Master's programme ‘Geographies of Global Change and Sustainability Transformations’ at the University of Vienna took on the challenge of co-creating a collective positionality statement that will guide them through the coming semesters of their study programme. -
January 28, 2026
Turning Ideas into Action: Reflections from the Science for Policy Hackathon Pitch Event
On January 15, 2026, the Policy Hackathon Pitch Event marked the culmination of the intensive, practice-oriented Urban Research to Practice: Science for Policy course focused on enabling students to engage with the science-policy interface and develop evidence-informed urban sustainability policies tailored for the City of Vienna. -
January 26, 2026
ReCITY Summer School 2026 – Exploring Armenia’s Post-Industrial Cities
The ReCITY project is proud to announce its 2026 summer school, inviting urban activists and young active people to take part in an interdisciplinary program focusing on challenges and opportunities of post-industrial small cities in Armenia. The summer school will take place in the city of Stepanavan (Armenia) from July 6–12, 2026, combining workshops, fieldwork, and creative design practices. Over one week, participants will collaboratively practice innovative, participatory research methods to critically reflect on urban heritage, socio-spatial inequalities, inclusivity, and power relations in post-industrial contexts. -
January 14, 2026
From Evidence to Action: A Science for Policy Hackathon
Over two intensive days on January 7th & 8th, 2026, more than 20 interdisciplinary Master’s students from the Urban Research to Practice: Science for Policy Hackathon course worked collaboratively to translate complex urban challenges in Vienna into concrete, evidence-informed and actionable policy recommendations. -
December 18, 2025
Diagnosing policy pathways in Vienna: News from the Science for Policy Hackathon
While urban sustainability is often discussed through large strategies and long-term plans, many of the forces shaping a city’s future emerge through the everyday actions of individuals and groups. They show up in how people move through their neighbourhoods, how food is bought and stored at home, how public space is shared, and how different departments within a city communicate. When we – 21 students in the Urban Research to Practice: Science for Policy Hackathon course – began exploring key policy challenges in Vienna, including the need to develop multifunctional public spaces, enhance the quantity and quality of green space, and strengthen climate education and awareness, we quickly saw that seemingly separate issues were deeply intertwined. -
October 21, 2025
Kick-off: Urban Research to Practice
On October 15th, 30+ students from 11 Master´s programmes across the University of Vienna came together with the team from UniVie innovation, the Urban Sustainability Living Lab, and City of Vienna, to inaugurate this year´s Urban Research to Practice: Science for Policy Hackathon. -
October 7, 2025
Climate Change Adaptation and Democracy in Berlin
From July 7 to 12, the second part of the comparative excursion "Democracy and Climate Change Adaptation in Berlin and Vienna" of the Department of Geography and Regional Research of the University of Vienna took place in collaboration with the Department of the Humboldt University of Berlin (HU-B). -
July 14, 2025
Urban Research to Practice: Science for Policy Hackathon 2025/26
The Urban Sustainability Living Lab (USLL) in collaboration with UniVie Innovation Team and City of Vienna offer a course on Urban Research to Practice which includes lecture units, a 2-day hackathon and a final pitch event. The goal of this Urban Research to Practice format is to encourage Master students to further develop inter-and transdisciplinary skills and apply... -
June 23, 2025
Climate Change Adaptation and Democracy in Vienna
From June 3 to 6, the first part of the comparative excursion “Democracy and Climate Change Adaptation in Berlin and Vienna” of the Institute of Geography and Regional Research of the University of Vienna took place in collaboration with the Institute of Geography of the Humboldt University of Berlin (HU-B)... -
June 12, 2025
Tischlerei Melk – Transforming a brownfield site to an integrative neighborhood center
Melk is a small district capital on the Danube River in Lower Austria. The town is well known for its… joinery?! Yes – at least that’s one of several future visions the owners of a former joinery site have for the space.
