DESCRIPTIONFounded in 1872, the Universität für Bodenkultur Wien / University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, known too by its acronym “BOKU”, now comprises 15 departments and four service centres in Vienna, as well as a number of experimental centres around Vienna.
The university is attended by approx. 10.000[1] students, provides study courses at the bachelor, masters and doctoral levels, has approx. 1.800[2] staff who are engaged in teaching and research, a broad range of external lecturers, and some 4603 persons working in services and administration.
The study courses are designed to follow BOKU´s main teaching and research disciplines — sustainable use of naturally growing raw materials both for energy supply as well as for innovative materials, protecting vital resources such as water, soil and atmosphere, shaping true to life production and health, protecting and shaping biotopes and environments, protecting the wellbeing of plants, animals and humans.
The university’s mission
The university sees itself as a teaching and research institution that focuses on renewable resources that are a prerequisite for human existence. The relationships between man, society and the environment form the basis of all activities at BOKU, and its foremost aim is to make decisive contributions to securing the well-being of future generations. In this endeavour, it will seek ways of ensuring a sustainable and environmentally sound management of natural resources by allying the competences of the natural, engineering, economic and social sciences.
Areas of Competence in Teaching and Research:
- Soil, plants, and living beings
- Land use, landscape, and infrastructure
- Water, atmosphere, and environment
- Alternative biogenic materials and bio-energy
- Biotechnology
- Forestry and wood sciences
- Agricultural sciences
- Food technology sciences
