Vienna, (Muhammad Amir Siddique) — Protests are underway in Vienna, the capital of Austria, against budget cuts for universities. The Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH) had hoped for an increase in the budget, but the Ministry of Science has rejected this demand. The demonstration, held under the banner “Save the Universities!” (Rettet die Universitäten!), began at 3:00 PM on Thursday, October 22, 2026, in front of the main building of the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien). According to the Austrian Students’ Union (ÖH), 50,000 people participated, including students and staff from universities in Vienna, as well as protesters who had traveled from other Austrian states.

The Austrian Students’ Union (ÖH) organized the rally, which featured speeches from representatives of the Universities Austria (uniko) conference, as well as from university senates and works councils. The protests received official support from the university rectorates.

Victoria Kadrna (representing the Green and Alternative Students/GRAS), head of the Austrian Students’ Union (ÖH), stated that the purpose of the demonstration was to express resistance—”and, of course, to hold out hope that the budget might be increased again.” However, following an agreement reached by the government leadership last Saturday, the federal government considers this funding level to be final; according to the Ministry of Science, the process of entering the relevant technical data into the system is already underway.

The Austrian Students’ Union (ÖH) fears that this budget will lead to a deterioration in the provision of courses, student support services, and working conditions. Students are already feeling these effects. For instance, at the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), library opening hours have been reduced, and as early as mid-June, Schneider had already… A moratorium had been imposed on the issuance of job advertisements. Today’s demonstration could mark the beginning of a prolonged series of protests, similar to those witnessed in other countries. “Today’s demonstration will not be the last. It is also possible that this issue could escalate into a strike across the entire sector.”