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IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber visited Barbados at the end of May to deepen engagement with government, academic, diplomatic, and international partners and explore new opportunities for collaboration on resilience, innovation, and sustainable development for Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

IIASA Science Diplomacy Director and Head of Communications and External Relations, Susie Kitchens, will deliver the keynote address at the upcoming conference on Regional Engagement in the Era of Responsible Internationalization in Higher Education, co-organized by the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA) and Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation (OeAD) in Vienna.

In 2025, IIASA reinforced its role as a trusted actor in science diplomacy by deepening engagement with international  institutions and supporting research‑informed policy dialogue across global platforms.

IIASA is excited to announce that Greece has joined the Institute effective from 1 June 2026 through the Academy of Athens, Greece’s national academy and the highest research establishment in the country.

A high-level delegation from the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (MoST) and representatives of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Austria visited IIASA at Schloss Laxenburg on 13 May 2026 for discussions on scientific cooperation, science diplomacy, and future collaboration.

Representatives from China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security visited Schloss Laxenburg in May 2026 for discussions on international research collaboration, scientific career development, and talent exchange.

IIASA Deputy Director General, Karen Lips, will participate in two international events focused on strengthening the role of systems approaches, open science, and research impact in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The events are connected with the 2026 Annual Meeting of the Global Research Council (GRC), which will take place in in Bangkok, Thailand, from 18 to 22 May 2026.

IIASA Deputy Director General Karen Lips will participate in the OSCE conference “Anticipating technologies – for a safe and humane future” at CERN. The event will focus on dialogue, trust, and joint approaches to strengthening peace and security in an increasingly complex world, aligning with Switzerland’s work on the UN Security Council.

A high-level delegation led by Senator Hon. Jonathan Reid, Barbados' Minister of Innovation, Industry, Science, and Technology, visited Schloss Laxenburg for a bilateral exchange with IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber on applied systems science and its potential to inform transformative policy. 

IIASA is pleased to announce that Susie Kitchens will join the Institute as Science Diplomacy Director and Head of Communications and External Relations in May 2026. In this senior leadership role, she will guide IIASA’s global engagement strategy, expand international partnerships, and enhance the Institute’s visibility and impact at the science-policy-society interface.

On Tuesday, 17 March 2026, IIASA had the privilege of hosting Austrian Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen at Schloss Laxenburg for a program focused on exchange, conversation, and engagement with the Institute’s research community. Austria is IIASA’s host country and one of its founding members, with its membership dating back to 1973.

IIASA Deputy Director General, Karen Lips, will participate in the First Ukrainian–European Science Diplomacy Forum that will take place in Vienna on Thursday, 12 March 2026. The event will bring together senior representatives from European and Ukrainian ministries, the European Commission, UNESCO, international research organizations, funding bodies, leading universities, and Ukrainian science diaspora networks.

IIASA welcomed H.E. Ambassador Nikolaus Marschik, Secretary General of the Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs (BMEIA), for a high-level visit to Schloss Laxenburg on Friday, 20 February 2026.

IIASA recently welcomed H.E. Ambassador Eduardo Paes Saboia, Ambassador of Brazil to Austria, for a high-level visit to the Institute’s headquarters in Laxenburg. The visit provided an opportunity for an in-depth exchange on IIASA’s research portfolio and on future avenues for strengthening cooperation between IIASA and Brazilian institutions.

In a commentary published by Süddeutsche Zeitung (South German Newspaper), columnist Heribert Prantl reflects on the renewed importance of science diplomacy amid growing geopolitical tensions, highlighting IIASA as a notable exception to the current global trend of disengagement.

IIASA Director General, Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber will deliver a plenary keynote speech at the upcoming 2nd European Science Diplomacy Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark during which he will highlight the legacy of IIASA as a beacon of science diplomacy, the challenges in the current geopolitical environment, and possible solutions to facilitate international agreements across geopolitical divides through science. 

A productive meeting between H.E. Ambassador Haytham Shoja’aadin of Yemen and IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber set the stage for deeper collaboration on water security and regional cooperation. The exchange offered new momentum for science-based dialogue between IIASA and Yemen at a pivotal time for the MENA region.

On 3 December 2025, H.E. Ambassador Giovanni Pugliese and Scientific Counselor Amedeo Staiano of the Italian Embassy in Austria visited IIASA for discussions on strengthening scientific engagement between Italy and the Institute.

Africa is taking a leading role in shaping global dialogues by empowering researchers, institutions, and policymakers to influence decision-making and co-develop evidence, based solutions to shared challenges. At the heart of this effort lies systems analysis, a powerful approach for understanding and addressing the complex interconnections between food, energy, water, and climate systems.

IIASA recently hosted an exploratory workshop titled, Together for water: Fostering collaboration in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The two-day event brought together around 50 representatives from international organizations, civil society organizations, research institutions, and diplomatic missions to explore new pathways for transboundary collaboration on water challenges across the region.