Gender & Diversity Awards

Gender & Diversity Management
Gender & Diversity Awards

The Gender & Diversity Awards are a prize to honour scientific final theses with a reference to the topics of gender & diversity. The call is open to students and graduates of the St. Pölten UAS as well as for students and graduates of higher education institutions belonging to the E³UDRES² alliance.

The award is given away in three categories:

Bachelor thesis at St. Pölten UAS, prize money: EUR 500
Master thesis at St. Pölten UAS, prize money: EUR 500
Bachelor, master or PhD thesis at a higher education institution of the E³UDRES² alliance, prize money: EUR 500

The awards are an initiative of the Gender & Diversity department at St. Pölten UAS. The awards are presented annually to support gender & diversity topics and make them more visible.

Submit: Gender & Diversity Awards 2025

Submissions for the Gender & Diversity Awards 2025 are open until July 13, 2025.

All Details on the Awards 2025

1. Award Criteria

Completed or ongoing studies at the St. Pölten UAS or at a higher education institution of the E³UDRES² alliance
A bachelor, master or PhD thesis either already assessed (no earlier than May 2023) or submitted for assessment at the St. Pölten UAS or at a higher education institution of the E³UDRES² alliance
The thesis needs to have a clear reference to the topics of gender and/or diversity. Example: The thesis uses gender/diversity dimensions as categories for analysis, or gender/diversity plays a role in the research question, or the thesis contributes to the fight against social injustice, etc.

Applicants are expected to pitch their final thesis in English within the framework of the International Week 2025 at the St. Pölten UAS.

2. Required Documents

Informal application in German or English including a brief statement explaining why the work is eligible for the award
Full version of the final thesis in German or English
Short version of the thesis in German or English on 1 to max. 2 A4 pages (research question, objectives, method, most important results) explaining the work’s reference to gender/diversity dimensions or contribution to equality

3. Submission Deadline

Please submit the required documents via email to gender_diversity@fhstp.ac.at by 13/07/2025 at the latest.

4. Selection Process

An expert jury will decide on the winners in a two-stage procedure:

In the summer of 2025, an expert jury will first hold an in-camera session and make a pre-selection of the three best bachelor and master theses written at St. Pölten UAS and of the three best final theses written at a higher education institution of the E³UDRES² alliance, respectively. All applicants will subsequently be informed thereof.

In the second step, the candidates nominated by the jury in the pre-selection process will pitch their work in English within the framework of the International Week 2025 at the St. Pölten UAS. Based on these presentations, the expert jury will take its final decision on the awards.

The winners’ names will be announced in the reporting on the Gender & Diversity Awards 2025 in the St. Pölten UAS’ media. No claims can be derived from either this call for submissions or an application.

Data Privacy Statement

Applicants for the Gender & Diversity Award 2025

Based on the applicant’s submission within the framework of the Gender & Diversity Awards 2025, the Fachhochschule St. Pölten GmbH as the responsible data processor (contact details: Fachhochschule St. Pölten GmbH, Campus-Platz 1, 3100 St. Pölten; email: datenschutz@fhstp.ac.at) shall process the personal data disclosed by the applicant in this context: first name, last name, delivery address, and other contact details (email address, optionally telephone number, etc.), particularly the status of the applicant’s studies.

Processing takes place for the purpose of carrying out the award offer and for the establishment of contact between the expert jury and the applicant within the framework of the decision-making process based on Art. 6 para. 1 lit. b GDPR (processing is necessary for the performance of a contract or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract) and, after the award has been issued, for the purpose of reporting on the Gender & Diversity Awards in the St. Pölten UAS’ own media, which constitutes a legitimate interest of the latter (Art. 6 para. 1 lit. f GDPR).

The applicant’s personal data are stored until the awards are issued or, if required, until the subsequent reporting on the Gender & Diversity Awards 2025; however, the data shall be deleted immediately afterwards. In order to fulfil the contract, the data shall be forwarded to the members of the expert jury, which consists of employees of the St. Pölten UAS as well as external persons. The data shall not be forwarded to unauthorised third parties. The St. Pölten UAS guarantees compliance with the data security standards pursuant to Art. 32 GDPR.

Video and audio recordings as well as photos will be made during the award ceremony. These serve public relations purposes of the St. Pölten UAS only and will thus be used on the UAS’ website and social media channels. This processing of photos and/or videos is based on the data subject’s explicit consent in line with § 6 (1 (a)) GDPR. The publication of selected images on the website, Facebook account, etc. of the St. Pölten UAS is required for the public relations work and other forms of marketing and advertising on the part of the St. Pölten UAS.

Applicants have the rights due to data subjects (access to their personal data, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and appeal). They can assert these rights towards the Fachhochschule St. Pölten GmbH by writing a letter or email to the above-mentioned addresses. For further information on these rights of data subjects, go to https://www.dsb.gv.at/rechte-der-betroffenen

Moreover, all data subjects also have the right to file a complaint alleging privacy breaches with the Austrian data protection authority, Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Wien, telephone: +43 1 52 152 0, email: dsb@dsb.gv.at as the responsible supervisory authority.

Data protection officer of the Fachhochschule St. Pölten GmbH:
Urbanek Lind Schmid Reisch Rechtsanwälte OG
Domgasse 2
3100 St. Pölten
office.st.poelten@ulsr.at

For questions on the submission, please contact:

Anna Steinberger
Gender & Diversity
M: +43 2742 313228 318
E: gender_diversity@fhstp.ac.at

Gender & Diversity Awards 2024

The Gender & Diversity Awards were presented on November 26, 2024 as part of the International Week. In a maximum of three minutes, nine finalists vividly presented the most important points of their theses. An expert jury selected the winners on this basis.

The event was rounded off with a keynote speech by Iketina Danso, an expert in diversity, equity and inclusion, who explained the concept of intersectionality and called for it to be actively translated into action.

Winners 2024

Category Bachelor thesis
Johanna Weingartner: Auswirkungen von inklusiver Sprache in der Werbung auf das Markenimage
Category Master thesis
Barbara Müller: Das weibliche Böse - alt, hässlich, trivial? Analyse der Antagonistinnen in Disney-Animationsfilmen von 1937 bis 2022
Category E³UDRES²
Ioana Antonia Tanase: Comparative Analysis of Intuitive Design Perception between Visually Impaired and Sighted Individuals

Winners Gender & Diversity Awards 2023

Winners Gender & Diversity Awards 2022

You want to know more? Feel free to ask!

Anna Steinberger , BSc, BSc, MA

Gender & Diversity
Service and Competence Center for Higher Education Development and Quality Management

Dilara Gündüz , BA MA