Veronika Wittmann is Associate Professor of Global Studies in the Department of Modern and Contemporary History, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, at Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU), Austria.
She was enrolled in the PhD Programme of the Austrian Academy of Science from 2000 to 2001 and was a Junior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna during the same period, as well as a Research Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Ibero-American Studies in Hamburg in 2006. She also worked at the United Nations (UNDP) in Ecuador in 2002 and conducted extensive field research during numerous visits to different parts of Africa.
From 2000 to 2001, she was enrolled in the PhD Programme of the Austrian Academy of Sciences and served as a Junior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. She subsequently worked at the United Nations (UNDP) in Ecuador in 2002 and was a Research Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Ibero-American Studies in Hamburg in 2006. She has also conducted extensive field research during numerous visits to different parts of Africa.
She received her venia legendi in Sociology from JKU in 2013. She has published several books and journal articles, contributed to edited volumes and anthologies, and participated as an invited speaker at
Her scientific awards include the Austrian Sociological Society Award for the Best Dissertation (2004), the Dr Leopold Kunschak Science Prize (2003), the Kepler Science Prize (2002), and the Science Award of the Dr Maria Schaumeyer Foundation (2002).
From 2019 to 2021, she served as Austria’s national lead for Sustainable Development Goal 17, Partnerships for the Goals, at UniNEtZ (Universities and Sustainable Development Goals).
She has served as JKU’s representative to the Global Studies Consortium since 2014 and to Africa-UniNet—the network of higher-education and research institutions in Austria and across the African continent—since 2020. She has been an Associate Fellow at the Institute of Advanced Studies Kőszeg (iASK) in Hungary since 2026.
In 2023, she was appointed by the European Commission as an expert contributor to the EU Science Diplomacy Working Groups, which are developing a future European framework for science diplomacy. She co-chaired Working Group 3, which focused on strengthening science diplomacy in EU and Member State delegations and embassies and on fostering the EU’s global science-diplomacy outreach.
Her research interests include science diplomacy, sustainability, global politics, world society, and cultural studies.
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2367-8557