Wali Malik no longer has to worry that a right-wing bureaucrat or influencer will dismiss his research as “woke.” He doesn’t fear government retaliation for speaking his mind or following the science wherever it leads. And like others who have left a polarized United States for the calmer environment of Austria, he no longer fears his lab being dismantled because the president wants to deport the people who work there.
“There is a lot of excitement in Vienna,” said Malik, a specialist in lab robotics. Last spring, while living in Boston and working as a consultant for biomedical research labs, he was recruited to lead the development of robotic infrastructure at Aithyra, a life sciences research institution founded in 2024 that aims to incorporate artificial intelligence into all aspects of scientific development.
When he received the offer for a position in Vienna, Malik had already begun to see the impact of Donald Trump’s assault on higher education and scientific research. He watched friends and family fall victim to mass layoffs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation, while his own work slowed as federal grants were revoked.
He had never been to Austria, but the decision to leave the United States wasn’t difficult. “I saw the writing on the wall,” Malik explained. “It took trust for the U.S. to become a scientific powerhouse. That took 70 years—and it was destroyed within six months.” And if the American electorate is willing to do this, he asks, who’s to say it won’t happen again in the future?
Austria is not the only country seeking to benefit from America’s dysfunction. Three prominent anti-fascist academics at Yale University—Jason Stanley, Marci Shore, and Timothy Snyder—have accepted positions at the University of Toronto. Institutions across Europe also began offering “scientific asylum” to U.S.-based researchers last year, with France’s Aix-Marseille University receiving more than 500 inquiries about its campaign to attract American academics.
Eva-Maria Holzleitner, Austria’s Minister of Women, Science, and Research, described the U.S.’s self-inflicted attack on academia as both “really shocking” and a setback to “the scientific community as a whole.” But it is also an opportunity for Austria to position itself as “a safe haven for science, research, and innovation.”
Her ministry aims to attract at least 50 academics from the U.S. within a year—half through an initiative that fast-tracks hiring for professors, and half through a fellowship program for early- and mid-career researchers. A ministry website targeting U.S. researchers also advertises funds for students who are “formally or de facto denied the right to education” due to their ethnicity, gender, or “civic engagement.” This follows the Trump administration’s arrests and attempts to deport students, such as Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk, who campaigned against U.S. support for Israel, as well as efforts to restrict on-campus support and gender-affirming care for transgender people.
The Trump administration has waged an all-out war on what it portrays as the liberal bastion of academia, including by revoking grants previously authorized by Congress. All federally funded research must now reflect his right-wing ideology and avoid any mention of race or gender.
Meanwhile, recent scenes of masked federal agents seizing immigrants and U.S. citizens from the streets have also convinced many foreign-born researchers that they are no longer welcome in America.
On July 4, 2025, the Austrian Academy of Sciences announced its first-ever fellowship program targeting academics of all nationalities at U.S. institutions.Institutions funded by money originally from the Marshall Plan. Two months later, it announced 25 recipients, each receiving €500,000.
“Thank Trump for this brain gain,” said Heinz Fassmann, the academy’s president, in a statement at the time.
Officials say that although the program is modest, it sends an important signal: Austria is a stable democracy committed to science without ideological interference.
According to Alexandra Lieben, a professor of international relations at UCLA and president of AsciNA (the association for Austrian scientists and scholars in North America), even those who previously left Austria for often higher-paying opportunities in the U.S. are considering a return to Europe. She said most of AsciNA’s roughly 1,400 members have been affected by funding cuts.
“There was a real shock among everybody, and a paralysis that went along with that. That has subsided,” she said. Even long-term residents are now exploring exit plans.
Alexander Lex, who studies human-computer interaction and data visualization for biomedicine and other applications, moved to the U.S. over a decade ago as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard and later led the Visualization Design Lab at the University of Utah.
Last summer, Lex announced his lab was “entering a new chapter” and moving to the Graz University of Technology. An Austrian national, Lex said he began searching for a job in his home country before Trump returned to power. The 2024 election and its aftermath confirmed his decision to look for work elsewhere.
“I think there is a big contraction happening in the U.S. academic environment, partially because of hard facts, partially because of self-censorship and worry,” Lex said. “Especially if you’re in a more vulnerable position, people are taking fewer risks, and that’s really bad for science.”
Even before Trump’s return, Hussam Habib, who earned his PhD at the University of Iowa, could feel political pressures affecting his work. He studies how algorithms and platform governance influence political polarization—a topic that interested him since his undergraduate days in Pakistan.
“I had met people at my school who were very fine, normal, decent human beings. But over the years, you saw them become more and more radical. And you talk to them, and they start quoting Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro, and a lot of these radical misogynists,” Habib said.
The U.S. was where much of the research on disinformation and online radicalization was happening, making it “seem like the right place to be” for someone building a career in the field, he recalled.
However, after the COVID-19 pandemic and Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election and the January 6 insurrection, work addressing online misinformation became the target of concerted attacks from the Republican Party.
Funding began to dry up, Habib said, and peers suggested he focus less on the political impacts of social media. Then Habib saw a post advertising a position at the University of Graz. He applied—having never been to Austria—and received one of the new fellowships designed for people leaving America.
“Am I glad that I dodged a bullet? I want to say that no, I would have been fine,” Habib said. “But deep down, I know that I would have been very, very stressed.”
This article was amended on 10 February 2026. An earlier version stated that Marci Shore and Timothy Snyder were offered and accepted positions at the University of Toronto just weeks after Donald Trump was elected. In fact, they accepted offers before Trump was elected.Stanley is a philosopher, not a historian, as was previously stated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about the topic I saw the writing on the wall Austria offers safe haven for US academics as Trump wages war on universities
Beginner Definition Questions
1 What is this news story about in simple terms
Its about a new program in Austria that is actively recruiting American university professors and researchers who are concerned about potential threats to academic freedom and funding in the US particularly if Donald Trump is reelected
2 What does I saw the writing on the wall mean in this context
Its an idiom meaning to see clear signs that something bad is going to happen Here it refers to American academics who believe the political climate for higher education in the US is becoming hostile and are seeking jobs abroad before things potentially get worse
3 What is the war on universities mentioned
This phrase refers to a series of criticisms policy proposals and legislative efforts by some US politicians that target universities These include accusations of liberal bias efforts to cut federal research funding and proposals to tax large university endowments or alter accreditation
4 What is the safe haven Austria is offering
Austria has launched a specific streamlined fellowship program called the US Professors in Austria initiative It offers 5year fullyfunded positions at Austrian universities including salaries research budgets and administrative support specifically aimed at tenured and tenuretrack US professors
Benefits Motivations
5 Why would an American professor consider moving to Austria
Primary reasons include job security and longterm funding a desire to work in a politically stable environment for research the prestige of European institutions and the opportunity to live and work in central Europe
6 Whats in it for Austria
Austria gains highly qualified established scholars who can enhance their universities international rankings bring new research projects and grant money and foster academic exchange Its a strategic brain gain initiative
7 Is this just about politics
Not solely While political concerns are a major catalyst academics are also motivated by the attractive professional package the chance for international experience and longstanding issues like the high cost of securing consistent research grants in the US
Common Problems Practical Concerns
