Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
Recent work has suggested that chimpanzees show a characteristic error when presented with problems that require reasoning about 'OR' operations. When presented with the choice between a single cup baited with food (100% option) and two cups, one of which is baited (50% option), chimpanzees will surprisingly not choose the 100% option above chance. Recent work has shown that kea parrots have a sophisticated understanding of probability (Bastos & Taylor 2021). This study will examine if kea show better performance than chimpanzees when presented with this task

Required Skills and Knowledge:
None. We will teach you how to work with our birds, and give instructions for your literature research. The work is directly supervised on site.

Additional Information:
This diploma thesis work is part of collaboration with Prof Alex Taylor, und thus contractually bound to the winter semester. There are two topics that will be investigated in the WS 2025. The work involves assisting postdoc Millie Johnston in collecting data, in cognition tasks with the kea at Haidlhof, 4 days a week. The plan is to combine the work of both topics, and to then divide it between two people. Each person will have their own topic to write up in their thesis, but this will allow the work to be structured more flexibly.

Duration of the thesis:
01.10.2025 to 28.02.2026

Language of the Thesis:
German oder English

Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Vergleichende Kognitionsforschung, Messerli Forschungsinstitut

Contact Person for the Thesis/Topic:
Raoul Schwing, PhD
raoul.schwing@vetmeduni.ac.at

Feedback from students requested by:
asap

Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
In the study of animal cognition, we used many paradigms derived from human psychology. However, non-human animals are tested in a very different context: not receiving any instruction as to what they should do in an experiment. We know little about how humans perform in cognitive tests under the same conditions.

In our research, we developed a battery of five short videogames that simulate tasks we perform with non-human animals, on the topics of: inequity aversion, cooperation, inference, and altruism. We are testing people of different age groups on the games without giving them any instructions of what to do. We hope this will shed light on human-animal comparisons in cognitive tests, and how we can improve them.

We are looking for two master’s students from April 2025 onwards, who are interested in data collection and analysis, and writing a thesis on the data. Our test sessions involve recruiting volunteers at Dörfles Wildpark and at the University of Veterinary Medicine of Vienna and applying the videogames battery.

Required Skills and Knowledge:

• Study of cognitive science, biology, neuroscience, psychology, or related field
• Independent, committed, organised and responsible work
• Fluent English (and preferably German) skills
• Availability to test at Dörfles Wildpark (near Ernstbrunn, NÖ; g.co/kgs/t5BCfch)

Language of the Thesis:
English

Duration of the thesis:
01.05.2025 to 01.05.2026

Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Domestication Lab

Contact Person for the Thesis:
Dario Staric: dario.staric@vetmeduni.ac.at

Feedback from students requested by:
April/May 2025

Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
With a series of behavioural and eye-tracking tests we want to investigate if pet dogs can see the world from others’ perspectives and in particular if they understand that others can make mistakes. In this project we will test pet dogs in behavioural tasks, such as the one described here: royalsociety.org/blog/2021/07/are-dogs-sensitive-to-human-mental-states/. Moreover, we will record videos to be shown to dogs who participate in eye-tracking tests. The main responsibilities during the internship will include: recruiting the dogs’ caregivers, for example through our database and social media; testing dogs in behavioural tasks; scoring videosof dogs' behaviours; reading the scientific literature on the topic; writing experimental protocols and documenting progress.

Required Skills and Knowledge:
•    BSc in Biology or related field
•    Interpersonal skills (to recruit and interact with dogs’ caregivers)
•    Certified experience with dog training is preferred but not required

Additional Information:
If this sounds interesting to you, and you have at least 4 months to dedicate to this project, please apply here: s.surveyplanet.com/llhm9yc3.

Planned duration of the thesis project:
Autumn 2024 to Spring 2025

Language of the Thesis:
English

Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Messerli Research Institute, Clever Dog Lab

Contact Person for the Thesis:
Contact: Lucrezia Lonardo, PhD (lucrezia.lonardo@vetmeduni.ac.at)
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ludwig Huber (ludwig.huber@vetmeduni.ac.at)

Interested candidates may reply until: 
As soon as possible

Short Description of the Thesis/Topic:
Colitis is a frequent and serious problem in horses as well as humans. The pathophysiological mechanisms are supposed to involve a complex crosstalk between immune cells and epithelial cells that results in destruction of the epithelial barrier and further progression of disease. This project aims to establish a co-culture model of equine colon epithelium and immune cells to characterize the signalling pathways involved and to test new therapeutic approaches.

Required Skills and Knowledge:
High motivation, experience in cell culture work and/or molecular biology;  
BSc degree in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Biomedicine or a related subject 

Further Information:
We offer a highly supportive team, established methods and guidance by supervisor and colleagues.

Language of the Thesis:
German or English

Duration of the thesis:
6 months

Name of the Institute/Clinic/Unit:
Institute of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Biophysics, Department of Biomedical Sciences & Clinic for Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna

Contact Person for the Thesis:
Franziska Dengler - Franziska.dengler@vetmdeuni.ac.at
Jessika Cavalleri - Jessika.cavalleri@vetmeduni.ac.at

Feedback from students requested by:
as soon as possible, flexible starting date

Please send a short CV and motivation letter.