Heribert Hirt received his B.Sc. in Chemistry at the University of Cape Town in 1979. He obtained his M.Sc. in Biochemistry in 1981 and his D.Sc. in 1987 at the University of Vienna. Hirt played a major role in integrating Austrian plant research into the international community. As Vice-Director (2002-2004), Hirt helped to found the Gregor-Mendel Institute of Plant Molecular Biology as a research centre of excellence of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. From 2005-2007, he was President of the Austrian Society of Genetics. From 2006-2007, Hirt was head of the Department of Plant Molecular Biology. In 2008, Hirt became director of the URGV Plant Genomics Institute in Paris and in 2014, director of the Center for Desert Agriculture at KAUST, Thuwal, KSA.