FHK welcomes 340 new study places and urges swift planning for further expansion of the FH sector

Utl.: Non-technical fields of study must also be expanded.

The Austrian University of Applied Sciences Conference (FHK) welcomes the further expansion of the FH sector by 340 new study places as the next step in the further development of this successful higher education sector.

At the same time, FHK President Ribitsch is pushing for the next FH development and financing plan for the period 2023 to 2028 to be drawn up quickly. The long lead time for the establishment of new degree programmes makes early planning necessary. "Business and industry have a great need for highly qualified graduates and are calling for the further expansion of the UAS sector. We are pleased that graduates from universities of applied sciences enjoy a very high reputation and are therefore in favour of the demands of the WKO and the IV," says FHK President Raimund Ribitsch. "However, in order to continue to train excellent graduates at universities of applied sciences, we need the next planning basis as soon as possible so that we can start implementing it."

In the academic years 2018/19 to 2022/23, new study places in the STEM subjects and in the field of digitalisation in particular have been and will be financed by the federal government. Ribitsch comments: "Society and the labour market also require experts from the health and social sectors as well as from interdisciplinary degree programmes. In this respect, the creation of new study places in these disciplines is also unavoidable in the future."

The University of Applied Sciences Development and Financing Plan is the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research's planning document for the quantitative and qualitative development of the UAS sector.