Weather chaos in large parts of Austria makes a cancellation necessary
Vienna (OTS) - Due to the current devastating weather conditions, the festive event planned for today, 16 September 2024, in the Austrian Parliament to mark the 30th anniversary of the Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) in Austria unfortunately has to be cancelled.
30 years ago, in the 1994/95 academic year, the first ten university of applied sciences degree programmes were launched with 708 students. Today, universities of applied sciences are firmly anchored in the Austrian higher education system, with 21 institutions and over 700 degree programmes serving around 76,000 students. In the meantime, over 270,000 graduates have successfully completed their degrees. With a research turnover of around 200 million euros and around 2,000 research projects per year, the universities of applied sciences (UAS) and universities of applied sciences (UAS) make a significant contribution to the country's innovative strength.
The UASs are dynamic institutions that optimally prepare students for the challenges of the modern working world and at the same time deliver a high level of research performance. These successes can be attributed to a pioneering spirit, courage and confidence in their own strengths. The increasing demand for study places and research demonstrates the relevance of UASs for society and the economy.
However, the President of the Austrian University of Applied Sciences Conference (FHK), Ulrike Prommer, emphasises in view of the upcoming National Council elections that Austria is still leaving a lot of potential untapped: "Science policy must shift to an approach that does not differentiate between sectors, but instead focuses on the higher education system as a whole. This would inevitably lead to the conclusion that the potential and strengths of UAS are not yet being fully utilised. Let us work together in the coming years on fair framework conditions and genuine equal opportunities and engage in an open, unprejudiced dialogue.
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As application and transfer-oriented universities, universities of applied sciences must become the centre of political attention in the future, as they are an important lever for securing Austria's prosperity. FHK Secretary General Kurt Koleznik is therefore calling for the introduction of a new funding system, sustainable funding for research and the opportunity to offer independent doctoral programmes.
These measures are crucial to strengthening the role of universities of applied sciences as drivers of innovation and securing the path to the future.
On the FHK's demands paper for the 2024 National Council elections: "Austria has a choice - act now!"