Like all educational institutions, the universities of applied sciences have also had to close their physical doors due to COVID-19. However, this does not prevent them from continuing to teach. "The students and their progress are our most important concern. No one should be disadvantaged by this," says FHK President Raimund Ribitsch. "We are using the opportunities offered by digitalisation to prevent delays in the study period." With this in mind, the universities of applied sciences have moved their teaching appointments to the virtual space. Admission procedures for the coming academic year are also still underway.

In recent weeks, there has been particularly close coordination between all universities of applied sciences. We are learning from each other and helping each other with examples of best practice. As far as possible, teaching sessions take place online. Both students and lecturers are grateful for this offer. Only laboratory exercises and very practical teaching appointments have to be postponed. However, pragmatic solutions are already being sought, for example by extending semesters individually or postponing teaching dates to a later date.

Of course, distance learning also has its natural limits. Where close teamwork is required and soft skills take centre stage, there is a lack of personal contact. As studies have shown, this is immensely important for the learning process. In this respect, the aim is to return to the "world of personal contact" as soon as possible after this crisis.

The costs associated with the switch to "online mode" should not be underestimated. The rapid conversion of teaching to distance learning is associated with enormously high costs and additional resources (purchase of bandwidth, increases in IT infrastructure, additional investment in data security, short-term training of teaching staff, increased supervision intensity, etc.) and is putting universities of applied sciences under pressure. FHK President Ribitsch comments: "The universities of applied sciences have long suffered from the fact that federal funding has not been adjusted to inflation for years. Those responsible are aware of this and are now taking their revenge. The crisis has brought to light what has been wrong with the funding system for some time. The longer the federal government's measures continue, the more expensive it will become for the universities of applied sciences. We expect the federal government to intervene as quickly as possible. According to Ribitsch, if the increase in federal funding continues to fail to materialise, this would lead to a noticeable loss of quality in education.