HBM Polaschek should take this as an opportunity to improve the financial situation of the universities of applied sciences.

The federal states have understood why the universities of applied sciences in Austria need to be strengthened! Last Friday, the Conference of Provincial Representatives (LFTK) responded to the difficult financial situation of universities of applied sciences with a clear resolution. In doing so, they passed HBM Polaschek a ball that he must now pick up. In their resolution, the state finance officers call on the federal government to compensate for the inflation caused by the current crises and the associated rise in personnel and energy costs. They are calling for a 20 per cent increase in funding rates for UAS study places from January 2024. In addition, to safeguard the quality of teaching and to expand applied research at universities of applied sciences, sustainable competition-orientated research funding of around 25 million euros per year is required. The state finance ministers are thus responding to the long-standing demands of the FHK, the umbrella organisation of Austrian universities of applied sciences, which has repeatedly drawn HBM Polaschek's attention to the precarious situation of universities of applied sciences in recent months.

"I am pleased that we can count on the support of the federal states vis-à-vis the federal government. The federal states know and appreciate that the universities of applied sciences play a key role in the regional value creation of our country. HBM Polaschek would be well advised to fulfil these demands of the federal states and to secure the universities of applied sciences financially and structurally in teaching and research," says FHK President Ulrike Prommer.