Vienna, 23 January 2025 - On the occasion of the start of government negotiations on education and science, the Austrian University of Applied Sciences Conference (FHK) is calling for better framework conditions for its universities.

FH/HAW: Motor for Austria as a business location
UASs train the majority of highly qualified specialists in Austria. Around a third of all university graduates have studied at a UAS. 40 per cent of new students each year begin their studies at a UAS. Due to the high level of interest in UAS degree programmes, two out of three applicants still have to be rejected. At the same time, UASs contribute significantly to strengthening the innovative power of the Austrian economy with their practice-orientated and applied research.
"Our universities are indispensable for securing Austria's competitiveness. They not only train urgently needed graduates, but also make a key contribution to the innovative strength of the economy through their applied research. But only with a significant increase in applied research can the high unit labour costs, for example, which are a burden on the Austrian economy, be reduced," emphasises FHK President Ulrike Prommer.

FH/HAW: Under pressure
Only a fraction of the science budget goes to the UASs. While the universities recently received a budget increase of over 30 per cent (3.9 billion euros for the next three years), the UASs were not promised a budget increase.
The UASs have been burdened with additional tasks in recent years. In the UAS development and financing plan for the years 2023/24 - 2025/26, 42 million euros were earmarked for special projects to at least partially cover these additional expenses. These 14 million euros per year were to be allocated for the first time in the 2023/24 academic year, but were never paid out, which further exacerbates the financial situation of the UAS.

Applied research: the neglected potential
For years, Austria has invested too little in applied research, which is of central importance for innovation and sustainable development. In contrast to universities, UASs do not receive continuous research funding, but depend exclusively on project-based funding.
"The underfunding of applied research is a major omission. Politicians could realise huge potential here with a comparatively small budget. The FHK is therefore calling for continuous, reliable funding for FH/HAW research in order to ensure sustainable research performance and substantially increase Austria's research output," says FHK Secretary General Kurt Koleznik.

Doctoral programmes: Preventing the brain drain
Doctoral programmes are essential to promote staff development and counteract the outflow of highly qualified scientists to neighbouring countries.
While the German universities of applied sciences already have the opportunity to offer doctoral programmes in twelve federal states, there are no comparable initiatives in Austria to date. In Bavaria, for example, 18 UAS doctoral programmes have already been established, which are attracting Austrian academic and research staff due to the more attractive working and research conditions. Without rapid countermeasures, this trend threatens to intensify further. This poses a massive threat to the business location.

FHK's demands to the government negotiators
The following measures are required to sustainably strengthen the business and science location:
- A new funding system for UASs with additional budgetary resources that includes sustainable research funding
- Externally accredited doctoral programmes at FH/HAW
- Expansion of study places
- Full settlement of special expenses according to the current development and financing plan