It has 50 pages and is in English. The strategy paper of the experts for the Linz digital university is ready – and the experts in the Ministry of Education have reportedly been positively surprised. Under the direction of the former Google IT security chief Gerhard Eschelbeck have digitization experts like the managing director of Cloudflight, Christian Federspiel, Dynatrace-Founder Bernd Greifeneder, the professors Martina Mara (JKU), Barbara Weber (St. Gallen) and investor Valerie Mocker or Georg Gottlob developed a concept from Oxford University, which Eschelbeck worked with education minister Martin Polaschek and governor Thomas Stelzer will present to the public in January. Stelzer confirmed this yesterday after a video conference with Polaschek. “We had a very good conversation today.”
The participants are silent about what is in the paper. It should be fixed, however, that practice is required immediately with the start of the respective study. In principle, the federal and state governments are sticking to the plan to put the new university into operation in autumn 2023. For this purpose, the corresponding founding law will be passed in the first half of 2022 in order to guarantee the university a special status away from the usual educational bureaucracy.
Founding law in spring
This law is also necessary in order to be able to appoint the first professors. Politicians are aware that only the spectacular recruitment of a few teaching beacons can get the university going. One hopes for the allure of the new, which attracts top international talent. Would you like to get the support of Hagenberg mastermind Bruno Buchberger, who is practically not networked internationally? What is clear is that sensational international appointments are needed.
Those involved are aware that the planned university start in 2023 is more than sporty. Realistically, not all studies will be able to start in all forms (Bachelor, Master, PhD) at the same time. It is more likely that operations will start up gradually.
Most of the people surveyed by the OÖN consider where the digital university will be located as irrelevant. It is becoming apparent, however, that the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) and the Digital University will be in close proximity. This is because the public sector has land there and there would also be space for the founders of spin-offs (i.e. companies that emerge from the work of the university).
Source: Nachrichten
