Quite a few employees in domestic companies have completed academic training at universities of applied sciences. When it comes to the Austria-wide allocation of study places in the universities of applied sciences, however, there is an “imbalance”, criticized the Industrialists’ Association of Upper Austria (IV Upper Austria) in a broadcast yesterday, Tuesday. This is at the expense of the industrial and business location.
“In the FH sector there is a pronounced Vienna / Lower Austria burden,” says Joachim Haindl-Grutsch, managing director of the interest group. The two federal states in Eastern Austria together held around half of all 59,000 study places (winter semester 2020). By way of comparison: Upper Austria recently had 7,326 places with the four universities of applied sciences in Wels, Hagenberg, Steyr and Linz.
The locations in Upper Austria are the clear number one of all universities of applied sciences in Austria in terms of research and development, with the University of Applied Sciences Health Professions Upper Austria being strong in the medical field and also closely interlinked with industry. However, Haindl-Grutsch says that the “lean support structure” will be a disadvantage for Upper Austria. In Austria there are currently 21 universities of applied sciences at 33 locations. While there are five agencies each for five and seven locations in Vienna and Lower Austria, there are only one or two each in the remaining federal states. “It is a question of how many UAS providers are necessary for efficient management of the sector in the state. A higher number of sponsoring organizations obviously brings advantages in the allocation of study places by the ministry.”
“No watering can method”
If you compare the number of study places with the population share and the industrial value added share, the gap between Vienna / Lower Austria and the rest of Austria has widened more and more in recent years. A “continuation of the watering can method” is not acceptable, says the IV-Upper Austria managing director. It is necessary to respond more to business demand and location requirements. Upper Austria is particularly in need of technology-relevant university places.
Source: Nachrichten
