As recently highlighted by the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), approximately 1.4 million people – including 170,000 qualified professionals – emigrated from Austria between 2011 and 2023: https://www.iv.at/news/detail/oesterreich-mit-deutlicher-abwanderung-qualifizierter-arbeitskraefte-konfrontiert/.
IV President Georg Knill summed it up: “We are losing exactly the people we need most. Highly qualified professionals are leaving Austria because other countries – especially competitive EU and OECD nations – offer better conditions for their professional and personal development.”
The Austrian federal government has straightforward tools at its disposal to counteract this “brain drain” and strengthen Austria as a hub for science, technology, and business.
Dominik Engel, Rector of FH Salzburg, emphasizes a key structural issue: “Due to the lack of a right to award doctoral degrees at Universities of Applied Sciences, we are losing top talents abroad – talents Austria has heavily invested in through funding, effort, and expertise. Their research output is urgently needed by our domestic industry and SMEs. Instead of offering them highly demanded prospects in Austria, we are effectively pushing them away. Our neighbors in Germany welcome this ‘service’ – while quietly shaking their heads at Austria’s regulatory environment.”
Hannes Raffaseder, CEO of St. Pölten UAS, adds: “Several Austrian UAS, including ours and MCI, have been entrusted by the European Commission to help build ‘European Universities’, an honor of international significance. Without the right to award doctorates, how can we truly participate on equal footing and jointly build centers of excellence for research, development, education, and knowledge transfer with our European partners? They frequently ask when we will finally be able to contribute meaningfully with our own doctoral programs.”
Stefan Fitz-Rankl, CEO of Vorarlberg UAS, criticizes the longstanding impasse: “In Germany, 12 out of 16 federal states have now granted doctoral rights to UAS, with excellent results in strengthening their technology, innovation, and economic sectors. Yet in Austria, this opportunity has been denied to our best minds for 30 years.”
Siegfried Spanz, CEO of Carinthia UAS, highlights the importance of applied research: “Countries like Germany have recognized that a globally competitive research, technology, and innovation ecosystem cannot rely solely on basic university research aimed primarily at the academic community. A second pillar is essential – applied research that generates innovative, practical solutions.”
Andreas Altmann, Rector of MCI, describes the situation in Western Austria: “We are particularly affected in Tyrol and the western regions. Major cities like Munich, Nuremberg, and Stuttgart – home to numerous global companies – are closer to Innsbruck than Vienna. In Germany, professionals can earn more, live more affordably, and pursue a doctorate. It's high time we corrected this legal inequality. Doing so would benefit Austria’s entire scientific, technological, and economic landscape – including our universities. Years ago, Austria’s provincial governors unanimously urged the federal government to grant doctoral rights to research-strong UAS. It’s time to act on that decision.”
Ulrike Prommer, President of Austria’s Universities of Applied Sciences, summarizes in a joint appeal to the federal government: “The proposals are on the table. A simple legislative amendment could enable Austria’s research-strong UAS to submit doctoral programs for accreditation – following the same procedures that work seamlessly in Germany and other countries. Let us finally remove this outdated legal obstacle, create development opportunities for our top talents at home, and turn the brain drain into a brain gain.”
The full press release from the Austrian UAS Conference (FHK), including additional statements, is available here.
MCI Campus Innsbruck ©MCI/Marc Scherr
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