DX Calls for Proposals

Austria's public universities have been operating and acting as independent legal entities since the 2004 amendment to the Universities Act, but they still have clearly defined obligations to society due to the fact that they are financed by public funds. These obligations are described in detail in the respective performance agreements. In the 2019-2021 performance agreement, digitalisation projects were defined as focus area for the first time. This focus area is also stipulated in the current development and financing plan for universities of applied sciences (UAS), which outlines how degree programmes related to digitalisation and STEM subjects will be quantitatively and qualitatively expanded. In this way, Austria's universities and UASs are officially committed to actively shaping the digital transformation and to exploring and showcasing the potential of digitalisation.

Since budgetary aspects play a decisive role in this transformation, additional funding is required from national and European funding bodies. In this regard, additional calls for proposals issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) are particularly noteworthy. For example, 34 ministry initiatives were granted a total of 50 million euros as a result of the last "Digital Transformation in Higher Education" call for proposals. The digital university hub (DUH) is one of the initiatives that answered this call and has the goal to promote stronger inter-university networking, cooperation, and collaboration. This is also an overall key objective of the digital transformation in higher education. Starting in 2023, 28 projects that have been selected to drive the expansion and modernisation of high-quality (digital) research infrastructure will also be granted a total of 40 million euros.

The BMWBF is also providing additional funds for Austria's UASs by issuing calls for proposals. In 2021, as part of the 2022/23 UAS Expansion programme, UASs were invited to submit project proposals that supported the expansion of digitalisation and STEM degree programme via a specially dedicated website. This funding created programme spaces for 340 new students throughout Austria, and these spaces opened in the winter semester of 2022/23.

More information about other current and upcoming calls for proposals can be found here on the call for proposals platform maintained by the Ministry of Education, Science and Research.