1400 places in Vienna

New university of applied sciences as medicine against nursing shortage

Wigev Director General Evelyn Kölldorfer-Leitgeb, City Councillor for Health Peter Hacker and FH Managing Director Wilhelm Behensky with specialists at the newly opened nursing campus

(Bild: Wigev / Bernhard Noll)

The new nursing college at the Alte Landgut in Favoriten is intended to secure Vienna's long-term demand for nursing staff. Modern infrastructure including high-tech simulation rooms, financial incentives and career opportunities are intended to attract students and at the same time improve the quality of care.

The FH Campus Wien and the Vienna Healthcare Association (Wigev) are now using the new training facility as a lever for highly qualified young talent in the nursing professions - not least because there are still gaps in the area of academic nursing training, even according to EU guidelines. 1400 places for students are intended to close this gap. Not only future patients are to benefit, but also the students.

New building to "inspire enthusiasm for healthcare professions"
The newly built building on the Favoritner FH campus, where the first students are already being trained, is dedicated solely to nursing training. Wigev has provided the necessary funds and, according to Director General Evelyn Kölldorfer-Leitgeb, aims to "inspire more people for healthcare professions". The FH Campus now offers a total of 2150 training places in the care sector, from bachelor's degree courses to physiotherapy and psychiatric care.

City Councillor for Health Peter Hacker believes that the new building completes Vienna's training package to combat the nursing shortage. Vienna has thus "doubled the number of training places in the field of nursing and put training on a modern footing". In addition to conventional teaching rooms, the new building also has functional and simulation rooms. Work is still underway on a "simulation lab", which is intended to make situations that can occur in hospitals and care homes realistic.

Amenities to attract students
The 42,000 square meter building was erected in just 19 months. It is designed to make learning as pleasant as possible with large, bright rooms, open spaces, good public transport links and amenities such as a canteen with seating for around 600 people. Attention was also paid to sustainability with geothermal energy, solar energy, e-bike charging points and bicycle parking spaces.

Vienna is doing what it can to ensure that the skilled workers trained over six semesters remain in the city. Combining the training with internships in Wigev hospitals and nursing homes should set the course for this. The city also offers financial incentives, ranging from a contribution to the training costs to the opportunity to complete the course while still employed by Wigev. Most of the teaching staff are also recruited from Wigev members. The city also emphasizes that the starting salary for qualified nursing staff is now at least 3057 euros per month, not including bonuses.