Universities in focus

“Knowing what we owe society”

The LFU offers space for around 30,000 students in 142 subjects.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

A new study costing just under 100,000 euros sheds light on the activities of six Tyrolean universities, which together manage an annual budget of 750 million euros. The 200 pages contain some fascinating details. The "Krone" has filtered them out. 

Strengthening the Tyrolean University Conference, making efficient use of the decentralized locations of the higher education institutions, supporting niche innovations and making an informed decision about the future of Umit Hall: These are four central focuses of the new location analysis of the Tyrol as a university location.

The university conference is the perfect platform to tackle the whole thing now.

Wissenschaftslandesrätin Cornelia Hagele 

"In Tirol, we can be proud of our diverse, innovative and renowned offering. However, there is always potential for optimization," explained Science Minister Cornelia Hagele (ÖVP) in the presence of Swiss co-author Carole Probst and the rectors of Umit Hall and Med-Uni Innsbruck, Rudolf Steckel and Wolfgang Fleischhacker.

The future of the science and research area lies in cooperation: "This is the only way we can meet the challenges of the future."

UMIT in Hall is the only private university in the state. It is to be examined separately once again.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

State wants to get involved in conference
The university conference, which is chaired by Regine Mathies, is the "perfect platform" to tackle the issue, said Hagele. The state of Tyrol will become more involved there in future and also involve social partners. "We are open to discussing what can be done differently. We are aware of what we owe to society."

No cost-cutting hammer due to federal budget shortfall
There is no need to worry about the fact that, in times of a huge budget shortfall, the savings hammer will also hit the education sector. Funding has been secured for the next three years.

Regine Mathies, Wolfgang Fleischhacker, LR Cornelia Hagele, Carole Probst and Rudolf Steckel (from left) presented the results at a press conference.(Bild: Land Tirol/Pölzl)

The study contains some interesting details:

• Across all doctoral studies, Tyrol has a slightly lower proportion of women (44.8%) than at all Austrian universities combined (46.2%).

• The two Innsbruck universities contributed more than 14% of all publications by staff at Austrian universities in 2022. The university registered 25 patents, the medical university nine.

• The average personnel costs per professor at the University of Innsbruck amount to around €517,000 (cf. University of Vienna €589,000, Salzburg around €477,000). The highest costs per professor are in the fields of life sciences and environmental research (around € 927,000) and engineering and technical professions (around € 789,000). 

Neos and ÖVP disagree on assessment
Following the presentation of the location analysis of the universities, the Neos are sobered by the results. "The analysis did not provide any truly groundbreaking findings," says club leader Birgit Obermüller. The private university UMIT is also being questioned. "Nothing at UMIT is private. 90 percent is held by the state."

The ÖVP takes a somewhat different view. "Tyrol can be proud of its diverse and renowned range of universities. The study allows us to recognize our strengths and thus develop further," emphasizes LT Vice President Dominik Mainusch.