Applied Science for Business and Society
Research at Universities of Applied Sciences: A Key Driver for Economic and Social Solutions
USTP – University of Applied Sciences St. Pölten and FHV – Vorarlberg University of Applied Sciences make major contributions to their regions through research. Now, they advocate for granting universities of applied sciences the right to award PhDs. This would enable universities of applied sciences to leverage their strengths in applied and interdisciplinary research and be an even stronger driver of progress for the region and the economy. The universities of applied sciences have already jointly developed a PhD programme and call for the legal framework conditions to implement their plans and maximise their positive impact on the region.
PhDs in Applied Sciences
Through applied research, USTP and FHV play an indispensable role in addressing the challenges of today’s economy and society. Granting universities of applied sciences the right to award PhDs could significantly increase the innovative power that universities of applied sciences can bring to the regions and the economy, and help exploit research results more effectively by providing solutions to concrete problems. It would place greater value on practice-oriented and interdisciplinary research, which is urgently needed by the regional economy. Another benefit would be a more intense and accelerated knowledge transfer between universities of applied sciences and industry.
“We have achieved high excellence in applied sciences across many fields, we are very well connected nationally and internationally, and we have state-of-the-art infrastructure. With this expertise, we create sustainable added value through exploitable results for the economy and the region. It is time to take the next step: Grating universities of applied sciences the right to award PhD promotes applied sciences, strengthens our innovative capabilities, and sets the stage for future-proof services and products, thereby creating added value for the economy and society”, says Hannes Raffaseder, Executive Director of USTP.
From Research to Innovation
“Often, the final step of turning research findings into innovation is not taken in Austria,” says Guiliana Sabbatini, Head of the Service and Competence Center for Higher Education Development and Quality Management at USTP:
“The percentage of total expenses for research and development in relation to the GDP is above average in Austria compared internationally. However, we rarely take a leading position in innovation rankings. It seems that we fail to develop feasible innovations from research findings. This is exactly where universities of applied sciences excel. It is therefore of great importance that these applied research fields are strengthened through the right to award PhDs”, says Sabbatini.
Fully Developed PhD Programme
“As we do not yet have the right to award PhDs independently, FHV and USPT have developed a concept for a joint PhD programme, and together, we advocate for the legal framework conditions that will enable its implementation”, explain FHV Executive Director Stefan Fitz-Rankl and USTP Executive Director Hannes Raffaseder. The call to grant universities of applied sciences the right to award PhDs is supported by the Austrian Conference of Universities of Applied Sciences (FHK).
The planned PhD programme of FHV and USTP covers four topic areas: Applied Artificial Intelligence, Sustainable Industries, Digital Health, and Creative Industries. While it is designed to have an equivalent status to PhD programmes at universities, a conscious decision was made to give it distinctive features – such as interdisciplinarity, practical orientation, strong involvement of companies and stakeholders from society. The four topic areas are very well established at both universities, and they have experienced a strong growth in recent years.
Further Development of the European Higher Education System
As member or coordinator of the two European Higher Education Alliances RUN-EU und E3UDRES2, both universities have established strong international connections. Being part of a European University Alliance provides access to international networks and modern infrastructure and supports established quality standards. “We are convinced that we can make an important contribution to the further development of the Austrian higher education system by implementing this concept. PhD programmes at university of applied sciences broaden the opportunities to gain a PhD – not by competing with universities but by complementing what is already there”, emphasizes USTP Executive Director Hannes Raffaseder.
Interdisciplinary and Applied Research for Society
In recent years, USTP has launched and expanded many research areas – with a strong focus on interdisciplinary and applied research for the benefit of the economy and society, contributing solutions to urgent problems. These areas and their knowledge transfer would be further strengthened if universities of applied sciences could award PhDs.
One example is the (digital) healthcare system: “Thanks to nursing staff from abroad, we might be able to fill the largest gaps for some more years to come, but we need new approaches and innovations to find a long-term solution – which we will only achieve through applied research in healthcare and nursing”, says Raffaseder.
For example, USTP researches the use of artificial intelligence in gait analysis – a field that will play a major role in rehabilitation and prevention in our ageing society.
Other fields such as social inclusion, social innovation, sustainable mobility, and smart digitalisation of the industry could also benefit from granting universities of applied sciences the right to award PhDs, thereby creating added value for the economy and society. One such project is carried out with regional company partners at USTP’s Josef Ressel Center for Knowledge-Assisted Visual Data Analytics in Industrial Production.
"We already have high-quality research projects with numerous partners, mostly from the EU. Our researchers have to go to great lengths to earn their PhDs, often requiring the help of foreign higher education institutions. This is both costly and unnecessary. After all, both time and money are needed for the actual research and development for our economy and for society”, says Raffaseder.
Support for The Right to Award PhDs
Recently, Lower Austrian Deputy Provincial Governor Stephan Pernkopf and the Executive Directors of three Lower Austrian universities of applied sciences in Krems, Wiener Neustadt, and St. Pölten have joined the Austrian Conference of Universities of Applied Sciences (FHK) in advocating for the right of universities of applied sciences to award PhDs. The Provincial Governors Johanna Mikl-Leitner (Lower Austria) and Markus Wallner (Vorarlberg) have also expressed their support for the initiative.
Further information on the research topics mentioned:
FH-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Hannes Raffaseder
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Dr. Giuliana Sabbatini
Head ofService and Competence Center for Higher Education Development and Quality Management Member Extended University Leadership
