Fourth summit between TU Austria and the TU9 Alliance in Berlin

On 16 July 2026, during its anniversary year, the TU9 Alliance invited the TU Austria Executive Board to Berlin for a face-to-face exchange. The meeting took place at the Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data (BIFOLD) at TU Berlin. The two alliances represent leading universities in the fields of engineering and the natural sciences in Germany and Austria. The conference focused on engaging with STEM students, topics relating to Future Engineering & AI, and the innovation and start-up ecosystems of the technical universities in both countries. Future prospects and opportunities for joint initiatives were discussed with representatives from student unions and spin-offs from both alliances.

The two TU9 Co-Presidents, President Angela Ittel and Rector Peter Middendorf, emphasised: “The strategic exchange of perspectives and experiences across national borders is a great asset to the European Research Area. Constructive dialogue with partners and guests on current challenges provides valuable impetus for the future direction of our universities. This was also evident during the discussion on start-ups and innovation with the entrepreneurs from our universities who had travelled specifically for the event, and who shared their experiences and perspectives as founders. We will take these insights on board with the members of the TU9 Alliance and pursue them further in cooperation with TU Austria.”

TU Austria President Rector Horst Bischof and Vice-President Rector Jens Schneider summed up in unison: “The collegial exchange on topics including the transformation of science, business and society through AI, current issues in STEM studies, and the shortage of skilled workers in the STEM sector – particularly against the backdrop of looming budget cuts at universities – was of enormous value. We greatly appreciate that the student representatives from Austria and Germany travelled here to bring students’ concerns into the discussion on STEM studies. We would like to thank them, and above all our colleagues from the TU9 Alliance and TU Berlin, for their hospitality. We warmly congratulate the TU9 Alliance on its 20th anniversary and look forward to seeing you again soon in Austria!”

The discussion on STEM students, Future Engineering and AI was introduced by presentations from Prof. Dr Hans-Ulrich Heiß, former Vice-President for Studies and Teaching at TU Berlin, and from the President of TU Austria and Rector of Graz University of Technology, Univ.-Prof. Horst Bischof. The student perspective was represented by student representatives Astrid Albrecht-Kramreiter (TU Vienna), Lucie Bierstedt (TU Braunschweig), Moritz Jahn (TU Dresden) and Lucia Logar (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna). Everyone agreed that this successful start to the mutual exchange should definitely be continued. AI is transforming not only learning but also teaching, and is challenging traditional teaching formats. This is precisely why the teaching of cross-disciplinary skills is becoming increasingly important. The students also advocated that, particularly at undergraduate level, general content should be taught jointly across disciplinary boundaries.

The potential of the innovation and start-up ecosystems at the technical universities was the focus of the second thematic block. The introductory presentations by Prof. Dr Jens Schneider, Vice-President of TU Austria and Rector of TU Wien, and Prof. Dr Arno Kwade, Vice-President for Innovation and Transfer at TU Braunschweig, were followed by a discussion with representatives from various spin-offs of the technical universities: Dipl.-Ing. Lukas Helminger, CEO of TACEO; Michele Buttazzoni, CTO of inSilico Physics; Dr Rhea Machado, CEO of Porelio, and Christopher Kebschull, CTO of Okapi Orbits, shared their experiences and perspectives from the viewpoint of start-ups founded on the basis of scientific research with the support of the technical universities. The next step will be to exchange best-practice models and to further strengthen the links between the start-up ecosystems of the two alliances.

The alliances TU9 – German Universities of Technology e.V. and TU Austria have been engaging in regular dialogue since 2015. Joint networking meetings and events have already taken place in Darmstadt in 2015, in Vienna in 2016 and in Vienna in 2022. In early March 2026, the two alliances jointly organised a high-profile panel discussion in Brussels on the European Union’s forthcoming Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).

About TU9

TU9 is the alliance of leading technical universities in Germany: RWTH Aachen, Technical University of Berlin, Technical University of Braunschweig, Technical University of Darmstadt, Technical University of Dresden, Leibniz University Hannover, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Technical University of Munich and the University of Stuttgart.

TU9 universities play a special role in shaping the productivity and innovative capacity of our society and economy. They help shape the future, for example through their contributions to digitalisation and the energy and sustainability transition. To this end, they combine their specific expertise in basic research – particularly in the natural sciences and engineering – with applied research and innovation. TU9 universities enjoy an excellent global reputation as renowned research and teaching institutions. They train outstanding young talent for science, industry and public administration, maintain high-calibre international networks and engage in a wide range of collaborations with industry. As such, they are a key element of Germany as a centre for science and innovation.

About TU Austria

TU Austria is the alliance of Austria’s technical universities, founded in 2010 by the Vienna University of Technology, Graz University of Technology and the Montanuniversität Leoben. Since 2025, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at Johannes Kepler University Linz and the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Innsbruck have been strengthening TU Austria as associate members.

Under the motto ‘feel. tech. europe.”, the universities of TU Austria are joining forces and harnessing synergies to achieve more together in research, teaching and higher education policy, and to act as a reliable partner for industry and business through their combined expertise. TU Austria is a strong, internationally networked forum and stands for scientific excellence, economic relevance and sustainable development in Austria.