How much innovation can be generated in 24 hours? This year, 24 students have secured places at the 12th TU Austria Innovation Marathon. Supported by innovation coaches and working in interdisciplinary teams, they developed innovative solutions to four real-world challenges facing Austrian industry within just 24 hours and presented them to a high-calibre audience of experts as part of the AIT Technology Talks Austria at the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna. 
The TU Austria universities – TU Wien, TU Graz and Montanuniversität Leoben – and their three associate members – BOKU Vienna, the Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences at JKU Linz and the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Innsbruck – use this annual highlight to demonstrate what students in cross-disciplinary teams are capable of achieving in terms of innovative strength, collaboration and an ‘out-of-the-box’ mindset. The event highlights the close, active cooperation between the TU Austria universities and the importance of the interface between academic knowledge and business practice.
Eva-Maria Holzleitner, Federal Minister for Women, Science and Research: “TU Austria stands for active cooperation that transcends the boundaries of individual universities and disciplines. And the Innovation Marathon demonstrates what can emerge from this collaboration: when different perspectives and skills come together, new ideas and concrete solutions arise in no time at all. That is cooperation rather than silo thinking. And an important contribution to Austria as a strong centre for science and business.”

Horst Bischof, Rector of Graz University of Technology and acting President of TU Austria, is delighted with the successful event: “Year after year, it is impressive to see how creatively and enthusiastically the students at the TU Austria Innovation Marathon develop compelling solutions to real-world industrial challenges under time pressure. This is only possible through teamwork and by bringing together different academic backgrounds – a recipe for success not only for this event, but for Austria as a centre of science and business.”
 

Four real-world challenges from industry

The TU Austria Innovation Marathon 2026 took place from 9 to 10 September as part of the Austria Technology Talks by AIT at the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna. Twenty-four Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD students took part, having undergone a selection process beforehand. The four challenges were set by voestalpine AG, OMV AG, Miba AG and AT&S AG.

Once again, the TU Austria Innovation Marathon was supported by a strong network of partners, including the Federation of Austrian Industries and the Austrian Patent Office. Stefan Harasek, President of the Austrian Patent Office, emphasises: “The universities behind TU Austria have filed more than 2,600 patent applications since 2000. Behind every single one lies a moment when someone thought: ‘That could be the solution!’ At the Innovation Marathon, you can experience these moments first-hand. What the teams are developing here marks the beginning of a journey that could culminate in a commercially successful patent. Our aim is to show students right from the start how best to navigate this path.”

Through interdisciplinary teamwork, these questions have given rise to viable ideas for real-world challenges and valuable new impetus for domestic industry. Mario Fallast, project manager of the TU Austria Innovation Marathon, sums it up: “The atmosphere at the 2026 Innovation Marathon was simply fantastic. It’s impressive year after year to support the students and witness first-hand their shared determination to find innovative solutions to the companies’ challenges. These 24 hours have shown just how powerful and enriching interdisciplinary collaboration is.”