A recent study confirms the economic importance of TU Austria for Austria's prosperity and its role as an anchor of economic stability in times of crisis. In order to maintain and expand the positive economic effects, TU Austria is calling for the consistent further development of Austria as a centre of research on the basis of NEW university funding.

The TU Austria universities are of particular importance for Austria as a centre of innovation and research and are strong partners of domestic industry and business. As future-oriented research and educational institutions, Austria's three technical universities - TU Wien, TU Graz and Montanuniversität Leoben - are drivers of innovation and cooperation as well as central training institutions for Austria's future-oriented young technical and scientific talent.

"Strengthening Austria as a centre of research and innovation in the long term and increasing the competitiveness of Austrian universities in general and technical universities in particular requires clear measures, but also sufficient budgetary resources through federal university funding," said the three rectors of TU Austria, TU Wien Rector Sabine Seidler, TU Austria President and TU Graz Rector Harald Kainz and Wilfried Eichlseder, Rector of Montanuniversität Leoben, in unison. With regard to the upcoming federal budget negotiations, the rectors added: "We appeal to the federal government to consistently continue the university funding programme NEW." Not only, but especially in times of crisis, the importance of science and research for the country's competitiveness and general prosperity is evident.
 

Economic added value significantly expanded in ten years

A recent study by the Economica Institute for Economic Research in Vienna, commissioned to mark the 10th anniversary of TU Austria, demonstrates the significant economic effects of the activities of the three TU Austria universities in Austria. "Our analysis shows that the economic added value of the technical universities has been further expanded in the ten years of TU Austria's existence," says Christian Helmenstein, author of the study and head of the Economica Institute, whose findings are based on an initial study conducted shortly after TU Austria was founded in 2010. Even then, Helmenstein confirmed that the three institutions had an outstanding position in Austria's tertiary education system and a high economic benefit through above-average contributions to knowledge-intensive value creation.
 

TU Austria's direct value added higher than that of aviation

In the recently published study, the direct and multiplicative economic effects of the TU Austria universities were calculated using a TU Austria satellite account. According to the study, the three technical universities generated a gross production value of 1.2 billion euros in 2019, resulting in a direct value added contribution of 493.8 million euros. This exceeds the value added generated annually throughout Austria by air traffic (482 million euros) or petrol stations (466 million euros).

Including the multiplicative effects, the total domestic value added effect of the TU Austria universities totalled 814 million euros. Every euro generated within the technical universities therefore corresponds to a further 65 cents in value added outside the three institutions. Compared to the founding year 2010, this corresponds to a real increase of 4.5 per cent.
 

Every 300th job in Austria is attributable to TU Austria

Above all, however, the technical universities are now proving to be considerably more specialised and networked: The value added multiplier - i.e. the "economic leverage", calculated as the quotient of total and direct effect - has increased from 1.30 to 1.65 and is therefore now well above the average for all educational institutions (1.21): This value is typically otherwise only achieved by intermediate input-intensive sectors of industry.

The increase in employment was even more significant. With an increase of almost 37 per cent, the three institutions counted 10,278 employees in headcount in 2019. This corresponds to 6,540 full-time equivalents or an increase of 11.9 per cent. The increasingly strong links with the economy are also reflected in the employment figures, with the total employment effect increasing from around 9,700 to 14,760. This corresponds to an increase of 51 per cent. In other words, every 300th job in Austria is directly or indirectly attributable to the three technical universities!

Finally, the fiscal contribution of the technical universities was also quantified: This amounts to 300.8 million euros along the entire value chain, of which 194.3 million euros come from the three technical universities themselves.
 

TU Austria demands: Ensure international competitiveness

On the basis of these study results, the three TU Austria universities are confidently demanding: "We need a concrete and legally binding step-by-step plan to ensure the full implementation of capacity-oriented, student-related university funding, as planned in 2018 together with the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. Austria's 22 universities have an additional funding requirement of 2.1 billion euros for the 2022 to 2024 performance agreement period. A third funding level is planned for the performance agreement period from 2025 to 2027. We can only secure the international competitiveness of the location through suitable measures such as the demand-orientated expansion of capacities in the STEM subjects or the expansion of state-of-the-art technical infrastructures," said the three rectors of TU Austria. "In doing so, we should give priority to further promoting existing and internationally visible strengths and competences."