University of Excellence - fteval

"University of Excellence (UoE)": Summary of Key Factors
A – Background conditions
Preamble
The objective of this feasibility study commissioned by the City of Vienna was to answer
the question, particularly from the Viennese perspective, of whether and in what form a
"University of Excellence“ (UoE) could be established in Vienna. On this basis, the
structural, legal, organizational and financial conditions relating to the establishment of a
new graduate school in Vienna were investigated. A model for the structure and
functioning of such a "University of Excellence“ is proposed in case the project is
implemented. The original idea for the UoE was presented by Prof. Anton Zeilinger and
Prof. Peter Schuster and taken up by the City of Vienna in the form of the commission for
the present feasibility study.
Around 40 experts were interviewed within the scope of the study. A workshop with
leading international scientists was organised in cooperation with the project's
proponents, Prof. Zeilinger and Prof. Schuster. Top research institutions in Austria and
abroad were studied and taken as examples of best practice. Legal and financial
specialists and locational and organizational experts were also involved. Duration of the
study: May to December 2004.
The study arrives at a basically positive appraisal of the background conditions for the
establishment of a UoE in Vienna, which is essentially based on the following arguments:
• With a top research institution of this kind, Vienna would acquire a lighthouse project
for the European Research Area and an additional strong element to support a
successful knowledge-based locational policy.
• The two most important functions of an institution of this kind are programme-oriented
and quality-assured training of doctoral students and the possibility of offering
outstanding (younger) scientists above average career development opportunities.
• The project can thus exert a considerable "pull" effect on the university system as a
whole, which is undergoing slow changes with regard to these points.
• A UoE campus provides enhanced opportunities for interdisciplinary research work
and thus increases the institution's attractiveness for outstanding researchers from all
over the world.
• A UoE in Vienna has the potential to slow down the overseas brain drain from Central
Europe.
What is understood by a "University of Excellence"?
The "University of Excellence" proposal refers to the possible establishment of a new
graduate school in Vienna devoted to top-level research. This University of Excellence
Seite 18 von 171