Supporting Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Higher Education in Austria
The Austrian higher education system has consistently recognised the need to become more entrepreneurial and innovative with a view to supporting the economic, social and cultural development of the country and its regions. Over the past decades, the government has been implementing a broad reform agenda to provide strategic funding, diversify higher education institutions (HEIs) and promote an allocation of students that improves the quality of services and empowers them vis à vis the future of work and society.
This review illustrates policy actions promoting the development of entrepreneurial and innovative activities in the Higher Education System and individual HEIs. In addition, based on information gathered during study visits, the review discusses strategies and practices adopted by Austrian HEIs to innovate, engage, and generate value for their own ecosystems and networks. The review is part of a series of national reports implementing the HEinnovate framework. HEinnovate is a holistic framework that the OECD and the European Commission have developed to promote the “entrepreneurial and innovation agenda” in higher education.
Executive summary
As part of its efforts to develop a world-class innovation system and to connect it with the national productive sector, Austria is supporting the “entrepreneurship and innovation agenda” in higher education. The Austrian higher education system has consistently recognised the need to become more entrepreneurial and innovative with a view to supporting the economic, social and cultural development of the country and its regions. Over the past decades, the government has been implementing a broad reform agenda to diversify higher education institutions (HEIs). Within this framework, the OECD, supported by an international group of experts and peer reviewers, has engaged with federal authorities to analyse the entrepreneurial and innovation agenda of HEIs. The OECD and the European Commission have developed a holistic framework – HEInnovate – that helps national higher education systems and HEIs generate societal and economic value.