Assuring AIT's Claim to Excellence

Ensuring AIT's claim to excellence also in the future The corona crisis has changed all societies, economic systems and our everyday life worldwide. We will not return to our usual routines any time soon, there is a demand for many new ideas and solutions. As if we hadn't already known it, it has become all to clear now: Research, innovation, and education are of the utmost importance for continually thriving human life on this planet. Hence, the work at the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology proves to be more important than ever. All areas that have been the focus of infrastructure research in the past ten years play an eminent role in shaping the future – from artificial intelligence and robotics to energy supply and mobility all the way to the life sciences. Micro- and systems biology in particular are playing an increasingly important role, not only in preventing and controlling epidemics. And an interdisciplinary view of the increasingly complex problems is more urgently needed than ever. We need all these technologies in order to be able to look to the future with renewed strength. We will also need to keep reminding politicians of this even more, so that the promised measures like a research financing law and a significantly more rapidly increasing budget path for science, research and innovation can finally be implemented

Hannes Androsch, President of the AIT Supervisory Board

for the long term to ensure planning security. The Corona crisis has shown just once again how crucial the research work at AIT is and how quickly it can lead to solutions for concrete problems – be it for the management of aid missions, for directing the flow of people (in order to maintain the required minimum distances), or for designing helpful apps, e.g. for the health monitoring of people in corona quarantine. Even in these difficult times of curfews, congress cancellations, plant closures, etc., AIT proves that it is well-positioned and fully functional in serving its clients and partners! For this, I would like to express my gratitude to management and all employees! The further path into the future will be marked by several central developments: On the one hand, digital transformation is omnipresent, and it will accelerate even further as a result of global upheavals. As has become evident in the corona crisis, we as a society are only insufficiently prepared for this. On the other hand, the fight against climate change remains a central topic. The necessary restructuring and reconstruction of the economy should therefore be coupled with setting a course towards a more resource-efficient system. The work done at AIT as a strong partner of companies and the public sector is of great value when it comes to both of these major future topics. In order to ensure that AIT's claim to excellence will also be maintained in the future, the further development of the company is constantly being driven forward. One case in point are the far-reaching proposals to strengthen the synergies between the various organisations located around Giefinggasse – in addition to AIT, these comprise Siemens, the A1 Next Generation Data Center and the FH Technikum, among others – and to expand them with additional partners and a scientific park as part of a "Vienna Innovation Area" in Floridsdorf. A closer cooperation in the area of e-health solutions has already been agreed upon with Siemens Healthineers. And there are also plans on a national scale to expand AIT activities. For example in Vorarlberg, where a cooperation with the FH Vorarlberg and the innovative companies located there is under discussion. The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology thus continues to live up to its principle "Empowering Innovation – Tomorrow Today" for its clients and partners.