Status of digital research expertise at TU Wien

Familiar keywords include big data, artificial intelligence and data science, and even cyber security. Research expertise at TU Wien is reflected not only in a large number of individual projects, but also in various doctoral studies, endowed professorships, CD laboratories, Comet K1 centres or in the pan-European Knowledge Innovation Community (KIC). But without the appropriate research infrastructure, research on seminal topics would not be possible. Complex calculations would be difficult to implement without the Vienna Scientific Cluster, and the Earth Observation Data Centre (EODC) is also essential for the success of geoinformation at TU Wien. The fact that relevant funding bodies also recognise this is borne out by the co-financing of the Industry 4.0 pilot plant and the 3D printing cluster at TU Wien.

Basis for visions in research

If these conditions and experiences are combined, they provide fertile ground for initiating new projects, topics and cooperations with a focus on digitalization topics in research. With this in mind, TU Wien is participating in a joint project to build a Centre for Cyber Security, which aims to strengthen common interests and pool the relevant research expertise, for example for the submission of joint project applications.

The cross-disciplinary issue of 5G/Internet of Things provides another link for cooperation between the nation's technical universities. The topic plays an important part in mobile communication and autonomous mobility, as well as in connection with production and Industry 4.0.

Production is also the topic of the KIC EIT Manufacturing – Made by Europe, in which TU Wien is working with 50 partners from 17 countries to build the first Austrian innovation hub, the Co-Location Centre East, a coordination centre for the Eastern region, in order to boost innovation in production in Europe. The aim is to promote networking at different levels.

And to ensure that we don't lose sight of the most important thing in the field of digitalization – the people – TU Wien is also involved in the construction of a Centre for Technology and Society. By positioning itself between the conflicting priorities of digitalization and ethics, TU Wien is fulfilling a key social mission.

Research information systems as an interface between the recording of research output and the development of research support

At TU Wien, various systems are used to collect and analyse data on research output, to present this in a way that is transparent and to link this with research support services. A large number of service providers are involved in enhancing these systems and systematically expanding digital services. The Research Information Systems Service Unit combines the interests of researchers and research service providers with the aim of better tailoring existing systems, reducing researchers' workload and increasing the added value of their inputs in order to free up resources for excellent research and quality advice. The findings from the acquired data are incorporated in turn into the strategic enhancement of TU Wien's research profile.