Joint Protest March with the Austrian Students’ Union: uniko Calls on Government to “Change Course”*

OTS uniko, 19.10.2026

The Federal Government’s decision on Saturday entails a real and substantial reduction in university funding. Brigitte Hütter, President of the Austrian Universities Conference (uniko), stated:

“We have repeatedly drawn attention to the dramatic consequences, but we have not been heard. We are witnessing a loss of trust in the Minister for Science and in the Government. The truth about the cuts is being obscured, rectors are being discredited, and commitments are not being honoured. At one point, we were told that inflation adjustment was the minimum; at another, we were promised a moderate increase. Neither has materialised. This raises the question: Did the Minister for Science fail to advocate for us, or did she fail to prevail?”

According to Hütter, the statement widely discussed in the spring — that science and research are not a priority for this Federal Government — has now been confirmed. uniko is calling on the Federal Government to “change course”.

The higher education strategy must cover the framework conditions for all 77 higher education institutions; this is the responsibility of the Minister for Science. “This is where savings measures must be discussed and placed at the centre of the debate,” Hütter said. Topics such as making permanent positions that no longer exist are, she added, “essentially cynical”.

Next Thursday, uniko will join the Austrian Students’ Union (ÖH) in protesting against the austerity measures.

Schütze: “We delivered — and now we are being given this budget. It is wrong and disappointing.”

Sebastian Schütze, Rector of the University of Vienna, predicts that “this budget will have drastic consequences and require severe measures for Austria as a higher education and research location”. It sends “the wrong signal to a generation that is already facing numerous challenges”.

The favourable budgets of recent years came with clear expectations for universities: stronger research performance, improved staff-to-student ratios, and higher positions in international rankings. Schütze stated:

“Universities have fulfilled these tasks. The University of Vienna has ranked among the world’s top 100 universities for the second consecutive year. And the response to these achievements is this budget. That is wrong and disappointing.”

“We Will Lose Ground Internationally”

Universities must now cut positions for early-career researchers. They will also lose capacity at the upper end of the academic spectrum, in leading disciplines — “precisely in the areas where the Government will not want to see this happen”: quantum technology and microbiology, including costly top-level researchers. Schütze said:

“We will lose ground internationally.”

“None of the Universities’ Reform Proposals Has Been Taken Up”

uniko has submitted an extensive paper containing reform proposals. “None of it has been taken up by policymakers. Instead, there is a part-time degree programme, and once it has been finalised, we may be allowed to comment on it a little,” Schütze said.

“However, we need to pursue reforms that make possible — and permit — what we need. To do so, we must launch a higher education strategy that truly deserves the name.”

Seventy-seven higher education institutions represent the opposite of efficiency. However, the growth has clearly not occurred at the large universities, but rather in universities of applied sciences and private universities. “We need to assign clear roles to these sectors of higher education,” Schütze said.

Jens Schneider: “Now It Is the Technical Disciplines — Where the Funding Is Needed — That Will Be Hit”

At the uniko press conference, Jens Schneider, Rector of TU Wien, also spoke on behalf of TU Austria, comprising TU Wien, Graz University of Technology, Montanuniversität Leoben, BOKU University, and the technical faculties of Johannes Kepler University Linz and the University of Innsbruck.

Schneider stated:

“We will be able to make only a limited contribution to the industrial strategy, to start-ups, innovation and cybersecurity. We will be able to provide far fewer skilled professionals for our hidden champions.”

With cuts on this scale, closing small humanities degree programmes will not make a significant difference. “Now it will be the technical universities and cutting-edge research — the areas where the funding is required — that will be affected.”

The Opportunity to Secure EU Funding “Will Be Cut Off”

Austria is a net recipient of EU funding for cutting-edge research, Schneider said, but the ability to secure these funds will now be curtailed. This course of action also constitutes a severe blow to university staff.

“I spent four years in the private sector, but I have never experienced a higher degree of intrinsic motivation than I do here at universities. Yet these people are constantly being told that they are inefficient,” Schneider criticised.

For the TU Wien Rector, this is also a matter of intergenerational fairness. He called on people to join the demonstration alongside young people next Thursday. Schneider hopes that the Government will still reconsider at the last minute, “although the signs are currently not very encouraging”.

Peter Riedler: “This Is Not Simply Weathering the Storm, but a Departure from Goal-Oriented Science Policy”

Peter Riedler, Rector of the University of Graz and Chair of uniko’s Budget Forum, corrected the Minister for Science. The Minister has incorrectly claimed that better times will return for universities after the savings contributions have been made.

“However, documents from the Fiscal Advisory Council show that considerable pressure on the budget will continue even after 2030 unless reforms are implemented in other areas.”

For universities, this is therefore “not a matter of simply weathering the storm, but a departure from a goal-oriented science and research policy”.

Riedler likewise observed that the Federal Government shows little interest in the arguments being made, but simply believes that universities have too much money. “It is astonishing that this is not being recognised.”

Riedler said that, at Thursday’s protest demonstration, universities will once again make clear how severely they are affected:

“And we offer to explain the situation once again, including to the Government leadership.”

The level of information available to the Government is evidently “not very high”.

 

* Press release uniko, 19.10.2026