Research and analysis

UK Science and Technology Network summary: Austria

Published 1 April 2025

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1. Science, Technology and Innovation Landscape in Austria 

1.1 Research in numbers   

Austria is among the leading countries in the EU in terms of Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) indicators, Research and Development (R&D) expenditure, European Research Council (ERC) grants and scientific publications. With research intensity of 3.29%, Austria ranked 3rd in the EU in 2023. R&D intensity in the business sector is also relatively high rising from 1.4% of GDP in 2023 to 1.49% in 2024. [Austrian Research and Technology Report 2024] 

Austria ranks 9th in the world in number of Nobel laureates (World Population View 2025) and takes 3rd place in ERC grants per million inhabitants in 2022. Austria is also above the EU-27 average in 6 out of 11 performance indicators of the Digital Decade. [Austrian Research and Technology Report 2024] 

Austria’s success rate in Horizon Europe is above the European average and the return flows to Austria have increased compared to Horizon 2020. Austrian stakeholders perform particularly well in the ERC programme line (3.9%).  As with the “Global Challenges and European Industrial Competitiveness” pillar (3.3%) in the “Culture, creativity and inclusive society”, “Digitalisation, industry, aerospace” and “Climate, energy and mobility” clusters. The proportion of Austrian coordinators is 3.4% - significantly higher than in Horizon 2020 (2.7%). [Austrian Research and Technology Report 2024] 

Austria ranks 17th among the 133 economies featured in the Global Innovation Index 2024 - up from rank 18 in 2023 - and 16th among the 51 high-income group economies. Among the “improving” economies, Austria is strong in domestic industry diversification (3rd), production and export complexity (7th), R&D expenditures (8th), and public research–industry co-publications (8th). According to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2024, Austria’s innovation performance has been on an upward trajectory, increasing by 5% between 2017 and 2024. It now ranks 8th and belongs to the “Strong Innovators”, scoring above the EU average.  

1.2 Government structures and policies    

Austria’s Strategy for Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI Strategy 2030) is the government’s main strategic document, which sets out the plan for the next ten years to: 

  • become an international innovation leader and strengthen Austria as an RTI location  

  • focus on effectiveness and excellence

  • improve on knowledge, talent and skills

Austria’s interministerial RTI Task Force, chaired by the Federal Chancellery, is responsible for coordinating RTI policy at the federal level and accompanies the implementation of the RTI Strategy 2030. The Austrian Council for Sciences, Technology and Innovation (FORWIT) advises the Government on research, science, innovation and technology development.  

The Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and the “Austria Wirtschaftsservice” (AWS) are the main agencies that manage the funding for basic and applied research, development and innovation on behalf of the ministries. 

1.3 Higher education and research institutions 

Austria’s research landscape is shaped by the country’s 22 public universities, 21 universities of applied sciences, 14 university colleges of teacher education and 16 private universities with their 1,327 research entities.  There are approximately 3,872 businesses doing research, primarily small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and a handful of large companies, with international corporations headquartered in Austria. (RTI Strategy 2023) 

An important role is also played by the various institutions conducting non-university research:

2.  UK partnership with Austria on ST&I 

UK collaboration with Austria on science and innovation has traditionally been strong, focussing on areas such as clean energy, AI, quantum, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and life sciences. 

The UK and Austria signed a Joint Vision Statement on 20 November 2023 to further enhance our long-standing cooperation and increase our bilateral engagement. There are strong links between University of Vienna, Technical University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna and the University College of London, University of Cambridge and Oxford, - The Technical University of Vienna and Imperial College London signed a Memorandum of Understanding in May 2024.  

In March 2024, STN Austria set up a UK academic exchange on trapped ion research with academics and startups at the University of Innsbruck - one of the world’s top three institutions in the field of quantum computing on trapped ion research.  STN Austria also supported a STN regional quantum expert delegation visit to the UK National Quantum Technologies Showcase in November 2024, in collaboration with DSIT Office for Quantum, to identify opportunities for future collaboration. 

3. STN contacts   

Karin Baker: Karin.Baker@fcdo.gov.uk, British Embassy Vienna

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