Graz University of Technology sees itself as an "entrepreneurial university" and pursues thereby another main topic. The aim of the "entrepreneurial university" is to arouse the entrepreneurial spirit in the minds and hearts of students and employees. Thereby the Institute of General Management and Organisation (UFO) plays an important role. Through the knowledge transfer in the field of entrepreneurship and initiatives like the Gründungsgarage, the UFO institute is a very valued contact point for students and staff of the Graz University of Technology who want to found an enterprise.

The aim of the qualification seminar is to prepare small and medium-sized companies for opportunities and challenges of Industry 4.0. The contribution of the Institute of General Management and Organization in the project was an introduction in the topic of Industry 4.0 and IoT from a managerial perspective.

The project deals with the changes in the working environment through digitization and Industry 4.0. Participating companies are familiarized with the topics of forthcoming changes in leadership and organization of companies through digitization.

Especially in life science industries, challenges in the context of industry 4.0 are asking for special skills in the area of business development, technology scouting, impact assessment as well as strategic research- and development-management. Aim of the qualification network is to raise the quota of research and development in the human technology industry and to ensure, that innovations can be realized.

Many companies shift their focus to product-service-centric strategies. The development of product-service-systems (PSS) requires an integrated and interdisciplinary planning process. IdeaS addresses the challenges related to this long-term planning-process and the integrated roadmapping of PSS. After identifying and combining suitable planning methods and developing an appropriate planning process the project aims for a sophisticated software tool which will allow for an integrated and long-term planning of the product portfolio for PSS. 

Project partners: VIRTUAL VEHICLE Research Center, AVL

LAMIS - Landfill Mining Steiermark

Landfill mining refers to the extraction, processing, treatment and recovery of deposited materials. Considering the ever-growing waste generation and the shortage of raw materials, interest in landfill mining has started to grow. LAMIS tries to identify the conditions that make landfill mining projects successful. Such a decision cannot be reduced to monetary aspects. Our institute therefore focuses on the development of an appropriate multicriteria evaluation methodology, which considers economic, ecological, organizational, technological, and legal aspects.

Project partners: ECO WORLD STYRIA, Montanuniversität Leoben

AATT - Alps Adriatic Technology Transfer

AATT intensifies the technology transfer in Carinthia and Slovenia in order to increase the R&D activities of companies in this area.

Project partners: Carinthian Economic Promotion Fund (KWF), Javna agencija za tehnološki razvoj Republike Slovenije (Technology Agency Slovenia), ezavod (Institute for Comprehensive Development Solutions, Slovenia)

KBB - Knowledge for Business on Border Regions

The KBB project focuses on the improvement of the competitiveness in the Austrian/Slovenian border regions. We develop and offer tailor-made models for technology transfer for companies in this area (especially SMEs), train “transfer-consultants” and conduct concrete technology transfer projects.

Various Slovenian and Austrian project partners