IT:U expands its campus for interdisciplinary collaboration, thereby strengthening research and education
The Interdisciplinary Transformation University (IT:U) achieved another milestone in October 2025 with the expansion to the IT:U Research Campus. While the IT:U Education Campus in Science Park 4 in Linz Auhof remains the center for students, the rented space on Freistädter Straße strategically consolidates research and administration under one roof. This move enables IT:U to further advance its development as a public technical university for digital transformation.
With this site expansion, IT:U is consistently continuing its growth while strengthening its role as a driving force for innovation in the field of interdisciplinary higher education and research. At the new IT:U Research Campus at Freistädter Straße 400, 27 professors conduct research. Together with the current 40 PhD students – with additional PhD positions currently advertised – they work on their research questions and projects in fields such as Computational Neuroscience, Intelligent User Interfaces, or Energy Transition and Climate Futures.
“The new IT:U Research Campus offers ideal conditions for research and administration thanks to its spatial layout. IT companies were previously located here, meaning that the existing laboratory infrastructure and the modern office spaces create a contemporary working environment. This makes the campus an optimal interim solution until the new IT:U building is completed,”
Holger Schwarting, Managing Director of IT:U.
More space for students
By relocating research and administration, the original campus at Science Park can now be dedicated to university teaching and study. Nearly 40 Master’s students began their first semester at IT:U on October 1. The Home Bases and technology-based LearnLabs form the heart of IT:U’s project-based learning approach. In this environment, students work in small teams on so-called real world projects and develop answers to relevant questions of our time.
“We are progressing rapidly along our development path. The expansion to a total of 9,000 m² provides the necessary infrastructure for innovation-oriented research on the one hand and university education on the other. For the continued growth of the university and a massive increase in student numbers, these spaces will not be sufficient; a timely location decision for the new building is needed,”
explains, explains Stefanie Lindstaedt, Founding President of IT:U, thereby emphasizing the spatial development path toward the construction of the new IT:U Campus, which is intended to accommodate 5,000 students.