IT:U takes spatial growth step by expanding its location
The goal-oriented development of IT:U requires the university to expand its premises. IT:U is therefore renting additional space as planned until it moves into the future IT:U Campus in order to consistently drive forward the development of the first interdisciplinary, digital-oriented university of technology in Austria. The first Master’s degree program will start in the winter semester 2025/26.
LINZ: The IT:U Interdisciplinary Transformation University Austria began regular study operations in the winter semester 2024/25 with two newly developed doctoral degree programs. Located in Science Park 4 on the campus of the Johannes Kepler University Linz, research and teaching is currently carried out on around 3,000 m2. The first doctoral students are working on their research focuses and projects in six learning labs. Eleven founding professors and a team of laboratory experts and learning coaches teach according to the innovative model of project-based, personalized learning. The administration of the new technical university is also located on site. In order to drive the development of the university forward in a targeted manner, the next spatial expansion step is now being taken to implement the planned range of courses.
Planned expansion near IT:U is being implemented
The university’s development foresees an increase in student numbers to up to 2,000 by 2030. To accommodate this growth, additional space is now being – as outlined in the development plans – rented as planned. Further 6.000 m2 will therefore be available from the winter semester 2025/26 in the immediate vicinity of IT:U’s current university location in Science Park 4, a 10-minute walk away.
“The building at Freistädter Straße 400 is ideally suited for research and teaching thanks to its layout. IT companies were already based here before. Laboratory infrastructure is available, and the environment is modern and digital. We will also develop this second location into a state-of-the-art IT:U learning and research location and thus realize a good interim solution until the implementation of our own IT:U campus,” emphasizes Gabriele Költringer, Administrative Director.
“This will provide students and lecturers with the space they need and, thanks to its proximity to the IT:U facilities in Science Park 4 and the Johannes Kepler University Linz, will enable students to study on the overarching campus with all its benefits such as a student community, canteen, library and much more. All of this is also in line with our idea of a network university,” says Stefanie Lindstaedt, founding president of IT:U, explaining the spatial development path until the future new IT:U campus is occupied.
State Governor Thomas Stelzer highlighted the key milestones of IT:U during his visit today, emphasizing: “Upper Austria is a land of business, work, and innovation—so IT:U is in exactly the right place here. The new university in Linz is a milestone not only for Upper Austria’s development but for Austria as a whole. IT:U is a crucial factor in enhancing Upper Austria, and thereby Austria, as an attractive and successful hub for business and innovation. The strong response to the faculty positions is already showing its impact far beyond regional borders. And only four years after the announcement of the university’s founding, the first students and professors are already active here. This is impressive and clearly reflects the strong interest in IT, both nationally and internationally.”
“Together with the federal real estate company BIG, we are currently collecting and examining different variants and locations for the implementation of the new IT:U campus and will enter a concretization phase in spring. After all, a technical university has special spatial requirements,” comments Lindstaedt on the current discussion.
The first Master’s degree program will commence in the winter semester of 2025/26.
In parallel with the expansion of its premises, IT:U is also systematically developing and rolling out its range of courses: the first Master’s degree course will be launched in the winter semester 2025/26. At the same time, the research and cooperation organization will be successively ramped up and further developed.
The overarching mission of the new University of Technology in Linz is to train “digital transformers” who will develop and apply solutions to the social problems of today and tomorrow by combining interdisciplinarity and the latest digital systems.