Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020

2.2 Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria)
2.2.1 Profile and key figures 
The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), founded in 2006 and opened in 2009, serves 
as a centre for top-level basic research in the natural sciences. As a PhD-granting research institution, it is 
dedicated to exploring new fields of research and offering high-quality post-graduate instruction in the 
form of interdisciplinary PhD and postdoc programmes. IST Austria is located in Klosterneuburg near Vien-
na. The research, education and staff are of international character; English is used as the language for 
work and instruction. 
The founding principles of the Institute continue to serve as guidelines for the growth and further de-
velopment of IST Austria as it pursues its core missions:
• to perform world-class basic research; 
• to train the next generation of scientific leaders;
• to implement best practices in science management;
• to support science education and technology transfer.
IST Austria raises Austria’s visibility in the area of excellent basic research and is on its way to becoming 
a world-class research institute in physics, chemistry, the life sciences, mathematics and computer sci-
ence. The research fields of the Institute are determined primarily by the availability of internationally 
leading researchers. The strategy is: “people over topics”. Since its opening in 2009, the Institute has 
grown continuously and is expected to encompass roughly 90 research groups and over 1,000 employees 
on campus by 2026. 

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2. Key Players in Research Funding and in Non-university Research 
103
Key figures 2018 and 2019
2018
2019
1
Total income, i.e. sales revenue and other operational income in €1,000
68,013
76,272