Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020

Faculty (professors and assistant professors)
18.4%
17.0%
Glass ceiling index based on the management levels
1
1.91
1.88
1 Calculated as the share of women among all employees/share of women in management positions. The following are considered management 
positions: Faculty (professors and assistant professors), general management, division heads and unit heads. An explanation of the index can 
be found in the “Definitions” box at the end of the chapter. 
Source: IST Austria.
The increase in the share of women represents a key strategic focus. Various measures exist for this pur-
pose, such as targeted scouting of female postdocs in top institutions and a separate recruiting commit-
tee that specifically searches for appropriate female candidates and actively invites them to apply. In 
addition, a number of regular training sessions and workshops are offered to strengthen diversity and 
career development on the campus. 
2.2.3 Special events in 2019 and outlook
10 years of IST Austria 
In June 2019, the Institute of Science and Technology Austria celebrated its tenth anniversary. Since the 
opening of the campus in June 2009, IST Austria has now grown to over 50 research groups and more than 
700 employees. A number of anniversary events to celebrate this occasion offered the opportunity to join 
with high-ranking guests to look back on the successful history of the Institute and gain insights into the 
preparations for the coming decade.
Scientific successes 
• In 2019 
Nature Index
published the results of the annual evaluation of publication data of 82 scientific 
journals. For the first time, this evaluation took into account the sizes of the institutions where the 
publishing researchers were employed. IST Austria was ranked globally in third place within this 
size-weighted evaluation. First place went to the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, USA. 
Second place was held by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. The normalised ranking 
permits a comparison of institutions of differing sizes on the same basis, making even smaller institu-
tions visible in the ranking.
• Another sign of excellence is the continued success of researchers in acquiring funding from the Euro-
pean Research Council (ERC). Of 53 IST Austria professors under contract (about 2/3), 36 received 
funds from the ERC. A total of 43 ERC grantees (25 starting, 7 consolidator, 11 advanced grantees) work 
at IST Austria. Furthermore, two ERC Proof of Concept Grants (top-up funding) have been obtained to 
date. In the first ten years, 36 professors at IST Austria received 45 ERC grants, each with a total vol-
ume exceeding €1.5 million. 

---