Austrian Research and Technology Report 2020

4. RTI Evaluation Culture and Practice
203
4.2.8 Evaluation of the Institute of Science and 
Technology Austria (IST Austria) 
Background
Activities at the Institute of Science and Technology 
Austria (IST Austria) are evaluated every four years in 
accordance with the IST Austria Act
216
. The third sci-
entific evaluation report was submitted in February 
2020 and reviewed the period from 2016–2019. It 
was completed in February 2020. The subject matter 
of the evaluation covered the following points:
• the scientific achievements, general development 
and the appointment strategy at the Institute;
• the research portfolio; 
• the doctoral programme;
• the existing scientific and administrative services 
and structures;
• the activities related to technology transfer and 
science mediation; 
• the internal organisation and plans for the future.
IST Austria
217
was founded by the Austrian federal 
government and the state of Lower Austria in 2006 
before opening in 2009, and serves as a centre for 
top-level research in the field of fundamental re-
search in the natural sciences. The objective is to es-
tablish a first-class institute for fundamental re-
search that delivers excellence, competes with the 
best academic institutions in the world, provides 
high-quality graduate training to doctoral candidates 
and trains talented postdocs.
IST Austria aims to provide the ideal environment 
for its researchers so that they can conduct globally 
competitive research in the fields of mathematics, 
physics, chemistry, biology and computer science 
and to train young people to become first-class re-
searchers in these fields.
216 See Federal Law Gazette I No. 69/2006 
https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetz-
esnummer=20004760
 
217 See also Chapter 2.2.
218 See Haroche et al. (2020).
Methods
The evaluation
218
was carried out by seven research-
ers who are highly renowned internationally, includ-
ing two Nobel Prize winners.
The evaluation committee visited IST Austria in 
December 2019 and interviewed a large number of 
relevant stakeholders. In addition to interviews with 
representatives from the Institute’s executive bodies, 
it also surveyed the majority of professors, assistant 
professors, students and postdocs. The committee 
also saw the central facilities of the Institute, includ-
ing the Graduate School, the Scientific Service Units, 
the Technology Transfer Office, as well as the Sci-
ence Communication and Public Relations depart-
ment. In addition, the international experts took part 
in scientific lectures by assistant professors and 
evaluated the scientific facilities that are available as 
central services and infrastructures for the purposes 
of supplying science and research to the campus.