EURASHE Presidency Renewed

Hannes Raffaseder, Executive Director of the St. Pölten UAS, has been re-elected as President of EURASHE, the European Association for the Applied Sciences in Higher Education. EURASHE represents more than 500 universities, universities of applied sciences, and comparable institutions engaged in vocation-oriented academic education and applied research. In addition, Raffaseder has been elected to the Expert Group of the EU/OECD initiative HEInnovate.

Raffaseder has held the position of EURASHE President since 2023. Last week, he was re-elected with a large majority at the EURASHE Annual Conference in Portalegre.

“The re-election as EURASHE President by a large majority is a great honour for me and, of course, an exciting challenge that comes with a lot of responsibility as well. I am very pleased that I get to continue being actively involved in shaping the European higher education, research, and innovation area together with eight colleges on the newly elected board, the Secretary General, and the EURASHE Office in Brussels as well as all members. We will keep on being a strong European voice for the applied sciences and expand our global networks at the same time. This generates many important synergies for our work at the St. Pölten UAS and our European University Alliance E3UDRES2 which we intend to put to the best possible use for everyone involved”, explains Raffaseder.

European Higher Education Association

Building on the specific chances and challenges faced by its members, EURASHE is strongly committed to the further development of strategies, guidelines, and recommendations for the continued advancement of the European higher education, research, and innovation area. It is in close exchange with the political representatives and responsible divisions of the European Commission and is part of relevant working groups such as the ‘Bologna Follow-Up Group’.

Upon a personal invitation issued by French President Emmanuel Macron, for example, Hannes Raffaseder represented the universities of applied sciences sector at the initiative “Choose European for Science” presented in Paris by Ursula von der Leyen. In June, Raffaseder is invited to a meeting with Roxana Minzatu, Vice President of the EU Commission, on the further development of the European Higher Education Area in Brussels.

The strengthening, further development, and quality assurance of forward-looking higher education with a focus on competencies and practical relevance as well as the reinforcement of applied research are key objectives of EURASHE. Interested members engage in exchange in various “Communities of Practice” on a regular basis in order to learn from and with each other based on good practices.

Social Commitment and Interaction with Companies

As essential tasks of higher education institutions that are closely linked to teaching and research, social engagement and interaction with companies are top priorities. EURASHE makes relevant contributions to the strengthening of regional innovation ecosystems, thus better exploiting existing potentials on behalf of universities. The exchange of experiences and close collaboration at the European level are regarded as key prerequisites for asserting oneself in the global competition in the longer term.

Award for Conference Contribution at Annual Conference

For this reason, this year’s EURASHE Conference was dedicated to the topic “Place, Knowledge, Skills – Applied Universities Driving Regional Competitiveness”. In inspiring keynotes, panel discussions, and presentations, the participants addressed issues including challenges faced by regionally anchored higher education institutions, ways of increasing their social and economic impact, and the chances of doctorates at universities of applied sciences for combining scientific excellence with economic and social relevance.

At the Annual Conference, Alexandra Tulla, Leopold Kögler-Vencour, and Michal Karpisek of the St. Pölten UAS received the “EURASHE Star Award” for their conference contribution “Regional engagement assessment: A pilot study to measure the impact of E³UDRES² on regional ecosystems“.

St. Pölten UAS: A Long-Standing Active Member

The St. Pölten UAS has been an active member of EURASHE for many years and has benefited from this network in diverse ways, especially on a strategic level. For example, EURASHE supports the further development of the European University Alliance E3UDRES2 (Engaged and Entrepreneurial European University as Driver for European Smart and Sustainable Regions) which is coordinated by the UAS. Several other Austrian universities of applied sciences – University of Applied Sciences Burgenland, FH Joanneum, IMC Krems, and University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt – also joined EURASHE over the past few years.

Member of the Expert Group on Innovation Topics

Moreover, Hannes Raffaseder was elected to the Expert Group of HEInnovate – as one of 21 persons from out of over 520 applications. HEInnovate is an initiative of the EU and the OECD for strengthening the innovative capacities of higher education institutions.

The initiative offers a comprehensive tool for self-reflection as the basis for institutional further development. HEInnovate makes it possible to assess institutions’ entrepreneurial activities including leadership, staffing, and business relationships. Extensive training and support materials such as practical case studies support workshops and thus the further development of the institutions.

Innovation Conference

The conference of the research project E³UDRES² Ent-r-e-novators of our E³UDRES² European University also took place last week in Portalegre. The project is dedicated to the influence of “Ent-r-e-novators” (which stands for entrepreneurs, researchers, teachers, and innovators) on research, development, and society. At the conference, Hannes Raffaseder held a speech on the topic of “Impact-Driven Universities – Talents, Skills, and Applied Research for Innovative Regions”.

“We need to preserve academic ‘ivory towers’ to protect the freedom of science and education. However, there can be no sustainable freedom without individual and institutional responsibility. It is decisive to build bridges between universities, businesses, and the general public and bring together education, research, innovation, and social commitment. This is why we want to evolve into a platform for collaborative innovation, both with the European University E³UDRES² and with the St. Pölten UAS”, says Raffaseder.

• EURASHE Conference 2025
• HEInnovate
• Project E³UDRES² Ent-r-e-novators

The project is funded by the European Union.