The Ministry of Education will not revoke the election of TU Graz professor Stefanie Lindstaedt as founding rector of the Linz Institute of Digital Sciences Austria (IDSA) – the planned Technical University for Digitization. This was announced on Tuesday afternoon. Founding convention member Helmut Fallmann, chairman of the Upper Austrian company Fabasoft, had submitted a supervisory complaint to the ministry and resigned from the convention on Tuesday.
This message was updated: Recast
“Regarding the selection process, the regulatory review did not reveal any violation of the relevant procedural rules,” the ministry said. The founding convention dealt “in a comprehensible manner with the fulfillment of the selection criteria by the applicants”. “After carefully examining the complaint and reviewing the comprehensive statement by the founding convention,” it was decided that there would be no overturning of the election of the founding rector by the supervisory authorities.
From the founding convention it was said that the work would be continued quickly. “Now the contract negotiations with the designated President can be started,” said Chairwoman Claudia von der Linden. Governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) once again called for “more speed” in a press release and emphasized that the state would “do whatever we can to support the preparations for a successful start in the fall in the best possible way”. The Council for Research and Technology also “supports the project of the century with all its might,” said its chairmen.
Fallmann had argued the supervisory complaint with “valid, legal reasons” that were not publicly specified. On Tuesday, Fallmann’s lawyer presented an opinion by constitutional law expert Heinz Mayer, in which the lawyer came to the conclusion that at least two convention members, including the chair, should have withdrawn from the convention immediately “to ensure its objectivity.” Because “the requirement of impartiality is relevant not only for the decision itself, but also for the procedure that leads to this decision,” the press release said.
Work marked by delays
It can be assumed that Ms. Lindstaedt’s appointment was unlawful due to the involvement of at least two biased Convention members. These would be “removed from office in the course of supervision. The decision by which Ms. Lindstaedt was appointed founding president would also be rescinded,” according to the report. “It is therefore impossible for me to continue working in the founding convention,” said Fallmann, explaining his decision to resign, but of course he wished “the Digital University Linz a successful development”.
The work of the founding convention was marked by delays: around a month was lost when the rector of the University of Applied Arts, Gerald Bast, resigned his mandate in the convention one day before the first hearing of the founding presidents. The reason he gave was the bias of three other members and the lack of content from the new TU. As a result, the Ministry of Science appointed the rector of the Montanuni Leoben, Wilfried Eichlseder, to the convention. Lindstaedt was elected at the beginning of March – according to media reports by four votes to two – three had abstained due to bias. The rector of the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Meinhard Lukas, who was originally favored as the founding president, did not get a chance.
The IDSA goes back to an idea of the former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) from 2020. According to the current plan, teaching should already start in the coming winter semester. The final expansion should be reached in 2036/2037 with 6,300 students.
