New AI Lab for St. Pölten UAS

Lower Austria is planning to boost artificial intelligence (AI) in the province through a research focus. At the centre of this campaign will be a new AI Lab at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences (UAS) that receives approximately 600,000 EUR in funding from the Lower Austrian government for this purpose. In addition, there will be further focus areas, endowed professorships, and teaching offers. Lower Austrian Vice Governor Stephan Pernkopf, St. Pölten UAS CEO Johann Haag and Academic Director Marlies Temper provided information today at a press conference.

“Artificial intelligence is everywhere. It is an essential driver of business, innovation, and medicine”, said Pernkopf and went on to emphasise: “Artificial intelligence and new technologies are meant to assist us, not impede us. The premise is ‘security through research and leading edge through science’. This is why we have defined a research focus on artificial intelligence worth 6.35 million euros in Lower Austria.”

AI RealLab: New Infrastructure for Teaching and Research

The increasing relevance and application of artificial intelligence in research, industry, and society confronts higher education institutions with the challenge of effectively embedding these future-oriented technologies in both teaching and research.

“The development and practically oriented exploration of AI methods under realistic conditions needs a flexible, capable, and scalable infrastructure. What is more, the increasing integration of AI technologies into work processes and into our everyday lives require users to be involved in the development process so that specific applications can be tested in a holistic manner, and a high degree of acceptance can be guaranteed”, explains Marlies Temper, Academic Director of the study programmes Data Intelligence (MA) and Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (BA) at the St. Pölten UAS.

RealLab for the Entire AI Life Cycle

The planned AI RealLab will provide a flexible infrastructure that supports the entire life cycle of AI developments – from research and its practical application to teaching. By making the necessary rooms, services, and infrastructure available, the Lab will facilitate the fast and efficient development of AI applications and the implementation of comprehensive tests, also in regards to the interaction with citizens who have no extensive IT knowledge.

The AI RealLab will enable the St. Pölten UAS to sustainably promote the research, development, and teaching in the field of artificial intelligence, thus forging ahead with AI innovations in Lower Austria.

“However, the new AI RealLab will not only be responsible for research and teaching. We mean for it to be an open space for citizens and businesses where we make AI liveable and tangible”, says Temper.

St. Pölten UAS: Strong in AI Research

The St. Pölten UAS is a strong research partner when it comes to artificial intelligence and it is prominently involved in the AI topic and its applications in Austria. “At the moment, we have 72 projects financed through third-party funds at the UAS, among them 18 with a reference to AI or machine learning – in other words, a fourth of all projects. The revenues from these AI-related projects amount to just above 6 million euros. More than 50 researchers are currently involved in AI projects at the UAS”, says UAS CEO Johann Haag.

At the moment, the St. Pölten UAS is establishing a large-scale computer and storage infrastructure that is funded by the Province of Lower Austria.

Lighthouse projects are dedicated, for example, to

• the training of AI
• the development of trustworthy AI
• the application of AI in the adjustment to climate change and in agriculture, and
• the development of Smart Cities in Lower Austria.

The St. Pölten UAS is also part of leading Austrian networks for AI research. The Center for Artificial Intelligence is the institution’s central body for this purpose.

Center for Artificial Intelligence

Since 2023, the St. Pölten UAS has been pooling its strengths in the field of artificial intelligence in the Center for Artificial Intelligence. The interdisciplinary collaboration makes it possible to develop unique solutions to important societal questions and for companies.

It conducts research on a wide range of topics including fake news detectors, tools for predicting weather, and the application of AI in healthcare for better diagnostics as the basis for improved therapies.

Distinctions & Awards

The quality of research is also reflected in the distinctions and awards received to date: For example, the researchers of the St. Pölten UAS have been honoured with the ‘NÖ Innovationspreis’ and the ‘eAward’. The award-winning projects improve the field of gait analysis, thus supporting people with, e.g., knee arthritis.

AI Studies and Further Training for Companies

The UAS offers two study programmes that have a focus on AI:

• Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (BA) and
• Data Intelligence (MA)

However, there are several other programmes that prepare students for the use of AI and its methods, or that have these aspects integrated into their curricula, such as:

• Creative Computing (BA)
• IT Security (BA)
• Cyber Security and Resilience (MA)
• Digital Innovation & Research (MA)
• Information Security (MA)
• Digital Healthcare (MA)

In addition, the St. Pölten UAS offers courses and further trainings on AI and digitalisation for companies, for example at the Lower Austrian House of Digitalization and the Digital Innovation Hub Ost.

Further Reading:

• A press release by the Lower Austrian government (in German)
• Center for Artificial Intelligence at the St. Pölten UAS
• House of Digitalization
• Digital Innovation Hub Ost
• Information on all above-mentioned study programmes