New management and new tasks for the OeAD
On January 1st, 2019 Jakob Calice takes over the management of the Austrian Agency for International Cooperation in Education and Research (OeAD-GmbH) for the next five years. This will be accompanied by a change of the chair of the Innovation Foundation for Education, with which Calice has been entrusted by Federal Minister Heinz Faßmann. Moreover, the board of the association KulturKontakt Austria has appointed Calice as its new director since the association will be integrated into the OeAD on January 1st, 2020 – a strategic decision welcomed by both KulturKontakt and the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF). “This will give the OeAD significantly more power from which not only it but also KulturKontakt Austria and our shareholder, the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, will benefit,” emphasises Calice. As a result of this restructuring the profound expertise in internationalisation, mobility, cooperation and service in education, science and research is now in one hand.
The new managing director studied history at the University of Vienna and wrote his dissertation in cultural and tourism studies at Leeds Becket University (UK). Before his university studies Calice, who is 39 years old, completed the master class for photography at the Höhere Graphische Bundeslehr- und Versuchsanstalt and co-curated several exhibitions – e.g. at the Museum of Technology in Vienna. Jakob Calice began his career at the Ministry of Science in 2010 as a research and technology support staff member. Subsequently he held positions in the offices of the Federal Ministers Karlheinz Töchterle, Reinhold Mitterlehner and Harald Mahrer. Most recently, he was Secretary General in the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research under Federal Minister Heinz Faßmann. Calice, who was born in Lower Austria, has two children, who are twins.
The OeAD-GmbH (www.oead.at) is the Austrian agency for international mobility and cooperation in education, science and research. The OeAD employs 235 members of staff throughout Austria. The OeAD’s total budget for 2019 is 72 million euros, which is mainly spent on scholarships and other funding programmes. The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research is the OeAD’s shareholder.
KulturKontakt Austria (www.kulturkontakt.or.at) is a non-profit association that is primarily funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. In addition to cultural education in schools, its main focus is on educational cooperation with the Western Balkan countries s and Eastern Europe. KulturKontakt Austria has an annual budget of approximately 5.6 million euros and employs approximately 50 members of staff.