OeAD becomes Austria's Agency for Education and Internationalisation
The OeAD will become Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation on January 1st, 2021.
This change was submitted for approval to the National Council within the framework of the Research Funding Act presented by the Federal Government. The OeAD is a limited liability company (GmbH) wholly owned by the Republic of Austria.
The OeAD’s Managing Director Jakob Calice commented: "I expressly welcome the change of name to "OeAD – Agency for Education and Internationalisation". Thus the Federal Government is issuing a clear signal for further development and setting a clear course for its agency". Calice further emphasises: "Now our name clearly shows what we have long since become: an agency that supports the Republic of Austria in mastering challenges in education and internationalisation with its work.
With the Research Funding Act the OeAD and thus its activities and funding for internationalisation in science and education are gaining planning security for several years. The government bill is an important signal of the Federal Government’s intention to strengthen Austria’s position as a location for science and research. Calice: "Especially in times of crisis investments in the future are needed to promote positive location development and to boost the internationality of Austrian higher education and research institutions despite corona. The Research Funding Act is an important step on the way to achieving this".
About the OeAD
The OeAD promotes and cross-links people and institutions in education, science, research and culture with its programmes. As an agency of the Republic of Austria the OeAD thus makes a contribution to inclusive, equal and high-quality education. European and international exchange and cross-border mobility are the agency's most important instruments. As a national agency the OeAD is responsible for the implementation of "Erasmus+ Education" in Austria. Other fields of activity include mobility programmes for young scientists, Ö-Cert, educational cooperation with Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, the Centre for Citizen Science and cultural education programmes with schools. The agency is also home to the Coordination Point for the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). The OeAD manages a funding budget of approximately 70 million euros per year.
