Universities of Applied Sciences as incubators for Regional Development - demonstrated by the example of Lower Austria

The first FH degree programmes in Lower Austria started in the academich year 1994/95. Apart from the objectives of educational policy a number of expectations aroused with the foundation of the Universities of Applied Sciences. The research project surveys three locations of Universities of Applied Sciences in Lower Austria with the aim to observe their effects as incubators for a holistic regional development. The question being persued is, how the interaction between the University of Applied Sciences an the region can be optimized for the future development.