Andrea Höglinger’s agendas include the strategic research orientation and scientific profiling of our university as well as technology and knowledge transfer and quality assurance in research. The library and alumni agendas are also part of her remit.
05:30: The alarm clock rings. Andrea Höglinger reads the newspaper over a cup of coffee and checks her emails for the first time that day. Every now and then she goes for a run in the morning.
07:30: Andrea Höglinger uses her TU Graz bike for the two-kilometre commute to work. “I like going by bike and often cycle to meetings at Campus Inffeldgasse.” In the office, the Vice Rector for Research first consults with Jasmin Schröttner, her personal assistant. The two discuss the day ahead.
09:00: Many topics are on the agenda at a meeting in the Research & Technology House, for example the analysis of TU Graz’s participation in competitive national and European programmes. Andrea Höglinger emphasises the importance of close cooperation between the Rectorate and the researchers at TU Graz: “I am delighted with every successful project application because I know how difficult it is to stand up to the competition and how happy you are when you receive funding. At the same time, from the perspective of the Rectorate, prestigious projects are central to how our university is perceived in the field of research.”
11:00: Höglinger uses the time between her busy schedule to answer questions and emails, make phone calls and prepare presentations for internal and external events. The Vice Rector for Research is focusing on positioning TU Graz even more strongly at European level. “We have a very good reputation nationally.”
12:30: There is not always a regular lunch break, meal times are flexible. “Sometimes I go and get something quick at lunchtime,” says Andrea Höglinger – luckily, refreshments are always within reach at Campus Alte Technik.
14:00: The weekly Rectorate meeting begins – the Rectorate team discuss current issues relating to TU Graz and make joint decisions. Discussions like these, which set the strategic course for our university, are a key task for Andrea Höglinger: “I spend a large part of my working day in meetings – whether supervisory board meetings at competence centres, internal meetings with the organisational units belonging to the Vice Rectorate or with researchers and the heads of the Fields of Expertise and Research Centers. Meetings with the ministry or coordination with Universities Austria ‘uniko’ are just as much a part of this as meetings in the context of NAWI Graz and BioTechMed-Graz, central cooperation projects at the location.”
16:00: The TU Graz Vice Rector for Research also frequently speaks at external events on relevant research topics. In April, for example, Höglinger took part in a discussion on the future of European research funding at the Austrian Economic Chamber’s research, technology and innovation conference.
19:00: After a long day at work, it’s time to change room and perspective and she cycles home again. “In the end, time is always too short, I’m never finished with my work,” says Andrea Höglinger, laughing.
20:00: In the evening, Höglinger calls her husband and daughter, who is currently spending a semester abroad in Milan. The passionate newspaper reader also likes to browse through “DIE ZEIT”, to which she subscribes, or listens to podcasts on current affairs. Now in spring, Andrea Höglinger will be recommissioning her mountain bike in Graz and will head for the Schöckl as her first goal.
22:30: ZIB 2 signals the end of the day. Good night!
Personal details:
Andrea Höglinger graduated in social and economic sciences from the University of Vienna. In the early 1990s, she was one of the founding members of the Centre for Social Innovation, a non-university research institution in Vienna. Since 2000, Andrea Höglinger has held various management positions at the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG).
“The move from Vienna to Graz was a big change, but I really like it here,” says Höglinger. “The breadth of the university and the many different research topics are remarkable. It’s a big, responsible job to be Vice Rector for Research here.” Andrea Höglinger particularly emphasises the goal-oriented cooperation at TU Graz: “Everyone pulls together and wants to achieve something together – I really appreciate this open atmosphere, in the Rectorate, in the teams and also in the Senate.”
