EUR 3 Million for Plastics Engineering Studies in Linz

OMV, Borealis and JKU sign EUR 3 million agreement on initial and further development of plastics activities

02-Dec-2008 - Austria

From winter semester 2009/10, Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU, Austria) will offer a completely new programme of Bachelor and Master degrees in Material Sciences focused on plastics Engineering. The disciplines of Plastics Engineering, polymer chemistry and Mechatronics will form the cornerstones of the new study courses. In addition, the university will establish three new institutes for Polymer process engineering, Polymer Product Engineering and Polymer Materials.

The initiative is a response to the growing demands of Upper Austria’s plastics industry, which is considered to be an emerging high-technology sector with above-average growth. There is a need for graduates with knowledge in material sciences, particularly in the field of plastics, in combination with skills in mechanical engineering. The design and manufacture of plastic components is essential above all for the industry’s competitiveness in the international market.

In embracing these requirements, JKU is building on the interdisciplinary nature of various branches – Polymer Chemistry, Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering, Material Sciences as well as Plastics Engineering – in parallel with the new courses. Likewise, there is a strong demand for a combination of skills in economics and engineering. To meet this need, JKU has future plans to train Business Administration Engineers with a focus on plastics engineering.

“The project to strengthen Upper Austria’s suitability as a location for the plastics industry is a strategic course of direction,” says Governor Dr. Josef Pühringer. The Federal State is set on positioning itself as a “plastics region” with the highest innovation potential. For these reasons, Pühringer appreciates the initiative by OMV and Borealis as strong partners of JKU: “The educational landscape of Upper Austria works hand in hand with the economy. We need precisely targeted measures that will provide optimum local conditions for this industry. To this end, the Federal State of Upper Austria is investing a total of EUR 7 million into the Plastics Engineering studies programme at Linz. 15 companies involved in the plastics industry will contribute some further EUR 4.1 million to its development.”

Dr. Gerhard Roiss, OMV Deputy Chairman and Borealis Supervisory Board Chairman: “Plastics are the materials of the future. In this regard, Upper Austria offers advantages critical for success and is actively supporting its development as a plastics location. Over the next few years, Borealis will expand its site at Linz into an International Centre of Research, a step that was essentially influenced by the direction taken by the State of Upper Austria. Through the development of infrastructure for research and education in Upper Austria the perfect foundations are being laid. With the new Plastics Engineering studies programme, JKU Linz now meets the industry’s requirements for highly-qualified specialists and research engineers that are so urgently needed for the further growth of our industry. As a declaration of support, OMV und Borealis have decided to allocate EUR 3 million for the installation and development of the institutes for the new studies in plastics engineering,” Roiss continues. “In line with this, we have signed an appropriate agreement with JKU today.”

Currently, some 34,000 people are employed at the approximately 220 companies that make up Upper Austria’s plastics industry. The Austrian plastics industry has approximate annual sales of EUR 13 million, of which EUR 6.7 million are generated by Upper Austrian businesses.

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/90766/eur-3-million-for-plastics-engineering-studies-in-linz.html