Technology and Research Center IST Park

Lower Austria’s research and technology landscape is growing: On September 30th, the new technology and research center, IST Park, opened in Klosterneuburg, after one and a half years of construction. With an initial investment of around 15 million euros, ‘ecoplus’ — a business agency of the Province of Lower Austria — in cooperation with IST Austria, has established a state-of-the-art center for IST Austria related research facilities, spin-offs and technology-oriented companies. “The new technology and research center will bridge the gap between research and practice,” said Iris Rauskala, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research. Provincial Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Economic and Technology Councilor Petra Bohuslav, ecoplus Managing Director Jochen Danninger, Mayor of Klosterneuburg Stefan Schmuckenschlager and IST Austria President Thomas A. Henzinger all agree.

The new technology and research center (TRC) IST Park is primarily intended to offer companies from research-intensive areas, start-ups and spin-offs, who benefit from proximity to IST Austria, or spin-offs thereof, the best possible framework conditions. “We need research, technology and innovation to position ourselves in the heart of Europe as an important high-tech location. With the new IST Park, the research location of Lower Austria will receive a further upgrade and the technology axis, which stretches from the “technopol” sites in Wieselburg, Krems, Tulln and Wiener Neustadt via Seibersdorf to Klosterneuburg, will be impressively expanded and strengthened”, explains Provincial Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner.

“This example already shows the importance of IST Park, which goes far beyond Lower Austria. The new technology park has created a transformation center that paves the way for cutting-edge research into the economy”, said Iris Rauskala, Federal Minister for Education, Science and Research.

With the TRC IST Park there are now a total of six technology and research centers in Lower Austria, which can be found at the local technopol sites in Tulln, Krems, Wiener Neustadt and Wieselburg, as well as in Seibersdorf and now also in Klosterneuburg. “Since 2000, more than 130 million euros have been invested in the infrastructure development of the technology and research center, creating a total of around 38,000 m² of state-of-the-art laboratory and office space. More than 1,000 people have their workplace in one of our technology and research centers”, said Economy and Technology Councilor Petra Bohuslav.

The technology and research center IST Park is a joint initiative of ecoplus and IST Austria. Thomas A. Henzinger, President of IST Austria: “A technology park in the immediate vicinity of the IST Austria Campus was already included in the report on the founding of the institute. International examples show that this is an integral part of the success for a broad innovation ecosystem of leading global research institutes. We are pleased about the fruitful cooperation with ecoplus GmbH and further joint development steps of IST Park.”

In the IST Park, tailor-made research and office space are available over 2,400 square meters that stretch across two properties, which can be adapted to the wishes of the tenants. The fully equipped Park Labs will offer molecular biology and cell culture laboratories, and the venture funds IST Cube specialized on academic spin-offs operates a co-working space. When planning the building, the focus was on the sustainable development of the location, and special attention was paid to the landscape. The building was financed by the EFRE structural funds of the European Union and ecoplus regional funding.

ecoplus Managing Director Jochen Danninger emphasizes the benefits of such a technology center for the region: “We have seen benefits at all of our five technology and research centers: such facilities provide very positive impulses for a region. High-quality jobs are created and value in the region is added sustainably.”

Mayor Stefan Schmuckenschlager is also convinced of the advantages of the new IST Park: “With the new center, Klosterneuburg gains even more international visibility and experiences a strong image appreciation as a city of science. The project opens up new perspectives for the people in the region. The TRC IST Park is thus an important driver for the development of the city.”

One of the first tenants in the new IST Park is a spin-off project of one of IST Austria’s research groups. Their work involves researching the genes that underlie hereditary forms of neurological developmental disorders such as epilepsy or autism. Gaia Novarino, a professor at IST Austria: “As soon as our research projects based on pure basic research show an application, it is important that there is a suitable place for the rapid and efficient implementation of our research results in a clinical development. It’s great that with the IST Park we have the right infrastructure for spin-offs in close proximity to develop our research findings into an application in autism diagnostics.”