Report of the Chair Team for the 2nd Ordinary Session of the Federal Representative Council on 14.01.2022.
Posted 20.12.2021
List of demands to the new Minister of Science
On the occasion of the inauguration of the new Minister of Science, the ÖH has agreed on a first inauguration date and presented a list of demands for the improvement of the universities. Important, initial steps were summarized in 13 demands that are intended to make the higher education system structurally more socially just, more flexible and climate-neutral. Immediate solutions are also needed for the current pandemic challenges, which fundamentally enable open universities and ensure hybrid teaching. The starting date of the
Chair teams met on 12/16/21 with HBM Polaschek and dept. Chief of Cabinet Richter in the BMBWF took place. The meeting was very short and served mainly for the first exchange. The urgency of amending the StudFG was discussed in more detail. There was no new information for the ÖH on the topic of TU Upper Austria.
Pandemic developments at universities
Fortunately, a very high vaccination coverage rate has been observed among students since the beginning of the semester. ÖH has always strived for an informative and helpful communication style and has clearly advocated for hybrid teaching with as much freedom of choice for students as possible, sufficient on-site vaccination & testing boxes, access to libraries and study spaces, and some ocial policies. In addition, the exchange with university representatives and the BMBWF is very important, which is why two networking calls were held on December 3. and 17.12. were organized with university representatives and representatives of the BMBWF in order to exchange information about current problems and requests for change, as well as to discuss challenges in the area of compulsory vaccination. There are still many unanswered questions about compulsory vaccination. The ÖH Bundesvertretung was also represented at the weekly exchange meeting with the BMBWF and the universities.
The chairmanship team was on 03.12. invited to a round table at the Federal Chancellor’s Office with HBM Mückstein and FBM Raab to provide initial inputs and questions. The situation for international students and teachers is particularly important to consider so that no disadvantages arise here.
Organization ÖH Election 2023
Since the beginning of the executive, the ÖH has been in direct exchange with the BMBWF in order to plan the ÖH election 2023. In particular, extending absentee voting to student representatives is a major goal. A working group with ÖH representatives, representatives from the ministry and the electoral commissions was created to discuss possible solutions and to plan the legal implementation in later steps. The federal representative body has drawn up an initial concept here, which has been forwarded to the ministry and discussed in a call. In the course of this exchange, a possible introduction of e-voting was also discussed, but it quickly became clear that there are too few comparable best practice examples for this and that there is a lack of both time and know-how to be able to guarantee a secure implementation. For the technical design of the ÖH elections 2023, the law firm Haid & Partner has been commissioned to conduct a tender in order to find interested parties for the handling of the electronic election administration system.
Open letter on the replacement of the Ministry of the Interior
Together with the Jewish Austrian Students, the ÖH has strongly criticized the running of a Dollfuß Museum and the anti-Semitic statements of the new ÖVP Minister of the Interior Gerhard Karner in an open letter and demanded a new appointment to the ministry. The open letter was signed by numerous supporters, including some victims and concentration camp associations, members of the National Council, Jewish activists and authors who want to send a clear signal against anti-Semitism and fascism.
Dates
Appointment with the Minister of Justice, Alma Zadić, on 27.10.
The Chairmanship Team met with Minister of Justice Alma Zadić on 27.10. met at the Ministry of Justice. The meeting was mainly for the first exchange. The ÖH presented itself and its current activities as well as upcoming projects. FBM Zadić welcomes the political projects and goals of the ÖH and has especially emphasized the importance of a functioning and low-threshold anti-discrimination office at the local universities. The chair team is looking forward to a further constructive exchange.
Appointment with the Federal Minister of Labor, Martin Kocher, on 11.11.
On 11.11. the chairmanship team together with the social advisor met the Federal Minister of Labor, Martin Kocher, at the Ministry of Labor. This meeting was also primarily about the first exchange among each other. The ÖH has mainly addressed socio-political projects and demands. One of the main topics was working students. Unfortunately, many students in marginal and atypical employment could not be helped by the state during the pandemic, as those were not eligible for reduced hours and were very often the first to be terminated. In addition, there was general talk about the problems and barriers in balancing a job and studies, to which HBM Kocher in itself showed an open ear, but at the same time emphasized,
that due to the heterogeneity among working students, labor market policies are difficult to implement.
University Conference, on Nov. 24. (online)
The chair team participated in the digital university conference on 24.11. participated and networked with the BMBWF and numerous university administrators. Discussed mainly the lockdown and the impact on higher education.
United Nations World Climate Conference (COP26) from 01-14.11.
The 1. deputy Chair, accompanied by the Department for Environment and Ecology, was invited by the Federal Ministry for Climate Protection to the UN World Climate Conference in Glasgow in November. There was a very intensive exchange with various stakeholders, a lot of public relations work on site and further training on sustainability in the higher education sector.
Works meeting, on 16.10.
On 16.10. a hybrid company meeting was held. The company agreement, personnel developments, joint projects and plans regarding Christmas celebrations, company vacations and Corona measures were discussed.
