Imagination, a visionary mindset, creativity, and a passion to conduct experiments: The Johannes Kepler University Linz and the University of Applied Arts Vienna aim to bring art and science together with a new inter-university Art x Science School for Transformation, creating space to support synergies that can address future challenges. A joint Bachelor’s degree program and a PhD program are scheduled to begin in fall 2023.

Art x Science School for Transformation is another milestone in that partnership. Back then, the two universities established an alliance through a joint manifesto, "Innovation durch Universitas". It marked a starting point and a declaration to bridge the gap between art and science and progressively shape education by initiating a reverse R&D trend.

JKU Rector Meinhard Lukas explained: "The climate crisis, digitalization, and social change processes are all around us, directly impacting our lives on a daily basis. In an effort to not only remain action-oriented during these new times and under ever-changing parameters but also to positively shape change, we need a new understanding, new expertise, and new skills. This is why the JKU and the University of Applied Arts have extended their alliance to support creative innovation and create the inter-university Art x Science School for Transformation together. The School brings each university’s strengths and strong points together in an effort to address the most pressing issues of our time while also building a sustainable program to support education and research."

Gerald Bast, Rector of the University of Applied Arts Vienna, added: "Universities can only do justice to their mission by contributing to the solution of society’s problems only if they can generate knowledge as part of individual disciplines  and also force and anchor a more structural way of thinking and acting that extends beyond the boundaries of academic institutions and disciplines. The ability to creatively network knowledge is just as important as propagating knowledge. The alphabet of art, that is, working with a sense of uncertainty and ambiguity - and searching for unusual contexts, changing perspectives, and developing new realities - is becoming increasingly important in this context. With this understanding, the University of Applied Arts and the JKU have come together to create the Art x Science School for Transformation."

The New "Transform!” Studies
The new, English-language Bachelor's degree program Transform Studies: Art x Science, as well as the PhD program, Transform Studies: Art x Science is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2023. Students will be introduced to a unique combination of artistic and scientific approaches, methods, and strategies, enabling them to understand and analyze current transformational processes (such as climate change, and/or digitalization) and independently work on solutions. Required courses include Artificial Intelligence, Media Theory and Aesthetics, Social Entrepreneurship, Robotics, Artistic and Creative Strategies, Social and Economic Sciences, and Innovation Law. In addition to acquiring a more in-depth understanding of art and science in a broad, contextual sense, cultivating creative, social and communication skills is central to the program. Students will learn to come up with new ideas and approaches to solutions through the transformative power of creativity, by thinking "out-of-the-box", and by applying a cross-disciplinary approach.

Two Universities, Two Locations of Study
Students take courses in Linz and Vienna, thereby benefitting from the advantages of attending both universities. From the start of the semester, the program features innovative educational formats (on-site and online) and project-oriented learning. The "New House for Art and Science" at the Otto Wagner Postsparkasse in Vienna's first district will be at the heart of this partnership. The JKU and University of Applied Arts Vienna joins other academic institutions at this location that will soon include the joint inter-university Art x Science School for Transformation.

Program graduates are qualified to actively take part in complex transformative projects and/or processes at public institutions, in science, academia, or in the private sector. Graduates can work as part of an interdisciplinary team in roles such as initiator, enabler, coordinator, facilitator, or a mediator. Graduates of the undergraduate degree program qualify to enroll in interdisciplinary graduate degree programs and in courses at the JKU and at the Angewandte, as well as at other universities.

"Transform!" Programs: Facts & Figures

• Programs: Bachelor Art x Science for Transformation and a PhD Art x Science for Transformation
• Program Start: Fall 2023
• Location: Linz and Vienna
• Program Language: English
• Additional Information: Art x Science for Transformation | JKU Linz or the Art x Science School for Transformation - dieAngewandte, opens an external URL in a new window