Overall, the JKU has €842.6 million at its disposal over the next three-year period, a €230.7 million (or 37.7% increase) compared to the 2022-2024 performance agreement period.

JKU Rector Prof. Dr. Stefan Koch remarked: “We are delighted with the result, allowing the university to continue to grow and advance in key areas, despite the sharp rise in costs on account of inflation.”  The negotiations were challenging, but always very positive and constructive. “I felt it was particularly important to safeguard the JKU's current range of services over the next few years while simultaneously securing prospects to continue our growth, progress, and advancement. We have been able to accomplish these objectives.”

A 37.7% Budget Increase
The JKU's global budget of € 842.6 million is based on the following:
The JKU's negotiations (excluding the agreement for the Faculty of Medicine in accordance with Art. 15a of Austrian Federal Constitutional Law [B-vG], including rent for the House of schools 1) have resulted in € 643 million (plus € 150 million, or 3.7%, compared to the 2022-2024 performance agreement). Of this, € 25.2 million (plus € 8.4 million) was negotiated for the Faculty of Medicine, particularly to continue supporting the Uni-Med-Impuls 2030 initiative.

In addition, the Faculty of Medicine will receive € 199.6 million (plus € 79.8 million) as part of the agreement in accordance with Art. 15a of the Federal Constitutional Law (B-VG).

In total, our university will receive a total of € 230.7 million more in funding over the next three years as compared to the 2022 - 2024 performance agreement period, corresponding to an increase of 37.7%. The JKU's share of the total Austrian university budget has increased to 5.25% (compared to 4.98 % previously).

Strengthening Future Core Areas
The agreement secures the university's current services, while also facilitating continued advancement in key areas. One particular focus will continue to be on connecting individual fields and disciplines within academia. The JKU's broad range of faculties, schools, and university-wide institutes - such as the Linz Institute for Transformative Change (LIFT_C) - provide ideal conditions to meet these goals. Our financial resources will also facilitate new approaches in generating knowledge and knowledge transfer by means of artistic approaches, for example, as part of the Art x Science partnership with the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and the new Linz Academy of Design in cooperation with the Linz University of Arts.

Additional priorities lie in the field of Artificial Intelligence and improving the student-faculty supervision ratio in the AI degree programs, as well as intensifying partnerships in both medicine and in quantum sciences. In addition, there are plans in the works to establish a competence center in support of university didactics and AI-competence in academic education. We are also in the planning stages of establishing a House of Research & Innovation to provide faculty members, researchers, and scholars with an ideal setting to conduct research as well as provide an infrastructure to support transferring research findings into new applications, including spin-off companies and start-up companies.

The new performance agreement at our Faculty of Medicine will focus on continuing the Uni-Med-Impulse 2030 initiative, funding ten additional spots in the medical degree program during the 2026/2027 academic year, as well as active involvement in creating the Ignaz Semmelweis Institute, and supporting the fields of general medicine. Our involvement in building a nationally connected infrastructure to store and process research-related healthcare data (Austrian Health Data Research Hub) and start-up funding to establish a Comprehensive Cancer Center Linz aimed at strengthening partnerships with other medical universities in the field of oncology (ACCN), underscore just how valuable, important, productive, and successful the Faculty of Medicine is.

JKU Rector Koch added: “The JKU was able to impress the Ministry with its concept and its excellent performance to date. I would like to thank the negotiating partners at the Ministry, and especially all of our faculty members and employees at the JKU for their unwavering commitment and dedication.” The Rector feels the university is on the right trajectory, as evidenced this Winter Semester by a considerable 10% increase in the number of newly enrolled students across all faculties, a fact that the Ministry positively acknowledged.