Third Mission at Austrian Universities of Applied Sciences and the Translational Role of Hybrid Middle Managers

This chapter looks at third mission activities as an integral part of universities of applied sciences (UAS) in Austria and sheds light on the perceived role of these institutions of higher learning as to their responsibilities for regional engagement, innovation and knowledge transfer in their local areas. We seek to identify key institutional players and departments that promote third mission amongst Austrian UAS. By means of a desktop research and website enquiry, we explore how the 21 Austrian UAS present themselves online with regard to third-stream activities. In addition, expert interviews with ‘hybrid middle managers’ devoted to third mission provide information on their specific task portfolio and views of institutional transfer centers that deal exclusively with services and transfer to the community. Finally, parallels are drawn between the German UAS sector where transfer centers are broadly established at the sectoral level and the Austrian higher education landscape where three regionally dispersed knowledge transfer centers were established to start-up finance projects along the lines of knowledge and technology transfer.