Austrian Computer Society (OCG) Celebrates Its 50th Anniversary
03 July, 2025
The OCG looked back on half a century of digital development and discussed future topics such as artificial intelligence at the festive ceremony. UAS Technikum Wien was actively represented by Rector Sylvia Geyer, who was jointly responsible for awarding prizes to young researchers as chair of the jury.
The Austrian Computer Society (OCG) celebrated its 50th anniversary on May 21, 2025, with a ceremony in the Dome Hall of the Vienna University of Technology. Around 200 guests from the worlds of science, education, industry, and politics paid tribute to the OCG’s role as a driving force for digitalization and computer science in Austria. Among them was UAS Technikum Wien Rector Sylvia Geyer, who presented the OCG sponsorship awards for universities of applied sciences as chair of the jury.
A forward-looking review with awards for UAS research
The event was marked by a forward-looking dialogue on Europe’s role in the digital transformation. In addition to a highly acclaimed panel discussion on the social relevance of artificial intelligence, scientific achievements by young researchers were also honored. As chair of the university funding award jury, Rector Sylvia Geyer presented the OCG Funding Awards 2024 and 2025 to Alois Schafferhofer (UAS Joanneum), who was honored for his work on “Zero Trust in IT and OT Environments.” Another award went to Viktoria Frank (UAS Hagenberg) for her user study on barrier-free orientation aids for blind and visually impaired people.
Focus on education, participation, and creativity
A moving moment was the presentation of ICDL certificates to children and young people with cancer. The Ensemble C# from the University of Vienna provided cultural highlights with musical and technical performances that also featured a Lego piano and a trombosonic.
Seen in the title image: OCG Secretary General Ronald Bieber, OCG President Wilfried Seyruck, and Rector of the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien Sylvia Geyer presented the OCG Promotion Prize UAS 2024 to Viktoria Frank.
Photo copyright ©: Barbara Wirl
Further Links:
50 years of OCG – A ceremony full of visions, inspiration, and awards