Guest Speaker from the Federal Chancellery Provided Insights Into Austria’s E-Government Strategy
29 January, 2026
A guest lecture by Wolfgang Wisek from the Federal Chancellery showed how digital administrative services are being strategically developed in Austria. Students gained concrete insights into ID Austria, digital start-ups, and AI in administration.
In October 2025, first-semester students in the Master’s program in Business Informatics had the opportunity to attend a high-profile guest lecture as part of the IT Strategy, IT Controlling, and Corporate Management course. The course is taught by Heinz M. Hähnel, who has been an external lecturer in the program for many years and shares his extensive professional expertise with students. In his welcome address to the students, program director Peter Seifter emphasized how important it is to address current issues of digital transformation, e.g., in the public sector, while still studying and to gain in-depth insight into the actual application of digital technologies through practical input.
Insight into Austria’s national strategy for digital transformation
Wolfgang Wisek from the Federal Chancellery, Section VII: Digitalization and E-Government, provided an exciting and comprehensive insight into Austria’s national strategy for digital transformation. The focus was always on the question: What concrete benefits do digital solutions bring to society, the economy, and administration?
Wolfgang Wisek impressively demonstrated the diverse range of tasks performed by Section VII – from the development of national and European digitization strategies to the expansion of modern e- and m-government services and the promotion of digital skills in all population groups. The further development of legal frameworks and the international representation of Austrian interests in the implementation of common standards and sustainable digital developments are also among the core tasks of Section VII.
Making administrative processes more efficient and increasing transparency
Numerous practical examples clearly demonstrated how Section VII is consistently driving forward digital innovations. Projects such as the Austria-wide introduction of ID Austria, the fully digital company formation process, and the establishment of responsible AI governance show how modern solutions make everyday life easier, make administrative processes more efficient, and increase transparency.
A particular focus was placed on the use of artificial intelligence in administration. The Austrian GovGPT project demonstrates the potential of AI-supported solutions for internal processes, knowledge management, and decision support—especially against the backdrop of the increasing number of experienced employees retiring in the coming years and the associated loss of valuable experiential knowledge. The examples made it clear that data-driven technologies are a central building block for the modernization of the public sector.
For the students, the lecture offered valuable insights into practical issues that are directly related to the content of their studies – from IT architectures and digital business models to data and process management, IT governance, and strategic technology integration. The guest lecture highlighted how much demand there is for our students’ interdisciplinary skill set in current and future digitization projects in the public sector.
The Master’s program in Business Informatics teaches exactly the skills needed to shape the digital future. Our students learn to plan complex digitization projects, develop innovative solutions, and implement them responsibly in organizations.
We would like to thank Wolfgang Wisek for his informative guest lecture!
In the photo (from left): Peter Seifter, Program Director of the Master’s program in Business Informatics, Wolfgang Wisek from the Federal Chancellery, Section VII: Digitalization and E-Government, and Heinz M. Hähnel, external lecturer at UAS Technikum Wien. In the background: Students of the Master’s program in Business Informatics (1st semester).
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