Organisation

Martin Payer has been Commercial Director of FH JOANNEUM since January 2018.
Born in Graz, he previously headed the Polymer Competence Center Leoben.
As Managing Director, his activities included establishing and expanding the company into the leading non-university research institution in the field of plastics technology in Austria with over 100 employees.
Martin Payer completed his master’s degree in Environmental Systems Science / Business Administration at the Karl-Franzens University of Graz, specializing in innovation management and environmental and resource economics.
After completing his studies, he worked briefly in Germany and at the University of Graz.
In 2003, Martin Payer moved to the Polymer Competence Center Leoben.
From 2011 to 2013, he completed an Executive MBA at Danube University Krems.
Martin Payer was also a member of the Supervisory Board of Lenzing AG and Semperit AG for five years.
Commercial Managing Director FH JOANNEUM

Helmut Wiedenhofer studied electrical engineering at Graz University of Technology, specializing in electromedicine and high-voltage engineering.
After working at SIEMENS Matsushita OHG, he was a development engineer at the Institute for Electronic System Development at JOANNEUM RESEARCH.
He is an authorized signatory of JOANNEUM RESEARCH and heads the Strategic Cooperation & Networks department.
Until 2016, he was also the Managing Director of NanoTecCenter Weiz, a subsidiary of TU Graz and JOANNEUM RESEARCH.
He is particularly interested in the topics of location development, diversity and apprenticeship training.

Authorized signatory and Head of Strategic Cooperation & Networks
JOANNEUM RESEARCH

Peter Riedler, born in Graz in 1969, holds a doctorate in international law and European law from the University of Graz.
His professional career has taken him to the European Parliament in Brussels, the Styrian provincial government, the Federal Chancellery in 2002, focusing on business and research, and to AVL List GmbH in Graz in 2007 as Director of Public Affairs.
In 2011, Riedler became Vice Rector, and in December 2021 Managing Rector.
He has been the elected Rector of the University of Graz since October 2022.

Rector
University of Graz

Heinz Mayer studied telematics at Graz University of Technology, where he gained several years of experience as a university assistant.
He then worked at Magna Steyr, including as Head of Information Management.
In 2007, he moved to JOANNEUM RESEARCH and successfully served as Deputy Director of DIGITAL, the Institute for Digital Technologies, and as Research Group Leader of the Image Analysis and Measurement Systems Group before taking over as Head of DIGITAL in 2013.
He has been Managing Director of JOANNEUM RESEARCH since 2021.

Managing Director
JOANNEUM RESEARCH

After studying social and economic sciences at the University of Vienna, many years of research work in the non-university sector combined with initial experience in the implementation and management of European programs and projects.
2011 took over the management of the “European and International Programs” division of the FFG incl.
Head of the FFG office in Brussels to strengthen Austria’s position in the European Research Area
Since October 2023 Vice-Rector for Research at Graz University of Technology.

Vice-Rector for Research
Graz University of Technology

DDr.
Wolfgang Granigg is head of the Master’s degree programs “Data Science and Artificial Intelligence” and “Global Strategic Management” at FH JOANNEUM.
He is a long-standing lecturer at the University of Graz in the Department of Systems Science.
Before joining FH JOANNEUM, Mr. Granigg worked in the media industry for almost 10 years.
He holds two doctorates in business administration (University of Graz) and mathematics (University of Klagenfurt) and completed the Executive Program “Leadership & Management” at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Head of the “Data Science and Artificial Intelligence” and “Global Strategic Management” degree programmes
FH JOANNEUM

Prof. Dr. Markus Fallenböck, LL.M. has been working on the legal and economic implementation of digital transformation for over 20 years. He is Vice Rector for Human Resources and Digitalization and University Professor for Technology and Innovation Law at the University of Graz. He is also on the AI Advisory Board of the Austrian Federal Government and heads the AI research center IDea_Lab at the University of Graz. Markus Fallenböck is one of the initiators of TIS.

Vice-Rector for Human Resources and Digitalization
University of Graz

Born in 1967 in Saanen, Switzerland, and raised in Upper Styria, Horst Bischof studied computer science at TU Wien, where he obtained his doctorate in 1993 and habilitated in 1995.
He has been Rector of TU Graz since October 2023.
From 2011 to 2023, he was Vice-Rector for Research and as such responsible for the strategic research orientation of TU Graz as well as research and business cooperation and technology transfer.
Horst Bischof has published almost 800 scientific publications and has received more than 20 national and international awards for his work.
The research portal Research.com lists him as the third most frequently cited computer scientist in Austria.

Rector
Graz University of Technology