The Federal List of Faculties follows the principle of representing all faculties and centres of the university in the Senate, thereby reflecting the diversity and breadth of subject cultures. Corresponding subject clusters and pre-agreed rotations ensure this. Our list is drawn up in close consultation with the faculties and centres - in a democratic process that precedes the actual Senate elections.

Our aim is to obtain as many seats as possible in the next elections (currently 7 out of 9) in order to continue to realise this idea of solidarity. We do not pursue any particular interests and are not affiliated with any single interest group. We see ourselves as representatives of the entire university.

As such, the members of our list also take on functions and responsibilities for the central tasks in the Senate: as Senate Chair, as Spokesperson oft he professors, as Chair of the Curriculum Commission, as heads of various working groups, in legal matters, in dialogue with the Ministry and in networking with other universities. The services we provide in these roles are performed on behalf of the Senate (and therefore all members) and not as a particular success of our list.

For this reason, we deliberately refrain from holding (election) events, especially during the Senate period, and instead devote our time and energy to the Senate's actual work, using the Senate's established and transparent communication structures to facilitate and promote the Senate's exchange with the faculties and centres, with the Rectorate and University Council, and with the various groups of people at the university.

A fact check

We have been particularly active in the following areas in the last term

• University Development Plan 2031

The Rectorate is responsible for drawing up the development plan. On the initiative of the Chair of the Senate, the Senate was successfully involved in the process and was thus able to make important contributions (especially from our members) to the further development of research, teaching, personnel structures, internationalization, sustainability and digitalization at the University of Vienna.

• Curricular processes, in particular teacher training reform
  

One of the core tasks of the Senate is curricular work, which is responsibly organized by our Chair of the Curricular Commission: this includes numerous consultations with the subject representatives, the SPLs, various DLEs and the Rectorate. A total of around 240 curricula were approved in the last Senate period. One focus is on digitalization and sustainability. The most comprehensive project concerns the reform of the teaching profession, which requires guidelines, specific curricular specifications and, last but not least, enormous effort in cooperation with the Ministry, the universities of teacher education and the Quality Assurance Council. It is striking that only members of our list are involved in the Senate. This may also be due to the expertise required for this complex work.

• Clarification of legal issues
  

The work of the Senate requires legal expertise, not only when it comes to amendments to the statutes, the rules of procedure and the University Act, but also - one of the core tasks of the Senate - in the Appeals Commission. In the last Senate period, around 300 cases were dealt with here. In doing so, we ensure a uniform adjudication practice, from which revisions in statutes and study matters can ultimately be derived. It is therefore essential for us to have one person from the Faculty of Law represented on our list in the Senate.

• Diversity and inclusion
  

We are committed to an inclusive university. We pay attention to inequalities that arise due to gender, sexual orientation, social background, cultural attributions, religion, age and other factors, while also taking into account intersectional relationships, which play a central role in the university context in particular. We work closely with the AKGleich, particularly when it comes to measures for the advancement of women or the composition of committees, in order to reflect a variety of perspectives.

• Ecological sustainability
  

Responsibility for this falls to the Rectorate and it would be presumptuous to claim that the Senate has played a key role here. However, on the initiative of the Chair of the Senate, members of the Senate were successfully nominated to the Sustainability Advisory Board. We are also well represented here, not least due to our specialist expertise and our commitment to a climate-neutral university. In addition, the area has been strengthened by anchoring it in curricula, which our Chair of the Curriculum Commission has been particularly committed to.

• Differentiated career model
  

The chain contract regulations in § 109 of the Universities Act have also occupied the Senate, even if its task, due to the legal framework conditions, can only be to convince politicians to finally find sensible regulations and, in exchange with the Rector, to develop good solutions for a differentiated career model at the University of Vienna. At the same time, we are committed to a high-quality process for habilitation, appointment and tenure-track procedures.

• Communication within the University
  

Transparent and open communication is the basic prerequisite for successful Senate work. This requires strong roots in the faculties and centers as well as established formats that promote regular exchange and provide information about the Senate's work. Our list provides contact persons for all faculties and centers. In addition, the spokesperson for the curia organizes regular jour fixes with the spokespersons of the professorial curia of all faculties and centers - in the run-up to the Senate meetings. We also ensure that the protocols of all Senate meetings are accessible university-wide. A new format is the New Year's reception initiated by the spokesperson for the Curia, which enables an informal exchange with the Rectorate and University Council in a pleasant atmosphere.

• Networking outside the university
  

Another important task of the Senate is to network with other universities and higher education policy stakeholders in order to learn from others and support each other. Our Senate Chair was elected spokesperson for the Senate Chair Conference and is also a member of the University Conference and the working group on the implementation of the Austrian University Plan. These committees discuss key higher education policy issues and also formulate positions (through corresponding press releases): for example, on cuts in the teaching profession, on the controversial establishment of a new university in Linz, on restrictions to the freedom of science and art.