"House of Digitalization" opens in Tulln!

“Digitalization is already the foundation of our modern lives and our working world, and this trend will continue to intensify. It is therefore of utmost importance to accelerate the digital transformation of our economy and to inform and inspire people of all ages across the state about digitalization. With the ‘House of Digitalization,’ we have created not only a central point of contact for all things digitalization in Tulln, but also a national and international flagship,” said Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner at the official opening.

The 4,200 m² facility houses a showroom and event area, a space for the expansion of the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt, a Sodexo restaurant with an outdoor seating area, as well as office units, incubator spaces, and the FabLab Lower Austria. The "House of Digitalization" always focuses on supporting local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on their path to a digital future and making digitalization easily accessible to people of all ages.

"Digitalization offers businesses virtually unlimited opportunities to become better, more efficient, and more competitive. From now on, entrepreneurs will find all the important institutions under one roof here at the House of Digitalization, providing support and advice on all aspects of digitalization. My goal is that by 2030, every resident of Lower Austria will have come into contact with the services offered by the House – whether digitally or in person here in Tulln – and will say: 'I was able to take away useful ideas here that will help me in my daily life, my professional life, or my work as an entrepreneur,'" explains Jochen Danninger, Lower Austrian State Councillor for Digitalization.

For Wolfgang Ecker, President of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce, digitalization is a great opportunity: “During my numerous company visits, I see how our businesses are already utilizing digitalization, which is always very impressive. As the Chamber of Commerce, we, together with the State of Lower Austria, provide professional support to businesses as they take steps toward digitalization, enabling them to fully exploit the opportunities in the digital world. With TIP – Technology and Innovation Partners Lower Austria – we have a joint initiative where this is perfectly implemented. Our participation in the digi4Wirtschaft funding program is another example of this excellent collaboration. It is therefore a matter of course for us to be involved in such a flagship project as the House of Digitalization and to contribute our extensive Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce service expertise in digitalization.”

While the “House of Digitalization” in Tulln has grown daily since its groundbreaking in 2021, the number of digital pilot projects in Tulln and Lower Austria has also been continuously increasing. Mayor Peter Eisenschenk: “As the location of the House of Digitalization and as a modern city administration, it is extremely important for us to actively lead the way and set trends. In line with Tulln's ‘Smart Green City’ positioning, we are already testing a wide variety of digitalization projects that make our employees' work more efficient, improve the quality of life for our citizens, and can serve as a model for other cities.”

The “House of Digitalization” network pools the existing digitalization expertise of universities of applied sciences, research centers, and technology park locations, thus promoting further networking among digital experts. The educational offerings of the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt here on the Tulln campus are being expanded with new seminar rooms and lecture halls in the House of Digitalization.

FH Supervisory Board Chairman and Mayor Klaus Schneeberger: “The House of Digitalization is the flagship of Lower Austria’s digitalization strategy. The State of Lower Austria, the universities of applied sciences, and all the technology parks are pioneers in pooling the resources of education, research, and business. We will only succeed by working together – this is especially true in the field of digitalization. Now that we are uniting all the key players under one roof here in Tulln, it’s a major step towards an outstanding digital future for Lower Austria!”

The past few years have shown that the importance of digitalization will continue to grow. The ecoplus Digital “House of Digitalization” project aims to proactively shape and bring this future to life. With HYPO NOE and EVN AG, two renowned and innovative companies were already secured in 2022 to support this endeavor in the long term.

“At HYPO NOE, we consciously focus on offering state-of-the-art digital services alongside excellent personal advice. This combination of a digital and physical House of Digitalization is what connects us so strongly to this flagship project. We are therefore delighted to make digitalization tangible and experiential with today's opening,” said HYPO NOE CEO Wolfgang Viehauser.

“Digitalization, alongside sustainability, is a key component of EVN's Strategy 2030. Many of our processes have recently been automated to simplify processes for our customers. But there are also exciting digitalization topics within our core business itself, such as digital power plants. We want to leverage the opportunities of digitalization even more effectively,” said EVN CEO Stefan Szyszkowitz.

The physical “House of Digitalization,” a collaborative project between ecoplus Digital and the FH Wiener Neustadt Real Estate Company, can begin its trial operation as planned. “Despite the pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine, with the associated supply bottlenecks, long lead times, and price increases, the construction schedule and budget were adhered to. On January 17, the ‘House of Digitalization_ Showroom’ will launch its first year of operation with an interactive and multimedia exhibition on the theme of ‘Human + Machine,’” emphasize ecoplus Managing Director Helmut Miernicki and ecoplus Digital Managing Directors Lukas Reutterer and Claus Zeppelzauer.

Visitors can look forward to a combination of mobile, interactive stations, the artistic interpretation of real-time data, innovative projects from Lower Austria, a 330 m² LED screen that wraps around the entire building in approximately 360 degrees, exceptional sound and lighting technology, and breathtaking architecture. Visitors can already book a free visit slot at www.virtuelleshaus.at. A QR code will then grant them direct, free access to the parking deck and the exhibition.