The RISC European College

Get your Master’s in Symbolic Computation and Artificial Intelligence (AI)  in Austria!

RISC is an institute of the Johannes Kepler University Linz devoted to Symbolic Computation and its applications, in particular,  for the next levels of artificial intelligence.

RISC was founded in 1985 and shaped the field of Symbolic Computation by its research contributions, the Journal of Symbolic Computation, and its international Ph.D. program.

RISC is also the founding institute of the Softwarepark Hagenberg, Austria’a largest technology park (3500 researchers, engineers, and students) devoted to all areas of software science and industrial applications.

By a grant from the Upper Austrian Government, RISC is located in the 800-year-old Castle of Hagenberg, with a unique historic character and an award-winning modern annex that includes the RISC conference facilities.

The RISC faculty currently comprises 11 professors (among them two full professors and six associate professors). Among them are professors who introduced and shaped important research areas in Symbolic Computation:

• Bruno Buchberger (emeritus): founder of RISC and the Journal of Symbolic Computation, inventor of the Gröbner bases methodology, original designer of the Theorema system
• Tudor Jebelean: automated reasoning, systolic computations, multiprecision arithmetic
• Temur Kutsia: unification, automated reasoning, rule-based programming
• Peter Paule (emeritus): computer algebra and algorithmic mathematics in connection with combinatorics and special functions, including aspects of number theory
• Veronika Pillwein: special functions, high order finite elements
• Georg Regensburger: combination of algebraic and geometric methods and symbolic computation to treat problems coming from analysis and applications
• Josef Schicho: solving algebraic equations, algebraic methods in kinematics
• Carsten Schneider (chairman): computer algebra, combinatorics, special functions, perturbative quantum field theory
• Wolfgang Schreiner: parallel computing, formal methods, program specification and verification, model checking, automated reasoning
• Wolfgang Windsteiger: Theorema, automated theorem proving, computer algebra, Mathematica, symbolic computation in education
• Franz Winkler (emeritus): computer algebra, constructive algebraic geometry, algebraic differential equations, equational theorem proving

The RISC Software Company (approx. 100 researchers and engineers) is a spin-off of RISC and operates in close interaction with RISC on demanding industrial projects with numerous industrial partners in Austria and Central Europe.

Through the RISC Software Company, the RISC master’s and Ph.D. students have rich opportunities to acquire practical experience in the software industry and also to establish contacts to important companies and institutions in Austria.

The RISC European College

The students of the RISC European College live together in an extra building on the Campus of the Softwarepark Hagenberg next to the RISC Castle.

Living together in the RISC European College and working together in the RISC Castle of Hagenberg should broaden the vision for topics beyond mathematics, informatics, and AI such as

• responsible leadership,
• the practice of scientific work in today’s world,
• European values,
•  global prosperity in a peaceful world,
• work in academia and industry,
• start-up training, etc.

Living together at the RISC European College on the Softwarepark Hagenberg campus will also foster lifelong friendships and important career and business relationships with leading personalities, companies, and public and governmental institutions at both the European and national levels.

The extra-curricular program for students in the RISC European College is designed and implemented by the RISC faculty, the RISC Software Company, the RISC Community Director, the Softwarepark Hagenberg, and the Hagenberg International Club, with the active participation of the RISC students.

Fellowships will be available for outstanding Master’s students who wish to work within the framework of an R&D project:

• The amount will typically range between €5,000 and €20,000, depending on the student’s qualifications and the project sponsor.
• Depending on the source of the fellowship (academic or industrial research project) the individual master’s program and the master’s thesis subject must be aligned with the project goals
• If you do not need a fellowship, the individual master’s program and the master’s thesis subject must be defined in cooperation with a RISC faculty.

Admission & Enrollment