On the occasion of the "Military Infrastructure Day" on May 16, 2024, the University for Continuing Education Krems was the first educational institution to be awarded the title of "Partner of the Armed Forces". The partnership certificate was presented to Rector Friedrich Faulhammer in the Stiftskaserne Army Base. This award highlights the many years of good cooperation with the Austrian Armed Forces. The "Military Infrastructure Day" was also an opportunity for the University for Continuing Education Krems to present itself.

The University for Continuing Education Krems was honored "for its exceptional military policy achievements and services to national military defense by supporting the Austrian Armed Forces in its public relations work". When presenting the certificate, Federal Minister of Defense Klaudia Tanner particularly emphasized the excellent cooperation with the Austrian Armed Forces that has been maintained for years and the lively exchange of experience and knowledge on many levels. This concerns both the academic field and specific issues relating to infrastructure. According to Minister of Defense Tanner, Directorate 7, responsible for military infrastructure, is the ideal cooperation partner on the military side.

Focus on cultural property protection, army real estate and security

Friedrich Faulhammer, Rector of the University for Continuing Education Krems, expressed his thanks for the award and sees it as an additional incentive to further intensify the cooperation. Specifically, the collaboration focuses on three areas. In the area of cultural heritage protection, there has been a valuable transfer of knowledge and expertise between the Department for Building and Environment and the Research Lab Sustainable Cultural Heritage with the Austrian Armed Forces for years. The solutions developed as part of the EU Interreg project "ProteCHt2Save – Risk assessment and sustainable protection of Cultural Heritage in changing environment" at the Center for Cultural Property Protection by Prof. Anna Kaiser for the protection of cultural heritage in the event of a catastrophe were tested in practice in a joint catastrophe protection exercise conducted by the University for Continuing Education Krems and the Austrian Armed Forces. Employees of the Center for Cultural Property Protection gained new perspectives on the issues through their participation in the "Basic Course Liaison Officer for Military Cultural Property Protection" at the National Defense Academy. In the field of army real estate, a concept for the public development of a concentration camp memorial was developed as part of a research project. As the site is partly a barracks area, a number of challenges had to be overcome. Prof Christian Hanus, Scientific Director of the Research Lab Sustainable Cultural Heritage, played a key role in the development of this collaboration.

There is also a good exchange between the University for Continuing Education Krems and the Austrian Armed Forces in the field of security. Experts from the Austrian Armed Forces take part in the annual Security Conference (SIKO), this year on October 23, 2024, hosted by the Center for Infrastructural Security. The perspective from the field of cyber defense is also a key focus when it comes to artificial intelligence. The Head of the center, Prof Walter Seböck, and Dr Ingeborg Zeller, the scientific director of the security conference, were also attending the presentation of the certificate.