Institute of Agricultural Engineering

The Institute of Agricultural Engineering is part of the Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences. Our young, interdisciplinary team transfers the scientific competence in cooperation with industry, counseling and practical experience. We work in research and teaching and aim at developing innovation based on sustainability by means of inclusion of “high-tech” agricultural methods.

The Institute of Agricultural Engineering is committed to locally adapted and innovative production methods in optimized manufacturing processes which are sustainable and therefore friendly to livestock, humans and the environment. This commitment aims at an effective and gentle procedural utilization of local resources (soil, water, plants, humans, energy and climate) taking local and regional circumstances into consideration.

In times of climate change and constantly diminishing resources worldwide the sustainable use of natural material and energy cycles for the production of food, animal feed, energy and raw materials with a high profitability is of special importance. It has to be made sure that scientifically developed procedures and technical solutions are also profitable for manufacturers and users.

Core competence fields for the procedural application of trend-setting technologies are information and sensor technology, new power engines, work systems, materials and renewable energy sources. For the subject area “Agricultural Engineering” there are smooth transitions in the fields of municipal management and energy industries. Here also lies a special aspect on local-regional networking and a sustainable operational management.

The current developments show that the future of agricultural engineering innovations is closely linked to high-tech procedures, such as control technology, computer sciences, information technology as well remote reconnaissance and telecommunications. The higher-ranking goal is the development and assessment of new techniques and procedures. This is based on socio-economic, ecological and ergonomic standards by the use of automation and information technology. In order to reach this goal, factors of sustainability of agricultural machinery, buildings, process steps, products and production systems must be quantitatively determined. These are then locally differentiated in life cycle inventory analysis in order to be made available and provide for realistic evaluation and planning.

The Institute of Agricultural Engineering of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna wishes to contribute to and help shape the future for humans, the environment and future generations based on sustainability according to the UN-Brundtland report (1987):

“...sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs...”