About Us

As a modern and independent industry platform, the OVE Austrian Electrotechnical Association offers networking opportunities to science and research, industry and commerce, the energy sector as well as users. It actively shapes the development of electrical engineering and information technology in times of digital change.

As an electrotechnical standardization organization and with its additional core activities in the fields of certification and lightning detection, the association officially represents Austrian interests in international bodies.

The core activities of electrotechnical standardization and certification are also instrumental in creating the general technological conditions needed to achieve energy transition and ensure the success of innovative technologies in all areas of digitalization and automation.

The association supports the implementation of new innovative technologies and promotes industry success with topic-related industry events as well as comprehensive development offers.

Members of the OVE benefit from contacts to national and international experts from all fields of electrotechnology, information technology and the energy sector. Using the platforms OVE Fem and OVE Young Engineers, the OVE bundles activities and the exchange of information for individual member groups, thus facilitating networking among them. OVE Fem is the platform for women in electrotechnology, information technology and the energy sector. The association uses the platform OVE Young Engineers to connect students and young professionals with companies in the industry.

With a lot of activities hosted by the young talent initiatives LET’S TECH and Girls! TECH UP, the association promotes an early interest in technology among children and young people, thereby specifically encouraging the development of new generations of young skilled workers.

Through the professional organizations OVE Energietechnik (Power Engineering), OVE Informationstechnik (Information Technology), OVE Mikroelektronik (Microelectronics) and GMAR, the association offers subject-specific platforms for an intensive exchange among experts.

The OVE contributes its wealth of expertise to relevant topics in the political debate, for the benefit of its members and the entire sector. The OVE's positions are consensus-based and the result of an exchange with network partners, scientific institutions and interested members. The OVE supports important societal goals with its expertise whenever the electrical engineering and information technology sector has solutions to contribute. This includes topics like climate and energy goals, the skills shortage, and many more.

The association's journal e+i and many digital publications, such as associated newsletters and the OVE's social media channels ensure that members and all interested parties are always up to date on the association's activities and the latest industry news.

The OVE is well connected internationally and, as an association, is a member of Engineers Europe (formerly FEANI), the umbrella organization of national engineering associations, and EUREL, the European convention of national associations of electrical engineers. There is cooperation on an international level with the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), the world's largest professional association of engineers in electrical engineering and information technology.

The OVE Austrian Electrotechnical Association was established in 1883, during a time when the field of electrical engineering was experiencing rapid growth and diffusion. The young association was guided by the following objectives:
⦁    promoting the development of electrotechnology and
⦁    ensuring the safe use of electrotechnical applications at the same time,
⦁    championing a connection between universities and business as well as
⦁    fostering a deep exchange of information among experts and parties interested in this young and revolutionary technology.

Recognizing the need for theorists and practitioners to connect, highly respected representatives like Professor Ernst Mach, Siegfried Marcus and Professor Josef Stefan also joined the association as founding members and Professor Ludwig Boltzmann soon followed suit. In accordance with its primary goals – the safe use of electrotechnical devices and systems – the association published its first safety regulations for electrical engineering as early as in 1889, making it an international pioneer in the area of electrotechnical standardization.

The OVE was a critical trailblazer of technological progress in electrical engineering, and its members were active shapers of technical innovation. Some of the association's eminent members who merit mention are Professor Gottfried Biegelmeier, inventor of the residual current device (RCD), and computer pioneer Professor Heinz Zemanek.

Today, more than 130 years after its establishment, the OVE is a modern and independent industry platform with a comprehensive range of services in a successful and dynamic industry with a bright future. Its founding goals also remain valid: With its core areas of electrotechnical standardization and certification, the association stands for safety, promotes innovation and supports the domestic economy in the global market.