The primary task of the WPZ Research Team is to prepare scientific studies in our subject areas. It is also a priority of the WPZ Research Team to cooperate on a project-by-project basis, i.e. to involve further national and international researchers into project work, whether in the field of economics or involving other disciplines such as social sciences, law, etc.
These reports should be prepared using methodological diversity (quantitative and qualitative). In order to achieve these goals, a team of experienced staff members (senior researchers) is required.
WPZ Research was therefore founded by a team of scientifically proven economists with experience in the field of economic policy and a managing director with business management expertise and extensive knowledge in the fields of innovation, education and evaluation. All employees have many years of experience in scientific project work (application and contract research) and are well connected in the Austrian and European community. The corresponding qualification also makes it possible to involve young scientists in project work or to supervise them in their independent work.
WPZ Research Team
Dr. Brigitte Ecker
Managing Director of WPZ Research
Brigitte Ecker, Managing Director of WPZ Research, studied business administration at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, where she received her doctorate with distinction in 2003. After several years working in the business sector, she joined Joanneum Research – Centre for Economic and Innovation Research Vienna in 2004.
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Laura Dusl, LL.B.
(currently on educational leave)
Research Assistant
Laura Dusl completed her Bachelor in Business Law at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration in April 2020. Afterwards, she started her Master in Business Law and joined WPZ Research as a research assistant.
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Susanne Fröhlich
Administration
Susanne Fröhlich worked for more than 25 years for a non-university research institute in the field of economics and social sciences in project management, quality control and layout and as back office manager for an international sports association. She has been supporting the WPZ Research team with her expertise since November 2019.
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Dr. Michaela Gstrein
Research Associate
Michaela Gstrein studied commercial sciences, completed a post-graduate degree in economics at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) and a doctorate in economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. From 2002 on she was Senior Researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) in Vienna, and from September 2016 on Michaela Gstrein has been working at WPZ Research. Since 2021 she is also MA Gender Studies.
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Mara Kritzinger, MSc
(currently on a research stay at the University of St. Gallen)
Research Associate
Mara Kritzinger completed her Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Social Sciences with a focus on Economics and her Master’s degree in Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration with distinction. From June 2019 to February 2021, Mara Kritzinger worked as a research assistant at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration.
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Dipl. Ing. Bruno Lindorfer
Consultant
Bruno Lindorfer was global CTO of VOEST ALPINE Industrieanlagenbau (from 2006 SIEMENS VAI) from 1990 to 2008 and was responsible for RTI agendas in the USA, China and Korea. From 2008 to 2017, he was Managing Director of the Upper Austrian Innovation Agency.
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Jan-Luca Möhler
Research Assistant
Jan-Luca Möhler is currently studying for a double Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Communication Sciences at the Westfälische Wilhelms Universität Münster. He has been supporting the WPZ Research team since October 2022 as a study assistant in the evaluation of study-related data and the implementation of desk research.
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Stephanie Pais-Raposo
Research Assistant
Stephanie Pais-Raposo is currently studying international relations at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna. She completed her Bachelor’s degree in the same subject at the University of St. Gallen. With her interdisciplinary and multicultural background, she supports the WPZ Research Team in many research projects.
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Dr. Andreas Pfaffel
Research Associate
Andreas Pfaffel studied psychology at the University of Vienna, where he completed his doctoral studies in social and economic sciences with excellent results in 2016. From 2011, he worked as an educational psychologist and evaluator at the Institute of Applied Psychology: Work, Education, Economics at the University of Vienna in several research and evaluation projects.
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Anna-Lena Plate
Research Assistant
Anna-Lena Plate is currently completing her Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Social Sciences with a focus on Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. Since August 2022, Anna-Lena Plate has been working as a research assistant at WPZ Research, where she supports the team with document research and data analysis.
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Prof.(FH) Dr. Verena Régent
Research Associate
Verena Régent studied sociology and social economy at the Johannes Kepler University Linz and the University of Helsinki. From 2011, she worked in research and consulting companies for the acquisition and management of third-party funded research projects at the interface between social sciences and new technologies.
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Prof.(FH) Dr. Christian Reiner
Research Associate
Christian Reiner studied economic geography and economic history at the University of Vienna and the University of Salzburg. He was a senior researcher at the Institute for Advanced Studies from September 2013 and previously worked at the Center for Economic and Innovation Research at Joanneum Research in Vienna.
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Prof.(FH) Priv.-Doz. Dr. Sascha Sardadvar
Research Associate
Sascha Sardadvar studied economics at the University of Vienna, Freie Universität Berlin and the Vienna University of Economics and Business. In July 2015, he obtained an authorisation to teach for Economic Geography and Regional Science at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
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Dr. Ulrich Schuh
Research Fellow
Ulrich Schuh studied economics at the Univresity of Vienna and completed his PhD in 2002. From 1992 to 1999, Ulrich Schuh worked at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finances in the Economic Policy Department and subsequently at the Institute for Advanced STudies (IHS), of which he was Head of the Economics and Financial Economics department from 2004 on.
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Bernhard Würfel
Research Assistant
Bernhard Würfel completed his final exams at the HTL St. Pölten in 2019, majoring in electronics and technical computer science. In the course of this education, internships in technical and university research were completed. In 2020 he started his bachelor studies in mathematics at the University of Vienna.
