Team

As a researcher, consultant, author, and moderator, Eugen Antalovsky engages with issues of urban policy and development, diversity and social inclusion, democracy and participation, as well as city tourism.

As managing director he has been responsible for Urban Innovation Vienna’s strategic development since 2017. He was previously CEO of europaforum wien (centre for urban dialogue and european policy) for over two decades. Today he also works as a senior expert and advisor on an international level. For example, he holds a leading advisory position for the European Commission’s ESPON Network (European Spatial Planning Observatory Network) as well as for the RPA (Regional Planning Association) during the development of their 4th regional plan for the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state region.

Claus Hofer has been Managing Director of Urban Innovation Vienna (previously TINA Vienna) since May 2014 and has been responsible for legal and business affairs, among other things, since 2017.

He was previously Director of “ZIT - The Technology Agency of the City of Vienna”, which is part of the Vienna Business Agency. The qualified lawyer began his career in the 1990s, as a trainee lawyer for various law firms, to later become Head of the Legal Department for J.L Gebäudetechnik. In 2000, Hofer switched to leading the Legal Department in the Vienna Business Agency. In December 2002, he was appointed as Director of ZIT.

Johannes Lutter has been working in socio-scientific analysis and policy consulting and as a process designer and moderator since 1999. He heads up the “Future Cities” department at Urban Innovation Vienna.

Johannes Lutter deals with various aspects of the city – from urban development strategies and housing policy, site development, and tourism strategies, to issues such as participation and local, regional, and cross-border governance. He studied Political Science at the University of Vienna, as well as at the Institute for Advance Studies (IHS). For many years, Johannes Lutter was the Deputy CEO at europaforum wien, the Viennese centre for urban dialog and European policy, as well as CEO of the multilateral Centrope Agency.

Waltraud Schmid is an economist with more than 20 years of experience in the energy industry. She is in charge of the Energy Center, which supports the City of Vienna in reaching their ambitious energy and climate protection objectives.

She started out in the Austrian Energy Agency, dealing with issues of energy economy and policy, before moving to Brussels to work in the EU Commission for more than 10 years. There, she was eventually involved in managing an EU funding programme in the energy industry. Since 2013, she has focused on urban energy issues.

Dominic Weiss manages the Smart City Agency. His main interest lies in the research and development of multidisciplinary urban systems, where social inclusion, technology, and creativity play a key role.

Dominic Weiss graduated in Political Science and European Studies from the University of Vienna. He then worked for the European Union Department of the Vienna Business Agency in Vienna and Brussels. Within this role, he was responsible for funding and strategies. In his position as an EU expert, he has been involved in a number of transnational projects concerning IT solutions, environmental technologies, and renewable energy sources.

Sophie Wagner is responsible for office management and operates the interface of internal and external communication. The team and partners are supported by her interdisciplinary knowledge.

She studied Socioeconomics and Tourism Management and has experience in working as an Event Manager and Social Worker.

Herbert Bartik is a political scientist, analyst, and advisor for urban and site development, metropolitan governance, and social inclusion. As a senior expert, he creates analyses, advises, designs processes, and acts as a moderator.

He has a holistic understanding of “Urban Affairs”, a cross-thematic approach, and is characterised by how he finds of synergies and produces cross-references. He has 15 years of experience and has worked on projects including the Urban Development Plan Vienna (STEP 2015) and the Vienna Diversity Monitor, and the shaping of the “The Big Transformers” study on Sharing Economy.

Nadine Berginz is responsible for event management and communications concerning Smart City and DigitalCity.Wien at the Smart City Agency.

Previously the musicologist graduate focused on project management as well as press and public relations for concerts, festivals and tours. Now she applies her know-how from the cultural industry in the interdisciplinary team at Urban Innovation Vienna.

Michael Cerveny, economist and energy generalist, has worked in all kinds of roles for and with Federal and Regional Administrations on the decarbonisation of the energy system for 30 years.

His professional career has led him from the Austrian Institute of Economic Research, Environment Agency Austria, the Austrian Energy Agency (including two years in interim management), a company producing renewable energy systems, and the ÖGUT to the Energy Center. There, he sees it as his personal goal to contribute all his experience to the concrete energy-relevant projects and processes of the City of Vienna.

Stefan Eder works as an expert for strategic mobility development at the Energy Center. He focusses on urban freight transport and the improvement of the public transport system in Vienna.

After finishing his studies in Spatial Planning at the Technical University of Vienna in November 2017, he worked for an agency for traffic safety (KFV) and at the Vienna City Administration (MA 18 – Department for Urban Planning), where he was able to gain practical experience in various areas of urban mobility. His work at Urban Innovation Vienna focuses on supporting the strategic planning of the City of Vienna, particularly with regard to innovative solutions for urban logistics and the expansion of Vienna’s public transport network.

Viktoria Forstinger is a spatial planner and supports the Smarter Together project at the Energy Center as well as current projects related to spatial energy planning.

Parallel to her recently completed studies in spatial planning at the Vienna University of Technology with a focus on energy spatial planning and participation/democratic theories, she studied development studies at the University of Vienna and is currently working on her master's degree in political science.

In addition to longer stays abroad in India, Bangladesh and the USA, she gained first practical experiences at the Office of the State Gov. of Upper Austria, the Municipal Dep. for Architecture and Urban Design (Vienna), the Office of the District Chairperson of Penzing and the Austrian Institute of Technology.

Gerald Franz is an economist and has worked in the field of sustainable mobility for more than 10 years. At Urban Innovation Vienna, he deals with mobility management in urban development areas as a Senior Expert.

Gerald Franz studied Environmental Economics and Systematic Management. He began his career as a university assistant at the WU Wien, worked as a logistics consultant, established the Mobility department at Umweltberatung NÖ and oversaw mobility in the Energy and Environment Agency Lower Austria. In this role, he was able to initiate projects such as bike rental systems, car-sharing offers, and campaigns on cycling and electromobility.

Birgit Ginzler is responsible for company communications at Urban Innovation Vienna, as well as for coordinating and implementing the DigitalCity.Wien initiative within the Smart City Agency.

Johannes Hofinger is a geographer and works with issues concerning urban development, tourism, and urban economy. He particularly enjoys issues which require cooperation beyond administrative or institutional borders.

After completing his studies in Spatial Research and Planning at the Institute for Geography at the University of Vienna, Johannes Hofinger worked at the European think-tank Espon in Luxembourg. There, he was involved in research projects within the field of regional development on themes such as a circular economy, renewable energy, or cooperation in metropolitan regions.

Claudia Kanonier is involved in the DigitalCity.Wien field as part of her work in the Smart City Agency, where her focus lies on the coordination, communication, and execution of projects.

After studying Commercial Science at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, she took on business activities in banking, as well as in the consumer goods industry in the field of controlling and project management.

In her architectural practice, Bernadette Luger acquired the ability to structure complex processes and implement concepts in a solution-oriented manner. Today she uses this competence in the creative examination of urban issues of the future.

Bernadette Luger studied architecture at the Vienna University of Technology and the TU Delft and since 2018 also has the civil engineer license (dormant). With the master's programme "Integrative Urban Development - Smart City" at the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Vienna, she expanded her qualification portfolio in a future-oriented way. At Urban Innovation Vienna her focus is on the analysis and design of sustainable and socially inclusive urban development strategies, as well as on the topics of housing policy, building in stock, public space and location development. In her many years of professional experience in various architectural firms, she was involved in the realisation of several construction projects of various sizes in Austria and abroad. Her responsibilities included all planning phases up to process design and project management.

Victoria Mlango studied Interior Architecture and Conservation of Historic Buildings in Bath und Nottingham (UK) and works in the Future Cities department within the fields of housing, mobility, and integration.

Working mainly for projects within the Urban Think Tank, CoRE (Centre of Refugee Empowerment) and Vienna Housing Research, Victoria Mlango is also involved in the development and implementation of dialog-processes and events.

As part of her activities in the Energy Center, Carolin Monsberger supports the projects on increasing renewable energies and energy efficiency in the areas of buildings and mobility.

After studying Urban Renewable Energy Technologies at Fachhochschule Technikum Wien, she decided to study Energy and Automation Engineering at the Technical University of Vienna, which she is currently completing. Her studies focus on sustainable and renewable energy supply, the energy systems of the future, smart cities and energy economics.

A graduate in political science, Judith Neyer has been involved with climate and energy policy making in Austria and beyond for over fifteen years. In the Energy Center she is in charge of international project cooperation.

Judith studied political science and history in Goettingen and Dublin and started her career in the international environmental movement. After Berlin and Paris, moving to Brussels, she coordinated for four years an international not-for-profit campaign on sustainability and climate protection. Arrived in Austria, between 2009 and 2017 she worked as climate and energy policy advisor to the Austrian Parliament and participated in UNFCCC climate negotiations. As part of a work placement with the Austrian Environmental Agency she co-authored the briefing study on the climate conference 2018 in Katowice for Members of the European Parliament. Before joining Urban Innovation Vienna in autumn 2018 she worked at Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, where she has been researching transformation strategies.

Julia Sauskojus specializes in technologies in the context of quality of life in the Smart City Agency. She focuses on digitization processes and AAL - intelligent technology support for an active, self-determined life.

Before coming to Urban Innovation Vienna, she worked at the planning office Regional Consulting ZT GmbH and at europaforum wien. During this time, she designed, coordinated, and contextually managed European and international projects in the field of regional economy and agglomerations, and organised conferences. Julia studied Urban and Regional Planning in Munich, Berlin, and New York. She has a great interest in sustainable innovative developments and their effects on cities and their inhabitants.

Alexander Scholz works on topics of urban mobility. Among others, he deals with new forms of mobility and parking space matters as well as more generally with mobility in the context of Smart City Vienna.

After finishing his studies in Spatial Planning at the Technical University of Vienna he gained work experience in an international environment in Brussels working for the European Cyclists' Federation (ECF). He then moved to the City of Vienna for a year as an administrative trainee in the Department of Urban Development and Urban Planning.

Petra Schöfmann works in the field of Smart Energy and Urban Development as part of her work at the Energy Center, where she is mainly involved in the submission, coordination, and execution of projects.

Through completing studies in Efficient Energy Technology at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, as well as Urban Renewable Energy Systems at Technikum Wien, Petra Schöfmann gained several years of professional experience in building physics, (sustainable) energy systems, and project management.

Johannes Suitner is a trained Spatial Planner and researcher with journalist ambition. To the Future Cities team, he adds 10+ years of expertise on Vienna’s urban development from his tenure at TU Wien and University of Graz.

Being an urban and regional researcher, he thoroughly investigated Vienna’s position in the European metropolitan network, the city’s urban development and planning history, as well as processes of social innovation in energy transition projects. His dissertation shed light on the role of the arts and creativity in Vienna’s urban transformation and first coined the term “Imagineering” within urban planning. Beyond that, with lidovienna.at he presented an interactive storytelling project narrating the urban development history of Vienna’s left Danube riverbank.

At Urban Innovation Vienna he works on (among others) the development of Vienna’s Metropolitan Region, new urban development narratives, adaptation to climate change, and Vienna’s Diversity Monitor.

As a trained historian and innovation manager, Nikolaus Summer addresses urban challenges from multiple points of view. He generates knowledge from the past and the present to draw proper conclusions for a successful transformation of our cities.

He participated in one of the largest urban development projects in Vienna (aspern Die Seestadt Wien) for several years deepening and refining his expertise in the field. He is particularly interested in diffusion of innovation and in all methods for an effective implementation of smart city concepts respectively. As senior expert at Urban Innovation Vienna, Smart City Agency he is responsible for governance coordination, stakeholder management and project development i.a.

Thomas Vith works as an expert for strategic mobility development at the Energy Center Vienna. He focusses on urban mobility with special regards to new sharing concepts and mobility supply in the city’s periphery.

After completing his studies in sociology (University of Innsbruck & University College Cork, Ireland) and geography (University of Freiburg & Worcester Polytechnic Institute, USA) he gained expertise in the field of electric mobility while working as a project manager for a major charging station network. Central to his work at the Energy Center is the support of Vienna’s Department for Mobility Strategies (MA18 - Urban Development and Planning) in promoting the further alignment of the city towards more environmentally friendly and efficient transportation, especially in the field of shared mobility and Mobility as a Service (MaaS).

Matthias Watzak-Helmer is involved in the Energy Center Wien of Urban Innovation Vienna as an expert on local energy strategies. His areas of activity include energy efficiency, energy scenarios, and climate-active renewable heat.

He uses his affinity for numbers in preparing the energy report from the City of Vienna, assessing urban measures in terms of energy, or monitoring the Smart City Wien framework strategy within the scope of projects. He gained his technical expertise in renewable energy technologies and building technology through his studies in Efficient Energy Technology at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria in Wels and Georgia Tech in Savannah, USA.

As part of his work in the Smart City Agency, Florian Woller deals with communication, stakeholder management, as well as the coordination and realisation of projects.

During his education and work experience in the field of tourism, Florian Woller discovered the topic of sustainability for himself. Through an internship at Urban Innovation Vienna, he first came into contact with the topic of urban development and decided to combine these topics in his further academic education. Florian Woller has earned a degree in Environmental and Sustainability Management and, in addition to his work at Urban Innovation Vienna, currently studies Regional Planning and Development.