Infineon Austria and ORF launch the third round of the "Women's Award for Digitalization and Innovation"

Business & Financial Press

Sep 22, 2025

Vienna, Villach, 22 September 2025 - Women with a passion for technology can now submit their theses, which they have written as part of their STEM education, for the "Women's Award for Digitalization and Innovation" via https://extra.ORF.at. Now in its third year, the prize organized by ORF and Infineon Technologies Austria offers talented women the chance to put their innovative work in the spotlight and attract the attention of the industry.

After the two successful editions with around 70 submissions each, ORF, Austria's largest media company, and Infineon, the world market leader in power electronics and a pioneer in the semiconductor industry, are sending a strong signal for the promotion of women in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

The award actively contributes to supporting the training and career entry of women in the STEM sector. At the same time, it makes visible how diverse and successful women can contribute their skills in a technological and digital environment and underlines how exciting and attractive a career in these fields is, especially for women.

All information and details about the competition as well as submission options are available at https://extra.ORF.at.

Dipl.-Ing.in Dr.in Sabine Herlitschka, MBA, CEO Infineon Technologies Austria: "Technological progress thrives on diversity and new perspectives. With the 'Women's Award for Digitization and Innovation', we are honoring female graduates for the third time who are helping to shape digital and technological progress with their outstanding achievements and ideas. The joint initiative of ORF and Infineon Austria thus sets an important example: it makes female role models visible, gives young women orientation and encouragement and strengthens Austria as a location for innovation in the long term."

Dr. Harald Kräuter, ORF Director of Technology and Digitization: "With this Award, we not only want to award prizes, but also open up career paths, because it is still not a matter of course that women go into the fields of technology and digitization and make a career there.  As a public media company, ORF stands for creativity and innovation, and this comes from diversity. That is why we consciously invest in the talents of tomorrow and create concrete opportunities for young women in the tech industry. We are delighted to be able to award this prize together with Infineon for the third time."   

The details of the competition

Women who have written theses at an HTL, university of applied sciences, college or university in Austria in 2024 and 2025 (departmental, bachelor's and master's theses, dissertations) can take part. Theses from 2023 can also be submitted, provided they have not already been submitted to the last call for entries. We are looking for outstanding work in the fields of information and communication technology, engineering, natural sciences, media systems and creative technologies. There is also a special focus on sustainable technologies ("Tech for Green" special prize) and young talent ("Young Talents" special prize for HTL graduates).

The submission period runs from September 22, 2025 to December 7, 2025 at 12:00 noon. All registrations and submissions must be made via https://extra.ORF.at

After a pre-selection by an advisory board, the finalists will present their work to a top-class jury of experts in Vienna on March 5, 2026. The winners and special award winners will be honored at a festive event.

Prizes and awards

The "Women's Award for Digitization and Innovation" is endowed with EUR 10,000 (1st place), EUR 5,000 (2nd place) and EUR 2,000 (3rd place). The special prizes "Young Talents" (EUR 1,000) and "Tech for Green" (EUR 2,000) will also be awarded.

The winners will also have the opportunity to complete internships at ORF Technik and Infineon Austria. Places at the Infineon Winter or SummerSchool are also available.

Further information, registration and submission

All information and details on the "Women's Award for Digitization and Innovation" are now available at https://extra.ORF.at. Women can also register to take part via this page. Further information can be found on the ORF-TELETEXT page 466 and at www.infineon.com/presseaustria.

About Infineon Austria

Infineon Technologies Austria AG is a subsidiary of Infineon Technologies AG, a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT. Semiconductors are essential for mastering the energy-related challenges of our time and helping to shape the digital transformation. Infineon's microelectronics drive decarbonization and digitalization and enable groundbreaking solutions for green and efficient energy, clean and safe mobility as well as a smart and secure IoT.


Infineon Austria pools competencies for research and development, production as well as global business responsibility. The head office is in Villach, with further branches in Graz, Klagenfurt, Linz, Innsbruck and Vienna. With 5,977 employees (including around 2,500 in research and development) from 78 nations, the company generated revenue of EUR 4.8 billion in the 2024 fiscal year (ending 30 September). With research expenditure of 686 million euros, Infineon Austria is the strongest research company in Austria.

Further information is available at www.infineon.com/austria

About ORF

The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) is a public service media organization and Austria’s largest TV/Radio/Online provider with its headquarters located in Vienna. 6,1 mio.​ use the rich variety of program offers daily: 4.5 mio. listen to the radio daily, 3,6 mio. watch the ORF-TV-programs and 123,8 mio. users visit the ORF-websites monthly. The company operates four national television and twelve radio channels, a comprehensive range of websites, a regional Radio/TV-studio in each of the nine federal provinces and a worldwide network of correspondents – they all supply the Austrian audience with public service value. The company offers 24/7 news coverage, is a cultural mediator and event organizer, produces regional content for strengthening Austrian identity and provides minority groups with broadcasts in their native languages. Furthermore, ORF produces Austrian entertainment for millions of listeners, viewers and users in all genres. Being formally a foundation under public law with about 3.000 employees, ORF is not profit-oriented and submits a balanced budget. The organs of ORF are the Foundation Council, the Director General and the Audience Council. The legal supervision is the responsibility of the regulatory authority KommAustria.

Press Photos

Women's Award for Digitalization and Innovation

Women's Award for Digitalization and Innovation

Women with a passion for technology can now submit their theses, which they have written as part of their STEM education, for the "Women's Award for Digitalization and Innovation" via https://extra.ORF.at.

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Women's Award 2024

Women's Award 2024

Dr. Harald Kräuter, ORF Director for Technology and Digitization and Dipl.-Ing.in Dr.in Sabine Herlitschka, MBA, CEO Infineon Technologies Austria AG

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Winners of the Women's Advancement Award 2024

Winners of the Women's Advancement Award 2024

From left: Dr. Harald Kräuter (ORF Director of Technology and Digitization) Dipl.-Ing.in Dr.in Sabine Herlitschka, MBA (CEO Infineon Technologies Austria AG) MMag.a Dr.in Susanne Raab, Federal Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media Anna Wolff, B.Sc. M.Sc. (special prize “Tech for Green”) Dipl.-Ing. Dr.mont. Helene Waldl (1st place) Dipl.-Ing. Lorena Gril (2nd place) Tamara Zieher, MSc. (3rd place)

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