Österreichische Studiengesellschaft für Kybernetik (OSGK)
Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies

Freyung 6, A-1010 Vienna, Austria
Tel. +43-1-5336112-0, Fax: +43-1-5336112-77, Email: sec (at) ofai (dot) at

Aims:

The Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies is a non-profit organization of scientists and practitioners. It was founded in 1969. Its aims are "the study of the theoretical bases of cybernetics and its special fields, the investigation of its applications on technical, economic and social problems, its relations to problems studied in the natural sciences and the humanities; furthermore, the education in the methods of cybernetics and its technical aids, especially in electronic data processing; finally, the advancement of interdisciplinary studies, and the representation of Austria in international organizations" (Art.2 of the charter).

Research activities:

In 1984 the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence (OFAI) was established as a special research institution of the Society. It cooperates with international and national organisations, companies, and university and private research institutes.

Journals:

The society issues two journals:
Cybernetics and Systems: An International Journal
is the official journal of the Society, with 8 issues per year.
Applied Artificial Intelligence: An International Journal
was originally published quarterly till 1994 and has - due to its great success - changed to currently 10 issues per year.
Both journals are published by Taylor & Francis Group, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Education:

The Society offers introductory seminars on cybernetics and artificial intelligence, as well as specialized courses on selected topics in subdisciplines. The majority of the participants comes from firms, banks, universities, and ministries. As another activity, leading scientists or experts on applications are invited to give lectures about their latest work. More than 250 scientists from about 30 countries have been guest speakers of the Society so far.

Consulting:

On several occasions, the Society has been asked to serve in a consulting capacity on federal and civic projects.

Funds:

The Society covers the bulk of its costs by performing research projects either in cooperation with private companies or supported or commissioned by official institutions, especially the European Commision.

Governance:

The OSGK is governed by a Board which is elected by the annual General Assembly where all Ordinary Members of the OSGK convene.

International Relations:

The Society is a founding member of the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR), which has at present 24 member societies. It has cooperated with the Society for General Systems Research and the Netherlands Systems Group in establishing the IFSR. Furthermore, the Society invites non-Austrian scientists to join the Austrian group by becoming International Affiliates.

Conferences:

From 1972 until 2010, the Society organized its biennial European Meetings on Cybernetics and Systems Research.

OSGK is a member of:


Impressum