Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies / Österreichische Studiengesellschaft für Kybernetik

About OSGK

The Austrian Society for Cybernetic Studies (German: Österreich­ische Studien­gesell­schaft für Kyber­netik, or OSGK) 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.

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

Activities

Research

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

Journals

Cybernetics and Systems: An International Journal was (until end of 2023) OSGK's official journal, with eight issues per year. Applied Artificial Intelligence: An International Journal prints ten issues per year. Both journals are published by Taylor & Francis.

Education

OSGK offers introductory seminars on cybernetics and artificial intelligence, specialized courses on selected topics in subdisciplines, and guest lectures by leading scientists and application experts.

Consulting

OSGK is on occasion asked to serve in a consulting capacity on federal and civic projects.

International Relations

OSGK is a founding member of the International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR). OSGK invites non-Austrian scientists to join the Austrian group by becoming International Affiliates.

Conferences

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

Our memberships

Federation of Austrian Scientific Societies
International Federation for Systems Research
Austrian Computer Society