FHV graduate wins first place at Mechatronics Platform Austria

His success is no coincidence: Marco completed his master's degree in summer 2025 with distinction at the FHV. First place at the Mechatronics Platform Austria is impressive proof of his professional expertise and the close connection between research, teaching and practice at the FHV. The cooperation between students, the Programme Director and the Research Centres creates ideal conditions for such top achievements.

Studying and working: an intensive but ideal combination

While Marco was completing his master's degree, he continued to work full-time at Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH. Well organized in order to combine work and studies and with great personal commitment, he acquired sound theoretical and practical specialist knowledge. In his master's thesis, the 35-year-old dealt with the partial space monitoring of ropeways, a challenging subfield of dynamics. The ambitious goal: to develop new monitoring methods. "The work is highly technically relevant. I'm pleased to see the depth with which the topic was dealt with," explains Fadi Dohnal, Head of the Microtechnology Research Centre and supervisor of the master's thesis. 

What Marco found particularly exciting about the topic was the application of modern control and observation methods to complex technical systems. "I am fascinated by how optimizations can be identified and implemented through targeted modelling and observation," he says, describing his motivation. Programme Director Benedikt Reick is also impressed: "Master's theses offer the ideal opportunity to combine theory and practice at a high level. Even if the developed method is not yet in operational use, its great value lies in the innovation potential for future applications."

Learning to solve problems

Marco has been enthusiastic about Mechatronics for a long time. He began his apprenticeship as an automotive mechatronics technician at Daimler AG in Hamburg back in 2009. The combination of mechanics and electrical engineering fascinated him right from the start: "Mechatronics is a key technology for me, especially with a view to the future. From electrically assisted everyday products to vehicles and highly complex cable car systems - almost every mechanical system contains electrical and intelligent components. This is becoming increasingly important for sustainable solutions and the responsible interaction of artificial intelligence and humans in science and Engineering and Technology." Marco is still guided by a quote from Galileo Galilei: "Curiosity always stands at the first place of a problem that wants to be solved. "I cultivated this attitude of remaining curious, asking questions and tackling complex problems systematically during my studies and it has had a lasting impact on me," he says.

About the Mechatronics Platform Austria

The Mechatronics Platform Austria, an association of mechatronics degree programmes at eight Austrian universities of applied sciences, annually awards prizes for the best theses in the country. In this high-caliber environment, Marco Palmieri was able to prevail against strong competition and also secure prize money.

You can find all information about the master's degree programme in Mechatronics at the FHV ⇒ here.