HTU.info – Submit an Article

Guidelines for Articles

Length

One page in htu.info is approximately 3800 characters of plain text. If images are added, the character count will be reduced accordingly. We can compensate for some deviations through layouting. On average, we would like around 3300 characters per page and one to two images or photos per page, i.e., per 3300 characters, provided in good resolution. File and image formats can be found below. You do not need to format the text.

All character counts include spaces.

We generally offer you one or two pages in htu.info. If the article turns out to be longer (3 or 4 pages), that is generally not a problem either. However, please contact us in advance so we can clarify this together.

If you include long URLs with many characters in your text that have not been shortened using a service like bit.ly or similar, we recommend that you also send a QR code for them. This makes it easier for your readers to access the page, as no one wants to type out long URLs.

Structure

Ordered by importance. If something is missing, we may supplement it at our discretion, omit it, or follow up on it.

• Body text: The article itself.
• Headline or title: A short sentence above the article. If it’s too long, it will be shortened. Length: up to approx. 25 characters.
• Subtitle or introduction: Briefly explains what the article is about. It is visually appealing and should pique interest in the article. Length: max. 70 characters.
• Subheadings: These can be inserted instead of the subtitle/introduction. They can make a text easier to read and draw attention, especially if there are several different topics in the article.
• Autor*in: Der oder die Name(n), der/die unter dem Artikel stehen soll. Optional ein ganz kurzer Satz über dich/euch selbst.
  • Author(s) picture: A picture of yourself/yourselves. This is, of course, not mandatory.
• Further information: For some articles, references to further information on the topic are very practical if the reader wants to learn more about it.
• Infobox: For some articles, it helps understanding if a term or concept is explained outside the main text. We can then implement this as an infobox.

Article Guidelines and Content

An article should comply with the Code of Ethics for the Austrian Press. Furthermore, it should – obviously – not be boring. As a small guideline: Would you like to read it yourself? Would you give it to your friends to read? Does it really not sound like a project paper or a factual report? Furthermore, the article should also be gender-neutral. Tips on this are provided below:

• Unless they are personal statements (quotes, interviews, etc.), articles for htu.info should always be gender-inclusive.
• When gendering, gender-neutral language should be used whenever possible. Example: “Studierende” (students) instead of “Studentinnen und Studenten” (female and male students).
• Non-gender-neutral statements should be written in dual form. The forms “Autor_innen” or “Autor*innen” are recommended for this.
• Words with a gender-specific background should be avoided if possible, but not inappropriately replaced.
• Statements that explicitly refer to one gender should not be gender-inclusive.

We also offer the possibility to print article series, i.e., an overarching topic that is covered in several consecutive htu.info articles. The following applies:

• Article series must be coordinated with the editorial team before the print of the issue in which they are to begin.
• At least the first two articles must be submitted at the beginning.
• The length and preferably also the titles/theme should be clearly defined from the outset. As a rule, series should not last longer than one academic year. Exceptions confirm the rule.

Deadlines must be strictly adhered to. The date of the next editorial deadline can usually be found on the department’s homepage.

If the subject matter requires it, deviations from the guidelines written above can be made. However, this must always be discussed with the editorial team.

File Format and Submission

Please send your article, including links to download photos/images, to artikel@htu.at.

We prefer articles in .TXT, .MD, .ODT, .DOC, .DOCX format, or via Google Doc or similar (please ensure permissions are set correctly, we do NOT use a Google account, so it must be publicly accessible). We now generally allow .PDF files, provided the images are sent separately.

It is not advisable to format the articles yourselves, as we manually apply any formatting. However, you can add comments if you have special requests (e.g., “please put this text in an infobox: …”), and we will try to accommodate them.

You can, of course, also send us a link where we can download the files (individually or packed as an archive). Again: Please ensure that NO special permissions are required.

Provide photos as high-resolution image files (.JPG, .TIFF) for download. Alternatively, send them separately in the email (*NOT* in the text document!). Important: We are UNABLE to use embedded images from .pdf files! Pixelated photos simply don’t look good when printed. And you surely want your images to be clearly recognizable.

If possible, send images (e.g., logos) in a vector format (.PDF, .EPS, .SVG, .PS, .AI), otherwise as high-resolution lossless files (.PNG, .TIFF).

Attention: Our mailbox does not allow attachments totaling over 10 MB and mails exceeding this size disappear WITHOUT NOTIFICATION to you or us. Therefore, for large files (images, photos, graphics, logos), always use a cloud provider to ensure we can download them. If this is not possible for you, we can also provide a link to upload them to our server. Please contact us before the editorial deadline of the respective issue if you wish to use this option.