Wolfgang Polt studied Economics and Business Informatics at the University of Vienna. Diploma work on "Theories of business behaviour – a contribution to the microfoundations of macroeconomics" (supervision: Prof. Streissler).
In 2005 – 2006, he completed the „Neuwaldegger Curriculum“-systemic qualification for consultant and corporate development.

Wolfgang Polt has been involved in mayor evaluations of research, technology and innovation policies and programmes both at the national and international level and has worked on methodological questions of impact assessment and policy evaluation. Other strands of his research concern international comparisons of national innovation systems in the context of the EU (CREST, ERAwatch) and the OECD (country reviews of national innovation systems), as well as analysis and policy consulting on the questions of governance of science, technology and innovation policy. He has been one of the study directors of the INNOVATION IMPACT project and a partner in the ImpLore project, which tried to identify the impact of R&D programmes on innovation.

 Wolfgang Polt is Management Committee Member of the EWN