Room and Auditorium Sponsoring
Rooms have been available for sponsoring since WU’s move to the new campus in 2013. WU’s partners can opt to sponsor all spaces used by students – from the smallest project room to the University Library. Rooms are in high demand: A number of well-known companies have taken advantage of this chance to establish their presence on campus.
Our cooperation with reputable companies benefits our students as well – some of our corporate partners use the rooms they sponsor for interesting events that allow students to gain insights into the company and experience business first hand. In 2016, the Austrian central bank, OeNB, held a workshop on money and monetary policy, for example. At the workshop, experts explained the central bank’s approach to the use of money in talks on topics like “The past, present, and future of cash,” or “The distribution of money in Austria,” or “What is money?” In closing, OeNB Governor Ewald Nowotny talked about current challenges in monetary policy.
Encouraging High-Potential Students
The WU Top League is an honors program for high-potential students. After a selective admissions procedure, qualified students receive coaching and support from experienced student mentors and have the opportunity to gain valuable insights into business life at workshops, company presentations, and field trips offered by the program’s corporate partners. The WU Top League was sponsored by the Austrian rail company ÖBB and UNIQA insurance group in 2016, and the BDO tax accountancy came on board as a new partner.
WU Study Acceleration Programs
WU has been holding its study acceleration programs Summer University, Winter University, and Spring University (offered only in years with a three-week spring break) since 2001. Without the generous support of its sponsors, WU would not be able to offer these programs, which give students the opportunity to take especially popular courses that are usually booked up during the semester during university breaks. An average of 25–30 courses are offered, focusing mainly on business administration, law, and economics.
In 2016, Allianz Elementar Versicherungs-AG was the exclusive sponsor of the Winter and Summer University programs. A highlight of this collaboration was the Allianz Work Study workshop on employer branding, which allowed students to contribute ideas on designing Allianz’s brand as an employer, under the motto “Allianz is a home for those who dare.” Allianz HR experts also offered students a free CV review. Participating students had the chance to be selected for an internship with Allianz.
Social Mobility Scholarships
In Austria, the level of education an individual will attain still depends to a large extent on his or her social background. Upward mobility in education is rare. This is also true for WU: Students from families with low educational levels are underrepresented at our university. This is why we have introduced the WU4You program. With this program, we want to help talented high-potential students from low-income families study at WU. With the support of several renowned organizations as sponsors, we were able to award eight scholarships starting in the 2016/17 academic year.