Promoting talented students
WU4You
Social background is often a deciding factor for young people’s educational careers. With WU4You, WU initiated a scholarship program for particularly talented high school students from financially disadvantaged families. Thanks to our 6 generous sponsors, we were able to provide high-potential first-year students with scholarships again in 2019. Sponsors had the opportunity to get to know the scholarship students in person at the WU4You kick-off event in October.
Currently, 25 WU4You scholarship recipients are studying at WU. The first WU4You student graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2019, after completing the program in the minimum possible time.
WU Top League
The WU Top League is an honors program for high-potential students. First-year students who passed their Austrian or international school-leaving exams with honors are eligible to apply. Participants benefit from:
- A network of highly motivated fellow students
- Academic support in small-group coaching sessions
- Insights into business practice from our corporate sponsors
- Widening their horizons at cultural and academic events
- Consulting and support from tutors and mentors
- A certificate confirming completion of the program
Our 2 sponsors (BDO and Uniqua) and our program partner (ÖBB) accompany participants through the program, thus gaining access to a pool of particularly highly motivated students and potential future employees. Event partnerships are a further opportunity for potential sponsors to get to know the WU Top League students and the program itself at special events.
Getting in touch with graduates
Around 2,800 WU graduates are presented with a fashionable bag from the WU collection at graduation each year. Companies have the opportunity to include their own employer branding materials in the bags and introduce themselves to graduates as potential employers. In 2019, 15 companies from a variety of different sectors took advantage of this offer.
Room and auditorium sponsoring
By sponsoring rooms and auditoriums on Campus WU, companies can show their strong ties to our university. Sponsored rooms are renamed, making this connection visible to students and the public.
Currently, the following companies and institutions are sponsoring rooms or auditoriums on Campus WU: RBI, OeNB, and Wiener Städtische insurance; Red Bull extended its existing sponsoring contract for the Red Bull auditorium for a further 3 years in 2019.
Our sponsors are also welcome to present themselves to students at events: RBI, for example, hosted the WU Tandem Learning Event at the Raiffeisen Language Resource Center, and in the fall, Red Bull invited students to join them for a break from their stressful classes in the Red Wings Lounge.
To make sure there’s a suitable space for every sponsor, we are also looking for partners for smaller project rooms and carrels. In 2019, we published a brochure and a sponsoring folder focusing on these areas.
Promoting events
We throw a big party to mark the end of the academic year, and this year, around 8,000 people attended our now traditional Summer Celebration on June 13. Visitors enjoyed the varied program, complete with a street food market and live music.
Sponsors had the opportunity to present their brands in lounges, with product samples, and as raffle prizes.
WU Alumni Lounge
WU alumni of all ages met in the WU Alumni Lounge on the roof terrace of the Mensa cafeteria for a relaxed summer gathering. Sponsors were also represented at this event, or supported us with prizes for the raffle.
A big “thank you” to our sponsors!
In the spring, we invited our sponsors to a buffet dinner on campus, to give the Rector’s Council the chance to thank all our sponsors for their support. Tatjana Oppitz, at the time designated Vice-Rector for Infrastructure and Digitalization, held a talk on making an active contribution to the digital future and introduced the main cornerstones of a successful digitalization strategy. Companies who want to profit from digitalization, she says, have to act fast, base their actions on sustainable strategies and digital concepts right from the start, and find solutions for the challenges digitalization brings.