Welcoming the World

Students come from all over the world to spend an exchange semester at WU or to attend one of our highly successful short programs.

30 years of ISU^WU

WU was among the first universities in Austria to launch an International Summer University program. Since then, the 3-week intensive programs have attracted students and faculty from around the globe. To date, nearly 6,000 students have attended these programs.

In 2019, around 200 students from 35 countries and 52 partner universities came to WU in July and August to learn more about international entrepreneurship, global leadership, and international marketing during both 3-week sessions.

What is the secret to these programs’ success?

ISU^WU provides participants with in-depth knowledge, delivered in a concentrated form. The programs’ syllabi extend far beyond basic business administration and include international and intercultural perspectives. Field trips and contacts to local companies give students valuable insights into business practice.

Project work in mixed-cultural teams features heavily in the programs. Students from around the world contribute the different perspectives and concepts of their home universities, as well as personal experience from their home countries.

Considerable emphasis is placed on building international networks, both in and out of the classroom. A comprehensive supporting program allows the visiting students to really get to know not only Vienna, but also their fellow students. ISU^WU tutors both organize and participate in these activities.

„ISU-WU’s program has helped me widen my horizons! More so, I felt like I was being taught to learn and apply some of the best corporate practices in play around the globe. It was an honor to be taught by such incredible professors.“

Natiqa Babar, University of British Columbia, ISU-WU 2019 participant

International teachers are happy to come to WU

ISU^WU is also attractive for lecturers from our partner schools. They not only appreciate the opportunity to see Vienna in the summer, but also the stimulating and challenging international atmosphere in the courses. WU lecturers and international instructors work together to plan the Summer University program.

„I was impressed by both the students and facilities. I found the student cohort at WU were a mini United Nations, and what impressed me most was their level of maturity allied to a proper grasp of the global political and economic context within which we have to do business in the 21st century, and in which they will have to manage, and eventually lead. Likewise, for anyone with even a passing interest in contemporary architecture, the WU campus is a wonderful modern juxtaposition with Vienna’s classical past. Couldn’t recommend it more highly, to be honest.“

Paul Chipperton, Queens’s University, ISU-WU faculty 2019

Learning innovation

WU is well known for its research on innovation. We also share our knowledge with international students in the annual Vienna Innovation Program^WU. The program is in great demand and the number of applications increases from year to year.

34 MBA students from WU partner schools in North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand and 14 WU master’s students participated in the program in 2019. Over 20 nationalities were represented among the students, and the intercultural teams benefited from the diversity of all their personal and professional backgrounds. Interactive teaching formats, a practical project, and top-class guest speakers on the topic of innovation management made the course a huge success.

Short visits – new experiences

WU organizes short programs for selected partner universities each year. WU students can also attend these programs, which give them the opportunity to make international contacts without even leaving Campus WU.

University of Georgia

In May, 22 students from the University of Georgia, Terry College of Business, came to WU, together with their program coordinator Lacey Runge and Professor Son Lam. The course “International Marketing and Management II: Special Topics in Marketing” was also open to WU bachelor’s students, giving them the opportunity to gain authentic insights into a US university’s teaching methods.

The US guests also took part in a comprehensive travel and sightseeing program, as well as numerous visits to local businesses and organizations.

Global Immersion Program

11 MBA students from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business spent a month at WU in the summer, focusing on Austria as a business location. The program of classes and company visits was rounded out with cultural activities.

WU is popular with exchange students

WU’s many incoming exchange students from around the world make the university a more international, intercultural place. In the 2018/19 academic year, 1,027 international students came to WU for an exchange semester. The largest numbers of students came from the USA, Canada, China, Italy, and France. Among the most important reasons exchange students chose to come to WU are not only the attractiveness of the city of Vienna and its quality of life but also WU’s good reputation and its portfolio of English-taught courses and programs. In the 2018/19 academic year, about 90% of the incoming exchange students attended courses held in English.

Good Reasons to Go Abroad

International Contacts