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WU Executive Academy- Your business school in heart of Europe

28 November 2014 11:00 (UTC+04:00)
WU Executive Academy- Your business school in heart of Europe

By Sara Rajabova

Enjoying a qualified and innovative education is among the main goals of each of us who wants to build a successful career using his or her knowledge and abilities.

A lot of people around the world are interested in getting the MBA (Management of Business Administration) program to develop or improve their managing and leadership skills through the most effective, contemporary and innovative educational system.

Choosing MBA program is really a big decision. Meanwhile it is important to choose the right one. But the main question is which one to choose, which one is convenient to us and give us the high-level education in line with contributing to our career-building?

WU Executive Academy of the Vienne University of Economics and Business in the heart of Europe, Austria is one of the best choices for getting the most qualified, innovative and the convenient education.

The WU Executive Academy of the Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU) is Europe’s largest business university that has more than 100 years of experience. It has an excellent reputation in the field of executive education and belongs to the top 100 business universities worldwide.

The WU Executive Academy with world-renowned professors around the world, innovative and providing with the most up-to-date necessary knowledge, successful location and with a unique contemporary architectural landmark is in the list of high-ranking business schools of the world.

Why WU Executive Academy is unique?

There are several reasons that make WU Executive Academy unique and different from other business schools.

Prof. Bodo B. Schlegelmilch, Dean of the WU Executive Academy enumerates main reasons to choose this institution in an interview with AzerNews.

“As general statement, one has to bear in mind that there are a lot of business schools around the world and in particular a lot of MBA programs. One of the peculiar things is that nobody really knows exactly their numbers. The estimates, for example in board of the Association of MBAs (AMBA) we estimate the number between 12,000 and 15,000 programs, not schools but programs. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact number because if you start digging into the programs very often it turns out to be the so-called the “weekend MBA”, which is not real MBAs and don’t give the proper degrees,” Schlegelmilch said.

He said one of the reasons while choosing the business schools is the accreditation of them.

“The accreditation is like a quality check. The reason for that is bringing down the number somewhere from 12,000 and 15,000 to roughly 200 depending on the accreditation body. So, this brings down such huge mass of programs to closely defined and manageable number. Also, while choosing a school, it is very important to take into account the relevant ranking of the institution. One of the ranking is the Financial Times ranking. If the school is in this ranking, then it belongs to elite of business schools and in the list of 100 high-ranking schools,” Schlegelmilch said.

The Executive Academy is among the few executive education providers which hold sought-after accreditations from both EQUIS (European Quality Improvement System) and AMBA (Association of MBAs) two of the most prestigious international accrediting bodies.

With this, the WU Executive Academy is one of only two business universities in the German-speaking world to meet the high quality standards of both accreditations.

The Academy holds 42nd place in Financial Times European Business School Ranking (2013). It is the 62nd on Financial Times Executive MBA Ranking (2014).

International faculty, experienced professors

“There are several reasons making us distinguished from other schools. One of the reasons that we are proud of ourselves is having a number of students from many different countries. So, at the Executive Academy as a whole we have more than 80-85 different countries represented each year. So, it is our pleasure to seem like a mini-United Nations. It is very international and I think it is one of the defining features we have. Secondly, when we select students for MBA, we make sure that they have considerable industry experience. This is very important because people learn from each other. If you take different cultures, different industry experiences and adding to that the dimensions of different industries such as banking, manufacturing, marketing and etc. you will have people who come to a problem from very different sides. Maybe, some people have HR background. Some have financial background or manufacturing background. They work together on a case study. Sharing personal experiences is the best way of learning,” Schlegelmilch said.

He said another reason for an MBA at WU Executive Academy is that it compromises of very experienced professors from WU, as well as from prestigious universities and institutions around the globe.

“Another reason is that we have pretty good professors here, who are not only the best in Vienna but also we have professors from a network of universities with which we work. We are Europe’s largest business university with lots of students – 23,000-24,000 students each year. We have a very large network of partner universities, over 200 partner universities. The combination of our own faculty and picking the best ones from all these partner universities have turned us into a very strong and international faculty,” Schlegelmilch said.

The school’s international faculties consist of a pool of world-renowned professors and internationally-acclaimed industry experts. They are picked up from the WU Vienna and more than 200 international partner universities and some of the leading global organizations including the OPEC, IAEA and UNIDO. In recent years, the professors joined our school from the Carlson School of Management (U.S.), University of Bath (UK), Thunderbird School of Global Management (U.S.) and INSEAD (France) among others, providing the latest scientifically-based knowledge and a profound understanding of cutting–edge management tools.

Besides, for many of MBA modules, the Academy invites top managers from international companies and organizations to enrich the program with personal insights into management practice.

Vienna - multicultural metropolis

Another reason for choosing the WU Executive Academy is its location-Austria, which belongs to Europe’s most desired destinations. It is renowned for its history, culture, architecture and hospitality. Its capital city Vienna, the historical capital of the Habsburg monarchy for over six centuries, is a vibrant and exciting place to live and study and is an impressive repository of history and culture.

On the other hand, Vienna’s geographical position in the heart of Europe makes it a multicultural metropolis and an important site for international companies and organizations. Therefore, many multinational companies BMW, Canon, Henkel, Lukoil, Magna, Panasonic, Siemens or the UniCredit Group, the IAEA, the UNIDO and etc. have located their CEE or global headquarters in Vienna.

“Another advantage which we have is simply the location of our school. Vienna acts as a bridge between the West and East. It has a lot of contacts with Central Eastern Europe and Western Europe. Also, traditionally because of its neutrality position, it has always played the bridging function. That is an advantage. Also, we have a number of institutions in Vienna that often help us design and create good programs. The best example is our Energy MBA. The headquarters of many companies and organizations are located here. In computation, they bring to the table an excellent group of presenters and knowledge, which we can offer to students. For example, in Energy MBA we work with others in the executorial OPEC. Besides, if students need to learn about fossil fuel, they can talk to experts in IAEA, on hydro-electricity, they can talk someone in electricity companies and etc.,” Schlegelmilch said.

The portfolio of the WU Executive Academy includes MBA and Master of Laws programs, university certificate programs, open enrollment programs and custom programs. In recent years, it has become one of the leading providers of executive education in Central and Eastern Europe.

The most popular programs at WU Executive Academy are Global Executive MBA and Professional MBA with industry or functional specialization options that include Controlling, Energy Management, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Finance, Marketing & Sales and Project Management.

Career opportunities and alumni voices

As an MBA graduate of the WU Executive Academy, the students become part of a vast alumni network. Cross-cultural business relationships give alumni and their companies access to an extended global network and a range of exclusive alumni services.

The Academy also contributes to the career building and gives preferential access to national and international career opportunities.

“We try and stay in touch with alumnus. We work closely with international executive search firms. Towards the end of every program, the students have the opportunity to meet the representatives of search firms and present their CVs and discuss career options with them. Beyond that we also have the career center here at the University, which is very large,” Schlegelmilch said.

The alumnus told AzerNews that there are business environments which make it easier to build career and develop business.

“The classes in the Academy are very interesting with captivating debates. Even the most experienced students learn a lot from this program. You are always in research and search for new knowledge. The important thing is that you immediately apply your knowledge. Also, the use of technological innovations and English as a language make facilitate the education,” Aleyona Mitina, Head of CEE Private Banking Academy at UniCredit Bank Austria AG said.

“The WU Executive Academy’s MBA Energy Management is a compact program which enables people from non-technical backgrounds to gain a thorough knowledge of principal energy industries and related areas. The program is intensive, comprehensive and challenging. It prepares students effectively to excel in their current and professional obligations,” Gulmirza Javadov, Head of SOCAR’s Representative Office in Austria said.

“Describing my MBA program in a nutshell, I would like to point out three key aspects: An excellent reputation, a well-balanced curriculum and excellent career prospects. In fact, attending a part-time Professional MBA program means hard work as well. Therefore, I very much appreciate the modular structure, which fit perfectly my challenging full-time job,” Dmitry Osokin, a manager at Roche Pharmaceuticals, Austria said.

As one of the leading providers of executive education in Central and Eastern Europe, the WU Executive Academy supports high potentials to meet their educational and career goals by offering scholarships for its executive education programs.

The Academy provides global female scholarships to support women business. Together with Vedomosti it has founded scholarships for all citizens of CIS countries applying for the Global Executive MBA. It also awards with CEE scholarships all CEE citizens applying for the following Professional MBA specializations and etc.

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