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Sustainability

Responsible Management Education

In 2012, FHWien der WKW integrated the topics of business ethics and corporate governance into the curricula of all its management study programs. Since 2023, sustainability has been a central component of all Bachelor’s and Master’s programs at FHWien der WKW as an interdisciplinary topic.

FHWien der WKW has been signatory to the “Principles for Responsible Management Education” (PRME) initiative since 2015. Initiated by the UN Global Compact, PRME aims to emphasize the central role of universities in promoting sustainable development in business and society.

The focus is on training leaders who think and act sustainably in economic, ecological, and social terms.

Logo PRME Sustainable Development Goals United Nations

Contact

Competence Center for Sustainability
Dr.in Katharina de Melo
Head of Competence Center for Sustainability

Tel.: +43 690 40 476 155

Principles for Responsible Management Education

Participating universities commit to aligning their core competencies – teaching and research – as well as their operations and strategies with seven core principles. These include integrating responsible management concepts and practices into curricula and pedagogy, or engaging with people from business, government, civil society and academia to advance responsible and accountable management education and practice.

FHWien der WKW is an active participant in the work of the PRME D-A-CH Chapter and has been a track leader and/or presenter at the annual Responsible Management Education Research (RMER) conference. Four “Sharing Information on Progress” (SIP) reports were submitted in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Sharing Information on Progress (SIP) Report

SIP REPORT #4: Reporting Period 2021–2023
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SIP REPORT #3: Reporting Period 2019–2021
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SIP REPORT #2: Reporting Period 2017–2019
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SIP REPORT #1: Reporting Period 2015–2017
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Responsible Management Lectures (RML): Ideas for Better Business

The RML (formerly “CGBE-Lectures”) are a lecture series open to FHWien’s students as well as the interested public. Since 2012, leading international experts from academia and practice have presented their perspectives on a topic in the field of business ethics and corporate responsibility and discussed them with the audience.

Lectures are held in English and take place each semester. For current and past lecture dates, see the Research News.

Sustainability Change Agents

The “Change Agents for Sustainability” module is an English-language, extracurricular activity open to all active students at FHWien der WKW. The module was developed by the “Change for Corporate Sustainability” competence team (funded by MA23 City of Vienna).

It was first offered as a pilot project during the winter semester of 2022/23 and repeated in the winter semester of 2023/24. The objective of this module is to promote individual competencies that enable participants to initiate changes towards sustainability within organizations.

From the winter semester 2024/25, the module will be part of the program of the Center for International Education & Mobility (CIEM) at FHWien of WKW. Participation is open to all students of FHWien of WKW, regardless of their study program or prior knowledge.

Theses

Master students at the FHWien of WKW are encouraged to deal with various aspects of “responsibility and sustainability” in their Master theses. In 2022 and 2023, a total of 220 Bachelor’s and 128 Master’s theses were successfully completed on sustainability topics. These theses were completed across all study programs and included topics such as

  • the influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on employee commitment.
  • the influence of energy-efficient buildings on financial performance in the hospitality sector.
  • the role of the media in the formation and maintenance of HIV/AIDS stigma.
  • micro-foundations of dynamic capabilities for circular business model transformation.

Ambitious students who wish to engage deeply with a clearly defined research question within the research focus will be supported in identifying and refining relevant questions from both academia and business practice.