Annual Report 2025

The year 2025 in the Communication Management study programs was shaped by the examination of social and technological developments. Teaching focused on the further development of future-oriented didactics, in particular through e-learning modules featuring AI tutors to build academic skills and the application-oriented integration of artificial intelligence into courses.

Our research addressed social aspects of the digital media world, such as personalized news feeds and the influence of disinformation on social coexistence.

At the same time, academic excellence was on display. Several Master’s theses were awarded the Franz Bogner Science Prize, and another took third place in the edcom Graduation Competition. The newly established Excellence Club also offers committed students a framework for in-depth support.

In practical projects with Amundi and HDI Insurance, our students demonstrated strong communication skills in the area of financial and insurance products. They developed sustainable communication strategies for the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens, the Global Incubator Network Austria, the Austrian Disability Council, Teach for Austria, and UNICEF. In addition, RMS Austria implemented students’ event concepts in an event.

International exchange was strengthened through short-term mobility programs: students worked in Blended Intensive Programs (BIPs) on storytelling for the marketing of three Belgian cities and developed campaigns for a global brand for the Ad Venture Competition together with Georgian students. Furthermore, a case study by FHWien der WKW on sustainability communication was included in Philip Kotler’s “Essentials of Modern Marketing”.

In 2025, the Digital Economy study programs continued to closely integrate teaching with applied research and development. Scientific activities are concentrated in the Institute for Digital Transformation and Strategy, which together with the study programs forms the Department of Digital Economy. The findings are incorporated into teaching and disseminated in lectures and journals. Our researchers focused primarily on the effects and applications of artificial intelligence (AI), the use of generative AI to support innovation processes, and the strengthening of digital skills in SMEs and in education.

Studying in a Hybrid Format

The Bachelor’s program in Digital Business again offered 60 places for first-semester students. Both this Bachelor’s program and our two Master’s programs were delivered with approximately 60% online instruction and 40% on-campus instruction. This proven hybrid format gives students substantial flexibility while also promoting teamwork and exchange with lecturers.

New Bachelor’s Specialization: AI for Business

For the first time, students in the Bachelor’s program in Digital Business were able to choose the new specialization “AI for Business.” It equips students with competencies in working with AI-based information systems and addresses the application of AI in business contexts.

Highly Connected and Project-oriented Master’s Programs

The new Master’s programs in Digital Innovation and Digital Technology & Innovation are closely linked organizationally. Students learn to work in interdisciplinary teams and to quickly familiarize themselves with new technologies. The core of both programs is a comprehensive innovation project comprising 24 ECTS credits – ranging from customer-centered development of innovative digital solutions and the programming of software prototypes to designing the technical and commercial rollout.

Our first project partner in the Master’s programs was Bank Gutmann AG. We would like to express our sincere thanks for the constructive collaboration and the trust placed in us.

In 2025, the Financial Management program saw several exciting developments in teaching:

The “Interdisciplinary Case Studies” course has become a permanent part of the curriculum. It connects our core subject areas and key topics – financial accounting, cost accounting, corporate finance, controlling, and tax law – from a real-world perspective. First, specialists from our partner organizations present concrete challenges drawn from their day-to-day business practice. Students then have the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a hands-on way and develop proposed solutions. This creates a positive cycle of practical know-how and academic exchange at the university.

The use of Bloomberg Terminals was expanded to additional courses. Bloomberg Terminals open up a wide range of practice-oriented learning opportunities for students and offer a dual benefit: Students build strong technical expertise while also gaining experience with an internationally established financial system using current market data.

In 2025, students in the Bachelor’s program in Finance, Accounting & Taxation also completed four engaging practical projects. These projects provided an ideal opportunity for all students to apply the theoretical knowledge they had acquired in practice and learn from experts. Each project focused on a specific topic in taxation and was supervised by professionals from a well-regarded tax advisory firm.

In 2025, digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) shaped our study programs’ activities in research and teaching as well as our collaborations. In practical projects with our partner companies TUI, kununu, and hokify, students addressed current HR issues relating to digitalization and reorganization processes, as well as Generation Alpha’s application behavior.

With the increasing importance of AI, future skills became a greater focus of degree program development. The question of which skills will be relevant in the future in practice-oriented higher education was systematically addressed. A practical project and continuous exchange with experts and cooperation partners from industry formed the basis for a further competence-oriented orientation of the curricula. At the same time, the focus was on the effects of AI on academic operations, particularly with regard to teaching and examination formats and theses. Targeted continuing education measures supported lecturers in the ongoing development of our innovative learning formats.

To balance the increased use of AI, agile, self-organized, and experience-based learning formats were further expanded. One focus was on the organizational laboratory in the Master’s program. In cooperation with TH Köln and ESB Reutlingen, around 70 students took part in an intensive learning setting on group dynamics and micropolitical processes in organizational development.

In addition, the department worked with students to design and implement several HR events. One highlight was the second Transformation Camp in the German-speaking region in cooperation with fifty1, which attracted around 200 participants. In addition, workshops on artificial intelligence in human resources and resistance to change processes were held in collaboration with Work Smart Circle Austria. The visibility of the study programs was also reflected in its nomination for the “HR People of the Year” award at the HR Inside Summit in Vienna’s Hofburg Palace.

My sincere thanks go to all lecturers and cooperation partners for their dedicated collaboration and a successful 2025.

In 2025, the Journalism & Media Management study programs focused on engaging with artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on journalism. Particular attention was paid to the ethical, social, and practical dimensions of AI. Discussions around AI-driven disinformation, the use of AI in editorial processes, and its implications for journalism education ran as a common thread throughout the year.

Internationalization and Intercultural Exchange

For the tenth time, the International School of Multimedia Journalism brought together students from Austria, Denmark, Georgia, and Ukraine. To mark the anniversary, the program looked back on a decade of intercultural exchange. The theme was “AI Applied – Impact on Society, Democracy & Culture.”

The radio project Europe On Air explored what it means to be human in the digital age, illustrating how radio producers across national borders are negotiating topics such as humanity and media literacy in the context of AI.

Research Priorities and Insights

Research in our study programs focused on AI, transformation, and trust, as well as the reception of war reporting. Gisela Reiter, Marian Adolf, and Andreas Hess presented their findings at international conferences and in specialist publications. As part of our cooperation with the ORF Public Value Competence Center, the fourteenth Public Value Lecture took place – attracting a large audience with its focus on the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna.

Partnerships and Support for Emerging Talent

The Sports Journalism workshop once again gave participants insights into the work of a sports reporter. The Journalism Young Talent Award gained further backing from the industry and was awarded with the support of Der Standard and Kurier as well as, for the first time, ORF and the Austrian Media Academy (ÖMA). As part of the Excellence Club, which supports outstanding students, the first class was honored.

The Management & Entrepreneurship study programs prepare students in both the Bachelor’s and Master’s programs at various levels for future leadership roles. This preparation is especially practice-oriented.

In the summer semester of 2025, the Bachelor’s program in Management & Entrepreneurship hosted its largest Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) to date at FHWien der WKW. More than 150 students and lecturers from four renowned universities focused on the topic of family business. In addition, students took part in two other international events: the Retail Challenge in Vilnius and the Innovation Challenge with Avans University.

In the winter semester of 2025/26, the Bachelor’s program in Management & Entrepreneurship successfully implemented a new Bachelor’s thesis model for the first time, providing more intensive support through regular academic discussions and presentations. In the Master’s program, the module “Interdisciplinary Reflections” was offered for the first time; in it, students engage with topics outside their field – such as a theater workshop – thereby broadening their management perspectives.

This year’s range of practical projects once again covered the full spectrum of entrepreneurial activity. Examples included work on skills development and career advancement (client: the Parliamentary Administration), communication concepts for restrooms (tissu4u), organizational development (PDW Logistik), and leadership and employee experience in the finance sector (Federal Ministry of Finance).

The year 2025 was marked by an intensive engagement with artificial intelligence, its impact on the profession, and the resulting implications for teaching. A research contribution in the edited volume “Digital Economy: The New Rules of the Game for Companies” also examined the competencies marketers need in the age of AI.

Another focus was on internationalization and short-term mobility programs. At our university, we implemented a Blended Intensive Program (BIP) with Mondelez. In addition, Bachelor’s students completed a BIP in Belgium, where they analyzed the Belgian beer market. Our researchers presented a study on number-based sustainability communication as well as other studies on the image of tourism destinations and stereotypical perceptions of service staff at international, high-profile conferences.

Our students demonstrated their professionalism in numerous practical projects. They developed out-of-home approaches for Gewista, concepts for the FEWA and Silan brands for Henkel, a volunteer campaign for T.I.W., positioning concepts for T-Systems, and a digitization solution for the Red Cross in Lower Austria. Ideas for a new loyalty program were also developed for the XXXLutz Group.

Another focus was the promotion of academic excellence through the newly established Excellence Club. The awards for several Master’s theses are therefore particularly gratifying: One graduate of the Excellence Club received the Alfred Gerardi Memorial Prize for her thesis, while another Master’s thesis was honored at the edcom Graduation Competition.

In 2025, our study programs once again put a strong emphasis on real-world practice:

In a hands-on project in the Bachelor’s program, students explored the question of how to invest €100 million wisely. They were tasked with developing investment strategies for an institutional investor based on rigorous analysis. The project was supported by Jenni Wenkel from Union Investment Real Estate Austria.

The “Real Estate Project” course in the Master’s program in Real Estate Management focused on analyzing a current real estate project provided by a cooperation partner. Students were asked to develop ideas that take conditions in the Vienna market into account. The goal was to enhance the property by identifying suitable uses. The project proposals were presented to the owner and an expert jury using architectural scale models.

During several field trips, our students gained insights into the realities of Vienna’s real estate market. They visited the following projects:

• Danube Flats
• Village im Dritten
• Schuhmanngasse

At the ImmQu awards ceremony – held this time at FHWien der WKW – the top students from the five Austrian universities offering real estate degree programs, as well as the author of the best Master’s thesis, were honored.

All students had the opportunity to meet peers from Dublin, Antwerp, Berlin, and Hamburg during a Blended Intensive Week in Vienna focused on the Vienna real estate market. Together, the students worked on assigned tasks.

On a field trip to Hamburg, our Bachelor’s and Master’s students visited selected real estate projects in the Hanseatic city and exchanged views with project developers and investors.

In addition, our study programs hosted events on the legal dimensions of using artificial intelligence, Austria’s nonprofit housing law, and ESG in the Austrian real estate sector. These events provided our students and other participants with practical, industry-relevant know-how and the opportunity to build new connections in the real estate industry.

Tourism has once again demonstrated its adaptability in 2025: Leisure and business travel remained stable, while destinations and tourism businesses increasingly focused on developing sustainable, resilient, and quality-oriented offerings. As a result, skills that combine economic performance with a sense of responsibility for the places where people live and work are moving into sharper focus.

This development shaped the activities of the Tourism & Hospitality Management study programs across teaching, research, and partnerships. In the Master’s program, the interdisciplinary nexus between urban planning and the visitor economy was further embedded. This became tangible at the international conference “Caring for the City” (September 24–26, 2025), which brought together academia and industry to address sustainable urban and tourism development. At the same time, engagement with artificial intelligence (AI) was intensified: A certificate now strengthens students’ competence in applying AI; and, together with colleagues from the Department of Communication, our study programs delivered a workshop on creating teaching chatbots at EuroCHRIE 2025 in The Hague.

In the dual variant of the Bachelor’s program, collaboration with industry partners was further deepened. The practical training phases strengthened the link between study and employment and supported the transfer of current industry requirements into the curricula. In addition, the Tourism & Hospitality study programs assumed the chair of DUSTÖ (Duales Studium Österreich), sending a clear signal in support of advancing this study format within Austria’s higher-education and corporate network.