Teaching at WU with EM/CEE Focus

Since the summer semester of 2025, the Competence Center has been conducting an ongoing analysis of courses offered at WU Wien that relate to its core topics of Emerging Markets and Central & Eastern Europe. The following sections provide an overview of the relevant courses identified through a keyword analysis. The center has created an overview of prevalent topics, patterns, regions, and departments, as well as how they have changed up to and including the summer semester 2026.

In addition, a list of the identified courses can be downloaded at the bottom of this page. 

Distribution by teaching programs

In the summer semester of 2026, approximately 43 relevant courses were offered. This represents an increase of about 8 % compared with the summer semester of 2025.

Almost 90% of these courses are offered at the Bachelor's level, while only around 10% are offered at the Master's level. No PhD-level courses were identified in 2026, compared with just one in 2025.

EM&CEE related courses in WU Master’s Programs

Among the master’s-level offerings, the Center’s specialized Masterclass CEE program accounts for half of the relevant courses.

In the summer semester of 2026, CEMS, the Master’s Program in International Management, also contributes a considerable share of the identified courses, while the master’s program in Taxation and Accounting is no longer represented. The Master of Laws (LL.M.) continues to offer relevant courses as well.

Clustering of the courses (BA and MA level)

Six major thematic clusters have been identified across the analyzed courses. These include, to a large extent, courses in the areas of ‘Sustainability’, ‘International Business Management & Marketing’, and ‘Business Communication & Language’. A significant share of courses also falls within the fields of ‘Global Economics & Socioeconomics’, ‘Intercultural Competence’, and ‘Law and Regulation’. Compared with the previous year, the summer semester of 2026 places an even stronger emphasis on sustainability-related topics, while international management has also become more prominent.

Dominant keywords

The list of identified courses was created by searching for all courses that include specific regional references (such as ASEAN, Africa, etc.) or thematic terms (such as developing countries, emerging markets, etc.). The frequency of these keywords provides an indication of which topics are relatively prominent. 

From a keyword perspective, ‘China’ stands out as a popular focus, often appearing as a case study in relation to Asia. Unsurprisingly, ‘Asia’ itself also continues to occur frequently, compared with the summer semester of 2025. The keyword ‘Russian’ remains to appear commonly, as it is often offered as a language course. In addition, ‘Turkey’ has become increasingly prevalent.

Other prevalent keywords include ‘(Eastern) Europe’ and ‘Emerging Markets’. However, the keyword distribution changed very little between 2025 and 2026.

Regional-to-cluster linkages

Using the keyword analysis, each course’s thematic cluster can be linked to the specific keyword through which it was identified. The chord diagram visualizes these connections, highlighting the relationships between regional keywords and their corresponding clusters. 

Within the ‘Sustainability’ cluster, there are strong connections to both ‘Latin America’, ‘China’, and since lately to ‘Turkey’, underscoring the emphasis on how global environmental and economic challenges intersect with these key regions. These connections have increased most notably compared to the summer semester of 2025.

The ‘Business Communication & Language’ cluster is closely tied to ‘Russia(n)’, reflecting the historical, social, and economic importance of language competence for engaging with Eastern Europe and post-Soviet contexts. Meanwhile, the ‘International Business Management & Marketing’ cluster shows pronounced links to ‘Emerging Markets’ and ‘Eastern Europe’, pointing to a strategic focus on business dynamics in rapidly developing economies and transitional regions. Compared with the previous year, the connection between international business and ‘Africa’ has considerably increased.

The world map

The world map visualization underscores these findings: CEE and Asia appear as the two dominant regional anchors, while individual courses extend coverage to regions such as Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. This shows the breadth of geographical focus offered by WU courses.

Overview of the EM&CEE courses at WU

Altogether, the results suggest that WU students are consistently exposed to topics that combine practical regional expertise with broader thematic approaches, equipping them to critically engage with economic, political, and social dynamics in global markets. It is noteworthy that sustainability has become a more prominent topic in courses related to Emerging Markets and Central & Eastern Europe over the course of the last academic year.

Finally, the identified courses can be downloaded as an Excel file.