Award for the best Masterthesis

As part of the WU Alumni Lounge at the WU Summer Festival on June 11, 2026, the winners of the Talenta Awards 2026 and the Engelbert Dockner Foundation Master Thesis Awards 2026 were brought into the spotlight.  

Together with the City of Vienna, WU awards the best Bachelor’s and Master’s theses each year with the prestigious Talenta Prize. Excellence, social relevance, accessibility, and diversity are the key criteria. The winners receive a certificate and a cash prize, provided by the City of Vienna.  

Congratulations to our QFin alumna and VGSF student Lina Arustamyan on receiving the Talenta Award 2026 for her outstanding Master’s thesis, supervised by Prof. Alexander Mürmann.

Lina's award-winning research looks at how entrepreneurs can strategically communicate with investors during uncertain times. Using Bayesian belief, Q-learning, and social learning models, her findings show that targeted information sharing can outperform full transparency, leading to faster funding and better alignment of investors' opinions.

A well-deserved recognition!