Welcome to the Institute for Higher Education Management

The Institute for Higher Education Management is part of the Department of Strategy and Innovation at WU and is led by Univ. Prof. Dr. Barbara Sporn.

IHM activities include research, teaching, policy advising and external engagement with different stakeholders, as well as involvement in international associations. Areas of interest at IHM combine theories of business and management applied to the complex organization of universities. With this focus, IHM provides insights for higher education scholars and practitioners but also beyond that for research and practice interested in expert and nonprofit organizational settings.

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Publications

This year again, within the course 'Professional Development Workshop - Leading Complex Organizations,' we had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Dominik Heinrich from the World Food Programme. Dr. Heinrich is the head of the WFP's Innovation Division and was able to provide students with impressive insights as well as interesting information about innovations and changes in humanitarian response. We are pleased and grateful that Dr. Heinrich shares his many years of experience and immense knowledge with us and our students.

WU students are taking action. In partnership with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), master’s students from the Strategy, Innovation and Management Control (SIMC) program are driving innovation that directly supports humanitarian operations across the world. More about the (global) impact of this collaboration can be found here.

We are pleased to announce that the book Organisational and Management Theories in Higher Education has been published, featuring a chapter by Prof. Barbara Sporn. This insightful book offers forward-looking conceptual tools and a practice-oriented guide for navigating rapid change in higher education amid accelerating technological, economic, and social transformation.

We are pleased to present an interesting publication on the topic "Mergers of Higher Education and Research Institutions: Possible Effects on Research, Teaching, Knowledge Transfer, and International Visibility."

What effects can arise from mergers or other forms of integration, such as institutionalized cooperation between higher education and research institutions? This position paper (White Paper) reviews the international evidence on this question against the backdrop of the highly fragmented Austrian higher education and university sector compared to other European countries, as well as the numerous non-university (basic) research institutions. It highlights various current trends that favor larger entities and provides international examples from European countries.

During the upcoming summer term we offer the following courses with interesting (guest-)lecturer:

LV 5155: Business Planning and Performance Management

LV 6074: Strategic Leadership

LV 6073: Fundamentals of Strategic Management and Leadership

LV 4342 + 4699: Professional Development Workshop

LV 6366: Research in Higher Education Science and Management

The WU Course Catalogue for the summer term with dates and details can be found here.