WU’s Strategy

Mission Statement

WU provides space for contemplation and creativity and is a pioneer in research and teaching, all with the goal of increasing economic capability and social prosperity.

WU’s faculty, staff, students, and alumni take social responsibility and are characterized by their expertise, open-mindedness, and eagerness to make a difference.

WU is a leading academic institution and one of Europe’s most attractive universities in business and economics.

True to its role as an open-minded institution, WU also sees itself as an international university, as an important hub for global exchange, and as a place where students and teachers work together. Open-mindedness and diversity were already among the university’s key values at WU’s founding in 1898. WU is committed to the principles of fairness and equal opportunities, scientific integrity, academic freedom, and especially plurality in topics and methodology.

WU is a responsible university.* This means that WU not only accepts responsibility for the quality of its performance in research, teaching, and third mission activities, but also that it acts in a socially responsible manner in all that it does.

*As based on the six Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME)

WU's guiding principles

The following guiding principles have been defined as a basis for WU’s further development:

  • WU is committed to excellence in business- and economics-related research and makes active contributions to the development of the relevant disciplines by the respective scientific communities.

  • WU is committed to the principle of research-led teaching in all of its degree programs.

  • As a university, WU is committed to providing an open-minded and explorative intellectual environment that emphasizes critical reflection and diversity.

  • WU is committed to social responsibility. As a responsible university, WU lives up to its social responsibility in all areas of its activities, striving for a positive impact on society and the business community. WU contributes to a comprehensive understanding of how economic, social, and ecological factors relate to each other, and in this way, it helps to make business and economics more sustainable. WU assumes responsibility for all that it does. Its actions are based on the principles of economy, sustainability, barrier-free accessibility in a broad sense, and it is committed to anti-discrimination and inclusion.

  • WU propagates a holistic understanding of business and economics and acknowledges that a wide variety of different disciplines is needed to study business and economics-related phenomena. This diversity of discipline is one of WU’s specific strengths, because it allows the university to deal thoroughly with complex issues in its research and teaching activities and provide a solid basis for the development of sustainable and innovative solutions in business and economics.

  • In addition to excellence in research and teaching, WU is also committed to a high degree of professionalism in its administrative services.

Strategic Plan & Performance Agreements

The Strategic Plan is WU’s main strategy document – it contains strategic planning and positioning for the future as well as the key policies and regulations necessary to implement them.It is the result of extensive internal discussions open to all WU employees, carried out in the relevant decision-making bodies. The Strategic Plan is updated on a regular basis.

Pursuant to § 13 of the Universities Act 2002, Austrian universities are obligated to conclude three-year Performance Agreements with the government. These Performance Agreements are administrative contracts under public law that define the individual universities’ obligations towards the government and vice versa. WU’s Performance Agreements with the government regulate which tasks and services WU has to perform on behalf of the government and which resources the government has to provide to WU in return.

Strategic Plan of WU
Strategic Plan of WU
Performance Agreements (in German)
Performance Agreements (in German)

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Teaching