Creativity through Communication?
Who compensates lost investments?
Macroeconomic Policy in Times of War
Revolution in the Food Industry
What Does Tax Justice Mean?
WU Manager of the Year 2022 Christopher Schläffer
The great resignation
Humans – The Future of Artificial Intelligence?

Creativity is highly valued not only in the arts but also in business and other domains of professional practice, and not only individuals but also groups can activate their creative potential. But how does group creativity come about and how can it be encouraged? What kind of communication leads to creative outcomes, and can we identify moments of creativity in interactions and in the language used? We will discuss how creativity is relevant for practice in a variety of domains and consider the role played by communication.

Opening Lecture & Moderation:

Almut Köster, Professor, Institute for English Business Communication, WU Vienna

Discussion:

Sabine Coelsch-Foisner, Professor,Chair of English Literature and Cultural Theory, University of Salzburg

Gerhard Speckbacher, Professor, Head of Department of Strategy & Innovation, WU Vienna

Franziska Strohmayr, Musician

Nico Weiss, Architect

Financial scandals like the Wirecard and Commerzialbank Mattersburg affairs are exemplary cases where government financial regulation failed, resulting in thousands of investors losing their money. How could something like that happen? Why did the financial market supervision authorities fail to act? Can the government be held accountable for the losses caused by shortcomings in financial supervision? Together with experts, we’ll be discussing the topic of government liability and the complex issues involved.

Lecture:

Sebastian Mock, Full Professor, Institute for Civil Law and Civil Procedure, WU Vienna

Moderated by:

Elisabeth Fuhrmann, Assistant Professor, Institute for Civil Law and Civil Procedure, WU Vienna

The Ukraine war has led to global uncertainty, increased inflation, and reduced economic growth in Europe. How should macroeconomic policy react to such global shocks in the context of growing uncertainty? What can we learn from macroeconomic models and empirical research? Can standard models deal with the situation and provide good policy advice? With academics and policymakers, we’ll be discussing how economics can help governments deal with macroeconomic shocks in times of high uncertainty.

Lecture:

Francesco Zanetti, Associate Professor in Economics, University of Oxford and David Richards Fellow of Wadham College

Moderated by:

Katrin Rabitsch, Associate Professor of Economics, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

It is often said that we are what we eat. Food is a vital part of everyone’s daily life, but our current food system is far from sustainable. Lessening meat production and food waste have been shown to reduce our carbon footprint and increase societal well-being. Are research and business partnerships the solution for scaling up radical innovations in the food industry and achieving the SDGs? Is there a food revolution on the horizon? Experts and changemakers from WU and the business community will discuss current trends and future strategies.

Keynote:

Doris Schneeberger, WU

Magdalena Winkler, WU

Discussion:

Martin Hablesreiter, honeyandbunny

Christina Holweg, WU  

Doris Schneeberger, WU

Gregor Tegl, Arkeon

Moderated by:

Milda Žilinskaitė, WU

Surging inflation rates have rekindled the debate about tax justice. Is the Austrian tax system fair? What will be the effects of the abolishment of bracket creep? Do we need wealth and inheritance taxes? What does the future of corporate taxes look like? Is taxing windfall profits the answer to soaring energy prices? Should tax policy be nationally or internationally oriented? Can taxes save the climate? Together with experts who represent different standpoints, we’ll be discussing the most pressing issues in tax policy today.

Discussion:

Marcell Göttert, Agenda Austria

Monika Köppl-Turyna, EcoAustria

Oliver Picek, Momentum

Margit Schratzenstaller-Altzinger, WIFO

Moderated by:

Claus Staringer, WU

Christopher Schläffer, an alumnus and CEO of technology company NYOUM, is WU’s Manager of the Year 2022. He is a visionary entrepreneur and top international executive (Accenture, Deutsche Telekom, T-Online) with an exemplary sense of social responsibility. After the award ceremony, his lecture entitled ‘The Economics of Equality’ will look at how we can create a fairer society. Together with panelists including Anjhula Bais, Chair of the International Board of Amnesty International, WU Professor Karin Heitzmann and Pritzker Prize winning architect Rem Koolhaas, he will address issues of socioeconomic inequality, stigmatization, stereotyping, structural barriers and exclusion.

Lecture:

Christopher Schläffer, Founder, Chairperson and CEO, NYOUM

Discussion:

Anjhula Mya Singh Bais, Chair of the International Board, Amnesty International

Karin Heitzmann, Co-Head of the Research Institute for Economics of Inequality, WU

Rem Koolhaas, Founding Partner OMA, Professor in Practice GSD/Harvard University

Moderated by:

Michael Köttritsch, Head of the Management & Career and Editorial Training Department at the newspaper “Die Presse”

The Great Resignation, a phenomenon first observed in the US, is now hitting Europe too. Surging job vacancies are causing problems in the labor market, as large numbers of people are voluntarily quitting their jobs. COVID-19 has been a key driver of this trend. Was the pandemic a wake-up call for workers to rethink their career and life goals? What vacancies will remain unfilled in the long run, and why? We’ll be discussing the Great Resignation, work-life balance, and ways for companies to deal with employees’ new demands.

Discussion:

Alexandra Hilgers, HR Senior Director and Board Member of Takeda Austria

Christian Klaus, General Manager SO/ Vienna

Anna Nowshad, Deloitte Consulting GmbH 

Angelika Schmidt, Change Management and Management Development, WU

Moderated by:

Michael Köttritsch, Head of the Management & Career and Editorial Training Department at the newspaper “Die Presse”

We’re about to see a new artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, driven by two major trends: first, the development of hybrid AI systems that combine techniques from AI’s historically disparate sub-fields, and second, human-centric AI, which gives humans more control over these powerful, intelligent systems. Can these trends help us master the technical, legal, and ethical challenges AI is still facing? In this lecture, WU Professor Marta Sabou will give an overview of these AI trends and discuss their impact on WU research and teaching.

Lecture:

Marta Sabou, Professor for Information Systems and Business Engineering, WU Vienna