Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien
Vienna University Of Business And
Economics
Student Report
Fall 2013
I.
Practical information
First I received information from the International Office at BI and then an
accept letter from WU with information as username and password to use their
database.
Wirchafts Universitat Wien (WU) informed me by email in the end of April about
accommodations and German course. Here you could also sign up for Orientation
and Culture program in the beginning of the semester. I was also given a Buddy.
Travel
It is easy to go to Vienna. Norwegian was definitely the cheapest airline from
Oslo to the main airport of Vienna. Since I arrived on a Friday night and couldn’t
pick up my keys before Monday at the OeAD office, I used a private service that
picked up the keys and then me at the airport and drove me to my new home.
This was 90€. The airport is located 40 minutes outside city centre. I took the
airport bus, which was the cheapest for 8€, taxies vary a lot, but from my home
which was located close to city centre, did I pay 30€.
Housing
I decided to live in an OeAD residence, which was recommended by other
students and WU. This was a good decision since most exchange students live in
this kinds of dorms, so it was easy to mingle and get a lot of friends. I lived in
Gasgasse, which was built in 2012. This was the most expensive residence, but
definitely the one with the best location. I had my own room with private
bathroom and shared kitchen with three other girls. This was working more than
fine. A cleaning lady came once a week to clean our room, bathroom and kitchen.
Costs
Rent
I paid 505€ each month. You can get it cheaper.
Books
30€ I only needed books for two of my courses
Food
The food is cheaper than in Norway, especially if you eat out. There
you can get a good meal with drinks for 10-12€
Transport
150€ for a semester ticket (tram, metro, bus)
Other
It’s easy to travel to other countries from Austria. I travelled a little
bit, but not much compared to others.
Culture and Language
I signed up for the pre-semester German course, beginners level. I didn’t have
any prerequisites in German. Vienna is full of international business people and
tourist, so everyone talks good English. They say that you can’t find the Austrian
culture in Vienna, which I can agree with, since it’s so integrated with other
cultures.
My recommendation to the people wanting to experience Austrian culture in
Vienna is to participate on the different events they have in front of Hofburg and
The National Library in the city centre. Here you can eat Austrian food and see
ladies in Dirndls and men in Lederhosen.
II.
ABOUT THE SCHOOL
WU is the largest business school in Europe. There are over 20.000 students and
500 professors. I was lucky to experience the new campus that opened October
2013. The campus consists of 6 main buildings (all looking really different). At
campus can you also find a supermarket, restaurants, cafes and a bookstore. The
cafeteria (called Mensa) is really nice with a lot to choose from.
The new campus is located in the 2nd Bezirk close to Prater. It was easy to get
there both with u-banh and bus.
They have 10 different Departments:

Department of Foreign Language Business Communication

Department of Finance and Accounting

Department of Socioeconomics

Department of Information Systems and Operations

Department of Marketing

Department of Statistics and Mathematics

Department of Public Law and Tax Law

Department of Business, Employment and Social Security Law

Department of Economics

Department of Finance, Accounting and Statistics
Course registration
The registration for courses was in August. This was not an easy process.
Because of the high number of students and the few spots at the different
courses, most of them were full after a minute. Many students sign up for more
courses than they need, and deregister during the semester. It was possible to
sign up on waiting lists, but don’t trust this. I was not satisfied with the courses I
got. I only manage to sign up for 2 of the 8 different courses I had on my Learning
Agreement.
Academic calendar
Arrival date
I arrived September 6th. The academic
enrolment was 25th of September.
First day of the semester
I had my first day was 2nd of October, which was
pretty early compared to others
Last day of class
My last day was 25th of January
Examination period
Through the semester
Any special events/holydays National day 26th of October, All Saints Day
November 1st.
Other
All stores are closed on Sunday
Arrival
I signed up for the OK-program that is an orientation and cultural program for
incoming students. This lasted for 2,5 weeks in September. We visited other
Austrian cities, companies, museums, historical buildings, etc. I would not
recommend this to other incoming students, because it was more expensive than
to go there alone. Also, we ended up calling it “The Waiting Program”, because
we were waiting all the time.
WU also offered “Erasmus Buddy Network” (EBN). EBN arranged trips
(Oktoberfest in Munich, Krakow, Salzburg, Ski Trip), weekly activities (wine
tasting, night sledging, spa,) and parties (weekly parties, campus party, etc.).
Here you could chose what you wanted to attend. All the activities had
reasonable prices.
The international office
The people at International Office were good in English and replying e-mails.
Otherwise I hope they will change their opening hours. They are only open three
days a week, and only one of these days was the office open longer than 13.00.
Promoting BI and Norway
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to attend the Student Abroad Fair representing BI and
Norway. I had class that day, but I really wanted to attend. Instead I invited a big
group of friends for a Norwegian dinner. I encourage four of my Scandinavian friends
to apply for masters at BI.
III.
ACADEMICS
In the classroom
The teaching style was pretty different from what I’m used to at BI. We had to have a
lot of presentation and group work. The average amount of participants in class was
20 students, so it was easy to participate. The professor used a lot of power point
presentation. But I also experienced that we played games and had guest lectures.
The professors were usually freelancers. They were good in English and had a lot of
experience from real life that was fascinating and interesting. They were easy to reach
by e-mail and during class.
Most of my courses were only for incoming students. Here they had reduced the
workload compared to what is usually at WU. They did focus more on class
participations and group project. The workload was bigger in the classes for all
students, also here the professors wasn’t that good.
Course Materials
I only had two courses that required books, for the rest of the courses did we use
power points and articles that they shared on the WU platform.
Exams
The exam was based on what we had done in the lectures, except one that was based
on the course material. Written exams were usually 20-70 minutes long and 30-50%
of the final grade. Group work, class attendance, class participation, presentation and
small assignments were all a part of the final grade.
In one of my courses I also have to do a pre-assignment that was relevant to the
course. This assignment was 20% of the final grade.
Library and technology
The library was really good at WU. Mostly because it was completely new. You had
to have your student ID to enter the library, and you couldn’t bring your bag or your
jacket. This was a bit complicated when you had to bring a lot of books, etc.
The technology was good. Every classroom had a smart board (not that all the
professors knew how to use it), and they had some nice lockers that you could open
and lock with your ID card. They had some copy machines around campus, but to
print out was a struggle.
Description of courses
Course code
Master/
and name
Bachelor
#0795
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites Approved Comments
as
50 min
None
Strategy
Learned about the
Supply chain
written exam
basics concepts of
management
(70%),
supply chain
I
Homework
management.
(30%)
#0556
Bachelor
50 min
None
Finance
Learned mostly
International
written exam
about portfolio
financial
(60%), group
management. The
management
homework
case study wasn’t
I
(30%), group
relevant to what we
case study
had learned during
(10%)
the course.
Homework was OK.
#2119
Bachelor
Class
None
Elective
Learned about
Global
participation
branding and also
Branding
(35%), Case
how to brand your
study (35%),
self. Interesting
Multiple-
course because of
choice exam
the Professor. He
(30%)
#2120
Bachelor
Class
was really inspiring
None
Elective
Created a business
Entrepreneur
participation
idea and tried to
ship camp:
(15%),
make it as real as
how to start
Assignments
possible. Would be
your own
(30%), Final
really nice if you
business
report (25%)
have a good idea
before attending
class
#1108 Cross- Bachelor
Class
None
Elective
Learned about doing
Cultural-
participation
business and
Communicati
(20%), Pre-
especially marketing
on
class
in another culture.
Management
assignment
How to behave when
: Application
(20%), Team
entering another
to Marketing
project
market then your
and Sales
(20%),
own. Interesting
presentation
class and the
(20%), 20
professor was
min.
inspiring and well
multiple-
educated.
choice exam
(20%)
This semester has definitely been the best semester of my bachelor degree. I
loved Vienna as a city and the people I met there. My English has improved a lot
and I communicate easily with new people. As a BI student I have to say that it
was a little bit of a shock when I had to participate in class and have a lot of
presentations and group work because I wasn’t used to it.