Name of the University: Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien – Vienna University of Economics and
Business
Exchange semester: Fall 2014
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before I left Norway, I received all necessary information for the international office and
previous student reports. Available information on the WU website for incoming student is
quite comprehensive, and they offer a guide for new inhabitants of Vienna.
As a citizen of Norway, you do not need to apply for a visa to stay in Vienna, Austria. This is
because of Norway’s membership in the EEA.
It is easy to reach Vienna from Norway. I flew from OSL (Gardermoen, Oslo) to VIE (Vienna
airport) with Norwegian. It takes about two hours to reach VIE. From the airport we used
public transportation to reach our housing. Public transportation with train and u-bahn (metro)
was quite easy and the price was 4 eur per ticket.
Housing
I chose to have my accommodation with the Austrian exchange house organization (OEAD).
4/5 students from BI stayed at the dorm in Gasgasse, and we liked it very much. However, the
monthly price is between 515-570 EUR depending on how you live. I stayed in a single
apartment and my monthly fee was 560 EUR.
OEAD has very strict rules when it comes to housing, not easy reachable (opening hours of
the house technician, cleaning staff etc.), only four laundry machines for the entire building
(approximately 300 students), small kitchen with limited options to cook decent food and
quite expensive compared to private accommodation. The benefit with staying in OEAD
Gasgasse was that we had cleaning every two weeks, we stayed with all the other exchange
students (very social) and it is new building.
Costs
This is my budget, and it varied quite much with the strengthen of EUR against NOK this fall.
I joined a gym called McFit for 20EUR per months.
Rent
Books
Food
Transport
Other
NOK 4800
NOK 100
NOK 2500
NOK 320
NOK 2500
Culture and language
When it comes to language we could communicate in English while staying here in Austria
without any major problems. Some of us participated in the optional German course in the
beginning of the semester. I only experienced communication challenges with the cleaning
staff, which did not in general terms communicated in other languages than German.
Every student, faculty, international offices, restaurants and clubs spoke and communicated
English with perfection. Vienna is an international capitol, and has a lot of tourism, which
reflected the general level of English skills.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
WU is the largest business school in Europe, and we noticed this straight away when arriving
at campus. A brand new campus finished in 2013 met us, and had a magnificent architecture.
With over 10 different buildings, WU separated the two most used buildings into LC and TC.
LC is short for Learning Center was the library is located, with six floors. Group rooms can
easily be booked through there homepage, and the library has it’s own coffee bar in 4th floor.
TC is short for Teaching Center, and is naturally were all the lectures are being held. The
lecture halls/rooms varies depending on the course you are participating in. The technology
and infrastructure of WU is really good and up to date, but there is a gap between the offered
technology by the school and the level executed by the teachers.
Course registration
After being nominated and accepted by WU, the communication was really good from WU.
We received e-mails with updated information continuously, and this also true with regard to
the course registration process. In mid August, we had to login to their portal for online
course registration, and register the desired courses. The process was quite easy, and only
required some preparation from the student on which courses one desired. Login information
could easily be located in the nomination letter received by e-mail.
Academic calendar
Arrival date:
First day of the semester:
Last day of classes:
Examination period:
Any special events/holidays:
Other:
04.09.2014
09.10.2014
17.12.2014
Continuously
-
Arrival
The agenda of the first week in Vienna contained fixing all the practical issues, such as
banking, cellphone subscription and Meldezettel (inform the Austrian government of you
staying in here).
We all signed up for the OK-program with WU. The OK-program is short for Orientationand Cultural program. This is a great social and cultural program. We walked through and
experienced the most important sites in Vienna with fellow Exchange students. This gave us
the golden opportunity to both get to know Vienna and our fellow students better. Strongly
recommended to participate.
The International Office
The communication for the International Office was perfect. I did not miss any information,
and they always replied quickly if we had an inquiry.
Promoting BI and Norway
Unfortunately was I not able to participate in the global exchange fair at WU, due to an entire
day of lecture/presentation. This was unfortunate, but we promoted BI to professors, students
and potential master students from Europe/USA in social gatherings.
Social activities
The social activities this semester in Vienna has been outstanding. It is quite difficult to
explain how good the social relation has evolved the last three and a half months.
Erasmus Buddy Network in Vienna offered several trips, events and parties. This was highly
appreciated, and participated in Oktoberfest and the skiing trip to Zell Am See, which both are
highly recommended to attend.
Every Monday and Wednesday EBN arranges parties at two clubs called Ride/Loco, and the
drinks/beverages are extremely cheap, and it is a great platform for meeting new students.
III. ACADEMICS
In the classroom
Arranged in a different way than in Norway. The courses require mandatory attendance and
participation. Almost every lecture contains a presentation, or another form of assessment.
Instead of having 3hours per week (for 12 weeks), WU arranges the courses differently. They
offer intensive courses (finished in one week), or arranges the lecturing hours from 4-6 hours
every time.
There is no visible structure of the classes (45min lecture, 15min break as BI), but the pause
often comes halfway into the class (after 1-2 hours).
Course materials
The course material is often based on PowerPoint’s, puffs or readers.
Exams
The exam is very much based on the questions and information discussed in class.
Normal assessment included mandatory attendance, regularly participation, presentations,
written exams and midterms. The weight between the various assessments forms differs from
course to course.
Workload compared to my master program at BI is far less.
Library and technology
The library and technology at WU is outstanding. Brand new in 2013. A bit complicated to
reach the library. Students have to empty their bags into a transparent bag followed by the
entrance to the library with your student card. The bag you arrived campus with, along with
your jacket/scarf/hat needs to be put in a locker before entering the library, which you lock
with your student card.
Description of courses
Course code & name
Master/
Bachelor
Exam form
Prerequisites
Approved
as
Comments
#1450 – Doing
Business in Emerging
Markets
Master
Two home
assignments
(25% each)
Bachelor in
BA
Elective
Weak
course. The
learning
outcome
did not
meet my
learning
goals for
this course.
Bachelor in
BA
Elective
Great
course.
Highly
interactive
with focus
on the
MNC
operating in
a
globalized
world.
Introduction to
law
Elective
Highly
valuable
course.
Great
professor.
Bachelor BA
Elective
Interesting
wish focus
on how the
different
cultures
affect the
various
decisionmaking
processes.
One group
assignment
(25%)
#0204 - International
HRM – How to
Attract and Retain
Global Potential
#0199 – Introduction
to the Law of the
International
Commerce and
International Private
Law
#0534 – CrossCultural Competence
for the International
Workplace
Master
Overall
assessment
(25%
Group 50% /
Individual 50%.
Group:
Presentation
25%
Paper 25%
Master
Master
Individual:
Pre-course
assignment 40%
Participation
10%
Written exam
1,5 hours – 10%
40%
presentation,
40% written
exam (1,5 hour)
and 20%
participation.
I would strongly recommend anyone of my fellow students from BI Norwegian Business
School to stay in Vienna and WU for an exchange semester. This semester has exceeded
every expectation I had.