WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business) has established a foundation. This will help strengthen WU’s position on the international market and improve the reputation of Vienna as an education location.

The events of the past year have shown us clearly: We need to be prepared for major changes. These changes are presenting society and our economic systems with new challenges and require scientifically sound answers to the questions of our times. Academic teaching and research make an important contribution to addressing and processing current topics, but due to their structure and how they are funded, universities’ financial resources are limited, which restricts their ability to act. The special allocations needed for top performance are hardly possible with only public funding.

Foundations enable long-term planning

“With the WU Foundation, established at WU for the promotion of research and teaching, WU is taking responsibility for future generations,” says Rector Edeltraud Hanappi-Egger. “Foundations allow universities to make and secure long-term plans. I am pleased to be able to set fast, bold, and innovative impulses with the WU Foundation.” For the Rector, the focus is on the responsible and, above all, sustainable use of financial resources: “Responsibility has become one of the guiding principles for our university over the past few years.” The advantage of the foundation model is that the original capital remains untouched, and only the revenues are used to fund projects.

The Foundation

WU already  took a pioneering approach when planning its physical surroundings: The modern campus bordering Prater Park is a symbol for the university’s continuous development and its innovative spirit. The willingness to blaze new trails has characterized WU since it was first founded. After its establishment in 1989 as the Imperial Export Academy, visionary members of Austria’s business community came together to form an advisory body to promote and guide the university – the WU Board of Trustees, founded in 1975. This supportive institution is now handing over the reins to a concentrated, powerful foundation and has transferred its reserves and real estate holdings to the WU Foundation. WU also contributed third-party funding to the Foundation’s starting capital. In the future, sponsors can donate to the Foundation to provide long-term support for WU’s activities. A modern governance system will ensure that all processes are transparent and scrupulous. A Foundation Board, Foundation Council, and external supervisory organs and panels will review, discuss, and decide on the use of the available funds.

With the WU Foundation, WU has created an instrument that provides financial resources that go beyond the global budgets it receives from the government. In particular, it is intended to finance and promote scholarships, additional faculty, international exchange, research, and also necessary construction measures to facilitate top performance in research and teaching.

For more information, please see: www.wu.ac.at/wu-foundation