Hans Krasensky (founder of Business Education in Austria) already outlined three pivotal fields of activity of business education in Vienna, which largely coincide with the disciplinary mindset of the current chair holder Bettina Fuhrmann. According to this, business education must essentially be active in the following fields of research and teaching:

1. Teacher Training

The central objective of a modern and future-oriented training of teachers for economy-related subjects in berufsbildenden mittleren und höheren Schulen (BMHS) is achieved by the currently offered master program in Business Education (as a full-time and part-time while you continue working).

In its own research series, the Institute for Business Education in Vienna publishes mainly scientific, theory-based empirical studies and papers on issues relevant to modern business education teacher training. In addition, subject-specific works in teaching methodology design, in particular the creation of modern textbooks, highlights the importance of this objective. In Wilfried Schneider's more than 30-year professorship, the development of innovative teaching and learning materials for schools was given high priority, in particular the importance of subject-specific didactics for a professional teacher training in business education.

2. Work in Business Training

Qualifying students for professional activites in the spectrum between continuing education in the workplace and consulting professions was another major concern of Hans Krasensky. In the recent past, the Institute for Business Education has again increasingly positioned the partially "buried" aspect of continuing education in the workplace in teaching and research.

On the one hand, the specialization in Business Training & Education Management was very successfully established as part of the Bachelor's programme in Business, Economics and Social Sciences (program only available in German). This course focuses primarily on the extracurricular - namely in-company - sector. Under certain conditions and with corresponding complementary qualifications in the area of Social Skills (moderation techniques, communication and conflict management, etc.), students can acquire a proper Business Trainer Certificate. The major business focus of this specialization in the bachelor's program is emphasized by close cooperation with real life practice (e. g. Raiffeisen Campus Vienna).

On the other hand, the BE master's program increasingly offers compulsory specializing courses with modules that are relevant to the field of continuing education in the workplace and consulting professions. In this context, it is important to note that the curriculum is polyvalent, as the master's program in Business Education can only be started after completing a (business) bachelor's program. This fact documents the relevance of the "marketable" subject matter - studying at a renowned tertiary institution such as WU Wien and not at a Pädagogischen Hochschule (which does not have this marketable subject expertise).

3. Economic Education (Financial Education)

Fostering general economic literacy was already a matter close to Hans Krasensky's heart. As early as the digital "Stone Age" of the 1960s, Krasensky realized ways of economic literacy. With the support of the savings banks, he oversaw the very impactful series Wirtschaft geht jeden an [The Economy is everyone's Business]. For an audience of millions, key issues of basic economic education were addressed, from Inflation und Inflationsbekämpfung [Inflation and Inflation Control] to Wertpapiere und Wertpapiersparen [Securities and Investment Saving] and Kommunale Versorgungswirtschaft [Municipal Utilities].

This tradition is being continued at the Institute for Business Education by other means. On the one hand, this includes the development of didactic materials on electronic (learning) platforms. On the other hand, there are international educational cooperation projects of the EU, which also deal with economic literacy in transition countries.

With the inception of the WU Center for Financial Education under the direction of Bettina Fuhrmann in 2023, the importance of financial education in Austria and beyond will be further emphasized.