All Set for the Next Career Move: MBA "Made in Austria"

November 03, 2021

Premium executive education for new career perspectives

Many managers turn to top-level continuous education offers, such as an Executive MBA, to climb the next step on the career ladder. And for a good reason: the right MBA program is not only a powerful career booster; it opens up whole new career perspectives. What many don’t know, however, is that you don’t need to look to business schools in the UK, France, and the US. Austria also offers outstanding MBA programs. The Global Executive MBA of the WU Executive Academy is a case in point. Just recently, it took 34th place out of 100 ranked programs in the world in the year’s most important ranking, the Financial Times EMBA Ranking.

pics of MBA graduates — Getting a powerful career booster with the right MBA program.

“When it comes to quality, an international mindset, and how sought-after our graduates are on the labor market, our Global Executive MBA can easily keep up with the major programs of international providers – in fact, it even offers some perks you won’t find in many other places,” says Prof. Barbara Stöttinger, Dean of the WU Executive Academy.

On a Par with Leading International Business Schools

Two criteria are especially important when selecting an MBA program as they provide an objective assessment of a program’s quality: international accreditations and rankings. The WU Executive Academy can pride itself on being among the few universities with the coveted “Triple Accreditation” made up of accreditations by AACSB, AMBA, and EQUIS. “At the moment, there are only about 100 triple accredited business schools around the world. What’s more, the Financial Times EMBA Ranking has rated us among the top 50 MBA programs for the fourth consecutive year and, after 2020, among the best 35 programs worldwide for the second time in a row. Our results are simply amazing, especially in the career-related categories: our graduates were ranked 11th with regard to professional experience, and also their average salary of US$ 219,000 and a salary increase (compared to before they completed an MBA) of 54% are impressive, particularly when compared to international figures. Concerning overall satisfaction with the program, the Global Executive MBA was awarded the top rating of 9.75 points on a 10-point scale, even surpassing the top five in this ranking,” Stöttinger says.

A Pronounced International Focus

The stronger an MBA program’s international focus is, the better it reflects today’s business reality characterized by digitalization, cultural diversity, and the rapid pace of change. Three factors are particularly important in this regard: where participants hail from, faculty from around the world, and international study visits. More than 70% of the Global Executive MBA’s students call a country other than Austria their home; 25 nationalities in a cohort are the norm rather than the exception. More than half of the teaching staff is affiliated with one of WU’s over 240 partner universities and leading companies around the world. On top of that, study trips to the US, South America, and Asia are core components of the program.

Global Team Project: a Gamechanger in Itself

The grand finale of the Global Executive MBA is a global team project students engage in at the end of the program. The WU Executive Academy is one of only few elite business schools employing this innovative teaching method.

Barbara Stöttinger

Dean of the WU Executive Academy

The unique feature is that students from various Executive MBA programs across several continents collaborate on top-notch business challenges in global teams.

The team members only get to meet each other in person towards the project’s end. The tasks and framework conditions are demanding, pushing participants to draw from everything they have learned and all the skills they have acquired in the course of their programs.

Current Situation

At the moment, classes at the WU Executive Academy are offered in a hybrid format: they are held on site and students unable to attend due to travel restrictions can participate online.

For information about the program and scholarship opportunities, please click here.