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January 23 2012
Student Reps make a difference
Though the demands of full-time school and university social lives are exacting, MU's Student Representatives still find the time to give back to their community by showing leadership and initiative.
Each fall, MU's student body votes for a slate of their peers, who are then charged with the responsibilities of making sure students'voices are heard within the various governing bodies of the institution. They also show leadership by mediating disputes between students and the administration, as well as organizing social events to bring the student community together. We're proud to have such future leaders in our midst and appreciate their commitment.
Here's a short introduction to MU's current crop of Student Reps:
BBA Reps
Simon Hala, 22, is a local Vienna boy. Simon, an avid footballer, has been active this year, playing a lead role in organizing a student football tournament and punsch holiday soiree, as well as communicating student concerns to the administration. He is interested in hotel management and plans to pursue a Master's degree.
Natalie Hood, 18, is proud of her Canadian background. This year she has helped plan several social events, applying her interest in event planning. She's also an amateur photographer.
Alexander Riemekasten, 24, is the senior member of the group, in his third term as student rep. Alexander has played a particularly important role representing students on various committees and voicing their opinion on issues relating to rules and regulations and the academic curriculum.
Daniel Rüscher, 21, is of Malaysian and Austrian background. He has helped plan several community events and has also been active at MU Cares charity cooking outings. Daniel hopes to make a career in sales and marketing.
Marie-Louise Schütz, 21, of Vienna, is a two-time student rep. She helped design MU's new line of merchandise, informed new students about the role of a student rep and led a campaign to further diversify language classes. An accomplished tennis player and dancer, Marie-Louise is interested in charity event management and hopes to make a career in hospitality or real estate sales and marketing.
Nariman Zeynalli, 20, came to us by way of his native Azerbaijan and can be seen at most events on campus. Also a student ambassador, Nariman has volunteered at Orientation Week, has helped in recruiting new students and given valuable feedback regarding university campus policies.
MSc Reps
Philipp Redl, 22, calls Linz home and is a graduate of MU's BBA program. Philipp hopes to keep an ear to the ground for student suggestions to improve campus life - and started by suggesting improvements to MU's email system. A member of the MU Wine Society and the university's Sustainability Committee, he is also interested in sustainable tourism.
Dmitry Stetsenko, 20, is from Moscow. Like Philipp, Dmitry is also a BBA alumnus, and is currently pursuing his graduate degree in International Tourism Management.
January 19 2012
MU welcomes new Admissions & Services members
MODUL University recently added two new members to its international staff, Stephanie Reeves and Antonia Baumgartner.
Stephanie Reeves has joined the Admissions team as the first contact for many future Modulians. Our new Admissions Officer comes to us fresh off the plane from England, following her love of all things Viennese (and in particular to practice her German) to experience life in the cultural heart of Europe.
A native of London, Stephanie was Communications Officer of the Erasmus Society of the University of Reading, UK, where she graduated with a BA Hons in History and German jointly awarded by the University of Augsburg, Germany.
MU’s tourism focus suits Stephanie well; she spent two years circling the globe with Qatar Airways as part of the 5 star Cabin Crew on one of the world’s top airlines. In addition to her high flying days, she has held positions with the Canadian High Commission and in an international law firm, as well as in a university environment as personal assistant to the Deans at St. Mellitus College, London.
Alongside improving her German, learning Spanish, and playing piano, Stephanie is involved in numerous sponsored bike rides for the Cystic Fibrosis charity.
Once applicants successfully pass though Stephanie’s office and make the transition into an MU student, Antonia Baumgartner is there to welcome them to their home away from home on Mt. Kahlenberg.
Replacing fellow American Kristen Riedrich, Antonia has taken over the position of International Officer in the Student Service Center. The daughter of Austrian émigrés, she grew up in Washington D.C. and attended a German school, making her one of the most perfectly bilingual employees at MU. She received her Bachelor degree from New York University in 2007, and shortly thereafter moved to her ancestral homeland.
She was recently received a Master of Arts in Education, Counseling and Human Development at the University of Vienna, submitting her final research thesis on “Third Culture Kids – Development of a Current Phenomenon”. Her experience with young people from a variety of backgrounds is particularly suited to interaction with MU’s multicultural student body.
In addition to her studies, she has extensive experience working in education, as a school administrator and substitute teacher at Vienna Elementary School and as a summer camp counselor in Salzburg.
Antonia prefers to spend her holidays exploring distant corners of the globe, and closer to home she enjoys Vienna’s many theatres and cultural opportunities.
Stop by Admissions and Services to say hello to our new team members!
Admissions Team: Markus Bernhard and Stephanie Reeves; Student Service Center: Jesse Alexander and Antonia Baumgartner
January 16 2012
Student tutors up grades
Sometimes all it takes to go from struggles to smiles is a little bit of help from someone who's willing to share. Just ask Bachelor students Roman Kollar and Sara Hanulikova, who are smiling wide after their recent performance in accounting class. Theirs is among the first of the MU Learning Program's success stories.
The project, launched by the Student Service Center and faculty last fall, pairs student-tutors with their colleagues who need help in demanding courses such as statistics and accounting. This peer-to-peer learning process complements classroom instruction and allows students in need to get an extra boost to help their results and their confidence.
Roman and Sara, who both hail from neighbouring Slovakia, had this to say about their experience: "The Learning Program was very beneficial for us and it helped us to pass the course. We were being tutored by students, the atmosphere was relaxed. This made us feel confident enough to ask questions that we might sometimes hesitate to ask in front of the whole class - our tutors Renata and TaiAnne were always patient with us!"
We certainly wish Roman and Sara further success, and congrats to accounting tutors Renata Csebi and TaiAnne Marinho Da Silva for a job well done!
January 11 2012
On the path to Doctorates in 2012
The entire staff and faculty are looking forward to a prosperous and productive 2012, and none more so than four of our faculty who are working towards the academic right to place ‘Dr’ in front of their names before the year is out.
Alongside the task of researching and writing their doctoral dissertations, they have actively participated in various research projects and committees throughout their time at MU, and taught courses in the bachelor program from e-marketing to mathematics and statistics to academic writing.
Working under supervision of MU's PD Dr. Astrid Dickinger in the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management (THM), Clemens Költringer is near completion of ‘’Evaluating Destination Online Representation Measurement: Leveraging Online Media for Market Research’’, investigating how conventional destination images are affected and represented in today’s online media sphere and aims to transfer conventional destination image measurement techniques to an online setting.
Fellow Tourism lecturer Florian Aubke is putting the finishing touches on his research entitled ‘’A Model of Effective Communication Structures in Expert-led Teams - An Application to Hotel Revenue Management Teams’’ under the guiding hand of MU president Prof. Dr. Karl Wöber. Through the application of social network analysis, Florian has contrasted the communication structures and performance measurements from 38 international hotel revenue management teams.
MRes Florian Aubke, Mag. (FH) Clemens Költringer
Down the THM hallway, Xavier Matteucci’s thesis is primarily concerned with how foreign visitors experience intangible heritage, in the form of flamenco music and dance courses, and attempts to discern the role that the body and senses play in that experience. Under working title ‘’The tourist experience of intangible heritage - the role of the body and senses’’ his magnum opus (to date) will soon be finished with the supervision of Prof. Dr. Ronald Kurt of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Essen, and MU’s own Prof. Dr. Andreas Zins.
In the Department of Public Governance, Karin Glaser is in the final stages before dissertation defense on (working title) ‘’ Why terrorism emerges. An empirical investigation’’, which deals with the causes and consequences of terrorism, and seeking out effective policy measures and reforms for countering terrorism threats.
Xavier Matteucci, Msc, and Mag. Karin Glaser
Clemens, Florian, and Karin have been with MU since opening our doors in 2007, with Xavier following shortly after. As they began their theses concurrently with taking up position on Kahlenberg, it is a major achievement for both our scholars and the university to have four faculty members close to finishing the research they have been undertaking during their MODUL years.
In-depth dissertation abstracts from all our doctoral candidates can be found at http://www.modul.ac.at/doctoral-dissertations-mu-faculty
We wish them all the greatest success on their doctorate path!
January 09 2012
Road movie blows audience record at MU
On December 15th 2011, in MU’s largest conference hall, over a hundred people attended the preview screening of EL REY, a documentary film by Austrian director Stefan Lechner, The documentary was preceded by a keynote speech from Hartwig Kirner, CEO of FAIRTRADE Austria who explained its organization’s vision and how their actions contribute towards achieving greater global social justice.
This educational and entertaining event was generously co-sponsored by FAIRTRADE Austria and the Sustainability Committee at MU which offered fair trade beverages, chocolate and biscuits among other treats. The film has received a warm welcome by an eclectic audience which included students, academics, NGOs, journalists, and a vast number of Latin America and music enthusiasts.
More information about EL REY can be found under:
www.elreyfilm.com
www.facebook.com/elreyfilm
EL REY
2 AUSTRIANS. 1 SCHOOL BUS. A CONTINENT OF MUSIC.
''After years of working with NGOs in developing nations, both Stefan and Adi fell in love with Latin America, the people and their culture. After a trip in 2002, the boys were inspired by their newfound love for the many forms of authentic/folk Latin American music.
That journey was the inspiration for what was to come, El Rey. So in 2006 off they set once again, pooling their entire life savings to embark on a year-long musical exploration through the rural backwaters and off the beaten track of Latin America. But this time along with their guitars they brought a temperamental old school bus, recording equipment, a camera and a plan to record their adventure. The project’s goal was to meet local musicians along the way and record their music. Adi’s audio recording skills combined with Stefan’s filming and development work in Latin America made it all possible.’’
January 02 2012
Alumni Spotlight - Edward Rowley, BBA '11
Following graduation in July, our second class of MODUL University BBA graduates are already making a splash, securing posts throughout the tourism and hospitality industries.
Edward Rowley, BBA '11, relates his high-flying success story:
''After successfully completing a yearlong internship at SWISS International Airlines and graduating from the BBA program at MODUL University in July 2011, I landed a job at Austrian Airlines. I work in the Global Sales & Distribution division as a steering specialist in the department Sales Austria & Slovakia. Our department handles all leisure and corporate accounts and related sales activities for the Lufthansa Group in Austria & Slovakia in addition to taking the lead on global Star Alliance accounts worldwide.
Specifically, the sales steering team is responsible for analyzing customer and route data in order to identify any potential revenue optimizing opportunities and uses this information to implement strategic sales actions as well as steering key account managers.
Some examples of these activities include implementing incentives for company and travel agency contracts, contract management and identifying new business leads, adjusting fare structures in coordination with revenue management, or giving recommendations for flight schedule improvements to network development department. Therefore, my tasks are quite diverse and involve allot of detective work providing me with a compelling and dynamic working environment.
My three years at MODUL provided me with the essential business skill set and tourism knowhow to lift-off my career to new horizons in this challenging, but interesting industry (pun intended).''
December 23 2011
Living conditions, quality of life, and subjective well-being in regions
Project: Living conditions, quality of life, and subjective well-being in regions: A methodological pilot study with explorative interviewing and quantitative measurement
submitted by Univ.-Doz. Dr. Ivo Ponocny
and funded by the Anniversary Fund of the Austrian National Bank.
The economy is growing and growing. But is it growing in the right direction, too? Is the quantitative part the dominant goal or is there demand for a strengthened focus on a qualitative part of the overall development? The Easterlin Paradox suggests that material well-being does not automatically lead to increased happiness. Therefore it is very questionable whether it is possible to measure quality-of-life (QoL) just by taking indicators of material well-being into account.
Obviously it is not, as latest research attempts tell us, that more and more effort is taken to fill this vacuum by indicators connected to the subjectively driven part of the story. But this other side of the coin has its handicaps too, as individual self-ratings of happiness are complex constructs influenced by momentary mood, uniqueness of the individual in perceiving life conditions, adaptation processes, and comparison processes based on varying anchor levels. Construct validation studies of subjective well-being (SWB) mainly have to deal with questions like
‘What kind of information can be derived from overall subjective self-ratings?’
This missing link is going to be clarified by cognitive interviewing. First of all, the principle aim is to investigate the respondent’s interpretation of the question itself and afterwards the interpretation of the responses to the questions at hand on the interviewer's side. In the end, responses should be based on improved item material on a lower abstract level that will ease the interpretation of the data collected by SWB questionnaires.
After constructing a methodology mix of qualitative and quantitative research for evaluating regional living conditions, concrete concerns of inhabitants with various location-specific influences will be discovered, i.e. booming regions, areas with structural problems such as emigration of labor force or human capital, or geographic characteristics, as well as municipalities of special interest such as eco-villages, well-being regions, children-friendly communities or similar. One primary goal is to derive recommendations for local or national policy makers to most effectively increase the living conditions of citizens, and to help directing those interventions to address the concrete underlying problems or happiness drivers – such as immaterial patterns and green consumption behavior motivated by sustainability issues – of the local citizens. Finally, the optimization of the national average SWB may hopefully act as a major economic and political intention.
The project is carried out in collaboration with the University of Vienna (Institute for Psychology, Erich Kirchler, Thomas Slunecko) and the Sigmund Freud Privatuniversität (Elisabeth Ponocny-Seliger) and with substantial contributions by Christian Weismayer, Stefan Dressler, Bernadette Stross and Sabine Sedlacek.
December 22 2011
Win the Lion - MBA student organizes conference in Lviv, Ukraine
Oksana Sydor, currently enrolled in the MBA in Tourism Management, is putting her education to good use. In her native Ukraine, she recently organized the “Win with the Lion” Tourism Conference, taking place from November 24 – 27, 2011 in Ukraine’s westernmost city of Lviv.
Taking on chief organizational duties, she brought together interesting speakers and participants from local, national, and international levels to discuss and reflect on important topics under the main conference theme “How to catch Trends and Travelers - Involve. Enhance. Present. Effect”.
Oksana impressively demonstrated how a conference can be successfully organized through the benefits of network links. Using the resources at her disposal, she tapped into the MU network of industry and academic partners to garner speakers and participants. In particular, she benefitted from her ties to the Vienna Tourism Board, as Dr. Wolfgang Kraus, former director and long-term supporter of MU, became one of her mentors and advisors for this new conference series, helping secure representatives of the cities of Vienna, Berlin and Graz for the speakers’ list. Furthermore, through contact and work with the Vienna Tourism Board, Oksana entered the international network of 'European Cities Marketing (ECM)'. The Chief Executive Officer of ECM, Dr. John Heeley, and Nick Greenfield from the European Tour Operators’ Association also presented in Lviv.
As Lviv will host the EURO 2012 soccer championship together with other cities in Ukraine and Poland, MU’s Prof. Dr. Andreas Zins presented on the “Economic and Social Impacts of EURO 2008”, to give insight into what’s in store for Ukrainian tourism next year. In addition, he contributed reflections on destination image building, travel trends and city marketing during panel discussions on the first and second conference day.
Win with the Lion comes at a crucial time, as Lviv is trying hard to position itself on the landscape of European city tourism destinations. Through the EURO 2012, many infrastructure impulses are triggered; among them the opening of a new airport terminal stands out as particularly monumental. However, apart from developing accommodation, restaurant and conference facilities, the organizational issues accompanying this development are still in their infancy. The conference succeeded in tacking these issues with the formation of the first partnership agreement among operators and the city of Lviv under the moniker of “The Tourism Alliance”, with the city additionally signing on to the national Tourism Association.
Details on the conference can be found at http://www.congress.lviv.ua/
Pictures from the conference are on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/win.with.the.lion
Win the Lion - MBA student organizes conference in Lviv, Ukraine
Oksana Sydor, currently enrolled in the MBA in Tourism Management, is putting her education to good use. In her native Ukraine, she recently organized the “Win with the Lion” Tourism Conference, taking place from November 24 – 27, 2011 in Ukraine’s westernmost city of Lviv.
Taking on chief organizational duties, she brought together interesting speakers and participants from local, national, and international levels to discuss and reflect on important topics under the main conference theme “How to catch Trends and Travelers - Involve. Enhance. Present. Effect”.
Oksana impressively demonstrated how a conference can be successfully organized through the benefits of network links. Using the resources at her disposal, she tapped into the MU network of industry and academic partners to garner speakers and participants. In particular, she benefitted from her ties to the Vienna Tourism Board, as Dr. Wolfgang Kraus, former director and long-term supporter of MU, became one of her mentors and advisors for this new conference series, helping secure representatives of the cities of Vienna, Berlin and Graz for the speakers’ list. Furthermore, through contact and work with the Vienna Tourism Board, Oksana entered the international network of 'European Cities Marketing (ECM)'. The Chief Executive Officer of ECM, Dr. John Heeley, and Nick Greenfield from the European Tour Operators’ Association also presented in Lviv.
As Lviv will host the EURO 2012 soccer championship together with other cities in Ukraine and Poland, MU’s Prof. Dr. Andreas Zins presented on the “Economic and Social Impacts of EURO 2008”, to give insight into what’s in store for Ukrainian tourism next year. In addition, he contributed reflections on destination image building, travel trends and city marketing during panel discussions on the first and second conference day.
Win with the Lion comes at a crucial time, as Lviv is trying hard to position itself on the landscape of European city tourism destinations. Through the EURO 2012, many infrastructure impulses are triggered; among them the opening of a new airport terminal stands out as particularly monumental. However, apart from developing accommodation, restaurant and conference facilities, the organizational issues accompanying this development are still in their infancy. The conference succeeded in tacking these issues with the formation of the first partnership agreement among operators and the city of Lviv under the moniker of “The Tourism Alliance”, with the city additionally signing on to the national Tourism Association.
Details on the conference can be found at http://www.congress.lviv.ua/
Pictures from the conference are on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/win.with.the.lion
December 19 2011
Life as an MU Student Ambassador
MU's Student Ambassador program is a new innovation to involve current students into administration activities to give them work experience during their studies, both on and off campus.
Charges include travelling to their homelands such as Serbia, Slovakia, and Germany to present MU to high school students as well as informing potential students what their future could hold during our quarterly information evenings on Kahlenberg.
Maya Loacker, a BBA student in her second semester, is among this inagural group of student ambassadors. She had this to say about their important role at MU:
''The student ambassador program is something new the MU marketing department came up with this year. The main idea is to give selected students who have an interest in the department a chance to gain invaluable inside perspective into what happens when it comes to marketing and promoting their own university. In addition, we can come up with new ideas and work with that material – after all: we students were all once in the position of choosing where we wanted to study and knew what we were looking for.
What started very small is now a project that already has 6 ambassadors from both the BBA and MSc programs. The first step is to apply, and definitely take it seriously as word has spread and students are eager to be part of it. Your personality and disposition should convince that it really is something you want to dedicate some work to.
It mainly consists in aiding the marketing team to hold presentations for future students, and to give them on your own - in Austria and also in foreign countries, which gives you the opportunity to travel while working. Sometimes you might even hold a presentation on your own in your home country or where you feel at ease; in those cases there is also a financial bonus for your work.
For me, the best part is being able to contribute with my own ideas, start a project and count with help and support from the marketing department to turn it into something great and valuable. It is an inviting atmosphere, everyone has an open ear and is ready to discuss and talk about what could be done - sometimes even while sipping on delicious cocktails. As a final result, we students are the ones who benefit the most by promoting the name of our university. It will all count when we apply for jobs and internships before and after graduation.
MU being an established and well known university will open many doors for us as well as the fact of having gathered a lot of experience whilst being a student ambassador.''
MSc student Aleksandra Tanackovic has already been on the road this semester, presenting MU to audiences at 5 Belgrade high schools in her native Serbia. ''The whole experience of organizing my road trip and holding presentations was very exciting!'' said Aleksandra, who noted that some of the students she spoke to attended MU's bachelor information evening on campus.
BBA students Daniel Heil and Roman Kollár have done likewise in their respective Germany and Slovakia, using their homeland connections to spread word of MU. Newest ambassadors Miriam Auer and Nariman Zeynalli have recently joined the group, and are already deep into activity planning for the coming year.
We look forward to sending our ambassadors far and wide in 2012!
December 15 2011
Landscape of the Year - MU hosts Sustainable Tourism Conference
On December 9th, MODUL University Vienna hosted the closing event of the EC co-funded project Landscape of the Year – European Network for Competitive and Sustainable Tourism.
The project “Landscape of the Year Network” (LoY-Net) was about creating a network of European cross-border tourism regions all of which have been designated as “Landscape of the Year” by Naturefriends International. Based on extensive research of best/worst practices, the project partners have developed materials on how to ensure sustainability in key tourism services, such as tour operators, tour guides, accommodation providers, and tourism associations.
Moderated by Christian Baumgartner, Secretary General of Naturefriends International, the event centered on sustainable strategies and practices in the education of sustainable tourism. Highlights included the key note address from Gianna Moscardo of James Cook University about sustainability in tourism education, and MU's Dagmar Lund-Durlacher speaking on tools and methodology in learning for sustainable tourism.
About 40 attendees from diverse sectors including destination managers, planners, environmentalists, consultants, and academics and students in sustainable development management and policy participated in group discussions and workshops throughout the conference with the objective to provide an education scheme for each of these services in courses/training activities in terms of sustainable practices. Furthermore, a concept to approach students of higher education was proposed and is currently being further elaborated.
In a cosy atmosphere, the conference concluded with an organic food buffet which gave attendees the opportunity to both network and indulge in culinary experiences.
For further information about the project and conference, please visit http://www.landscapeoftheyear.net/
Landscape of the Year - MU hosts Sustainable Tourism Conference
On December 9th, MODUL University Vienna hosted the closing event of the EC co-funded project Landscape of the Year – European Network for Competitive and Sustainable Tourism.
The project “Landscape of the Year Network” (LoY-Net) was about creating a network of European cross-border tourism regions all of which have been designated as “Landscape of the Year” by Naturefriends International. Based on extensive research of best/worst practices, the project partners have developed materials on how to ensure sustainability in key tourism services, such as tour operators, tour guides, accommodation providers, and tourism associations.
Moderated by Christian Baumgartner, Secretary General of Naturefriends International, the event centered on sustainable strategies and practices in the education of sustainable tourism. Highlights included the key note address from Gianna Moscardo of James Cook University about sustainability in tourism education, and MU's Dagmar Lund-Durlacher speaking on tools and methodology in learning for sustainable tourism.
About 40 attendees from diverse sectors including destination managers, planners, environmentalists, consultants, and academics and students in sustainable development management and policy participated in group discussions and workshops throughout the conference with the objective to provide an education scheme for each of these services in courses/training activities in terms of sustainable practices. Furthermore, a concept to approach students of higher education was proposed and is currently being further elaborated.
In a cosy atmosphere, the conference concluded with an organic food buffet which gave attendees the opportunity to both network and indulge in culinary experiences.
For further information about the project and conference, please visit http://www.landscapeoftheyear.net/
December 14 2011
EL REY film screening - December 15th
The Sustainability Committee of MODUL University is pleased to invite you to the preview screening of EL REY, an Austrian documentary film by Stefan Lechner.
2 AUSTRIANS. 1 SCHOOL BUS. A CONTINENT OF MUSIC.
''After years of working with NGOs in developing nations, both Stefan and Adi fell in love with Latin America, the people and their culture. After a trip in 2002, the boys were inspired by their newfound love for the many forms of authentic/folk Latin American music.
That journey was the inspiration for what was to come, El Rey. So in 2006 off they set once again, pooling their entire life savings to embark on a year-long musical exploration through the rural backwaters and off the beaten track of Latin America. But this time along with their guitars they brought a temperamental old school bus, recording equipment, a camera and a plan to record their adventure. The project’s goal was to meet local musicians along the way and record their music. Adi’s audio recording skills combined with Stefan’s filming and development work in Latin America made it all possible.’’
The event will kick off at 5.15 pm on Thursday, December 15th, in the university AUDIMAX.
Prior to the screening, a keynote speech by Hartwig Kirner, director of FAIR TRADE Austria will set the scene. Stefan Lechner will be in attendance to present his film, which will be followed by a Q&A session.
Refreshments and snacks will be offered!
The public is welcome, but as we have limited space and catering, only the first 80 people to sign up will be able to attend.
Please register by e-mail to xavier.matteucci@modul.ac.at, on the note board in the cafeteria, at reception, or in front of the Student Service Center. Please note that all those who sign up are expected to attend.
We hope to see you there!
www.elreyfilm.com
www.facebook.com/elreyfilm
EL REY film screening - December 15th
The Sustainability Committee of MODUL University is pleased to invite you to the preview screening of EL REY, an Austrian documentary film by Stefan Lechner.
2 AUSTRIANS. 1 SCHOOL BUS. A CONTINENT OF MUSIC.
''After years of working with NGOs in developing nations, both Stefan and Adi fell in love with Latin America, the people and their culture. After a trip in 2002, the boys were inspired by their newfound love for the many forms of authentic/folk Latin American music.
That journey was the inspiration for what was to come, El Rey. So in 2006 off they set once again, pooling their entire life savings to embark on a year-long musical exploration through the rural backwaters and off the beaten track of Latin America. But this time along with their guitars they brought a temperamental old school bus, recording equipment, a camera and a plan to record their adventure. The project’s goal was to meet local musicians along the way and record their music. Adi’s audio recording skills combined with Stefan’s filming and development work in Latin America made it all possible.’’
The event will kick off at 5.15 pm on Thursday, December 15th, in the university AUDIMAX.
Prior to the screening, a keynote speech by Hartwig Kirner, director of FAIR TRADE Austria will set the scene. Stefan Lechner will be in attendance to present his film, which will be followed by a Q&A session.
Refreshments and snacks will be offered!
The public is welcome, but as we have limited space and catering, only the first 80 people to sign up will be able to attend.
Please register by e-mail to xavier.matteucci@modul.ac.at, on the note board in the cafeteria, at reception, or in front of the Student Service Center. Please note that all those who sign up are expected to attend.
We hope to see you there!
www.elreyfilm.com
www.facebook.com/elreyfilm
December 12 2011
Cooking with Care at Grenzenlos
MU students and staff put their hospitality skills to the test on Saturday night as they cooked up a storm at a fundraising event for charity partner Grenzenlos Kochen. Our team of ten volunteers joined others in a grand cook-off to raise money for the organization, dedicated to assisting asylum-seekers in Austria.
The theme of the evening being “From Kabul to Istanbul”, our intrepid epicureans tried their hands at a Persian rice cake with tomatoes and chicken, Bademjun (Persian stuffed eggplant) and an Armenian cheese pastry, sou berag. Once the dishes were unveiled and the volunteers had tasted the fruits of their labours, the student group decided to make a donation out of their own pockets and buy an art-chair painted by one of the residents of the asylum-seekers home. A great addition to the MU student lounge!
The MU Cares community outreach program (which provides volunteering opportunities for our students) and Grenzenlos Kochen have a running cooperation – last May we donated 1000 Euros raised at the MU International Day which were used to fund German language classes for new arrivals and to purchase equipment for Grenzenlos’ sport program. We certainly look forward to continuing to work together and wish their community the best.
More pictures of the event can be found on our Facebook page.
December 07 2011
"How can we work to have a better world?" MU at Sustainability Conference in NL
MU’s Sustainability Committee is not just active on campus, its members engage in international partnerships in order to facilitate knowledge transfer and keep up-to-date on the latest ideas and developments in sustainability.
Stefan Gindl, the Sustainability Committee’s PR Manager, recently attended the annual meeting of the COPERNICUS Alliance in Kerkrade, NL. COPERNICUS Alliance is the European Network on Higher Education in Sustainable Development and is affiliated with other regional sustainability networks throughout the world. In its current incarnation, 19 universities are in the alliance with MU holding membership since 2010.
The two-day conference featured a variety of speeches and discussions directly geared towards sustainability in the context of higher education, with an emphasis on how to obtain future goals as well as reports on current activities. Working groups were built to discuss sustainability issues relevant for universities and collect ideas to further develop the road map of the alliance. Members discussed concrete strategies implementable in universities in order to increase sustainability awareness and to implement methods such as the adaptation of curricula or designing means for student activities.
A special highlight of the meeting was the short talk given by Jan-Peter Balkenende, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Balkenende, a strong advocate of green thinking and sustainable development, outlined his personal experiences in this area. He emphasized that everyone has to take responsibility - which involves leaders such as himself. He also mentioned that sustainability is a hot topic not only in politics but also in the business industry and for banks and other financial institutes.
Back at MU, Stefan and the SC are going to discuss ways of further cooperation with COPERNICUS as well as the implementation of ideas refined during the conference, such as encouraging student-directed activity in sustainability. With oikos International as umbrella organization, this affiliation will benefit from cooperation with other universities and increase its level of awareness.
"How can we work to have a better world?" MU at Sustainability Conference in NL
MU’s Sustainability Committee is not just active on campus, its members engage in international partnerships in order to facilitate knowledge transfer and keep up-to-date on the latest ideas and developments in sustainability.
Stefan Gindl, the Sustainability Committee’s PR Manager, recently attended the annual meeting of the COPERNICUS Alliance in Kerkrade, NL. COPERNICUS Alliance is the European Network on Higher Education in Sustainable Development and is affiliated with other regional sustainability networks throughout the world. In its current incarnation, 19 universities are in the alliance with MU holding membership since 2010.
The two-day conference featured a variety of speeches and discussions directly geared towards sustainability in the context of higher education, with an emphasis on how to obtain future goals as well as reports on current activities. Working groups were built to discuss sustainability issues relevant for universities and collect ideas to further develop the road map of the alliance. Members discussed concrete strategies implementable in universities in order to increase sustainability awareness and to implement methods such as the adaptation of curricula or designing means for student activities.
A special highlight of the meeting was the short talk given by Jan-Peter Balkenende, the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Balkenende, a strong advocate of green thinking and sustainable development, outlined his personal experiences in this area. He emphasized that everyone has to take responsibility - which involves leaders such as himself. He also mentioned that sustainability is a hot topic not only in politics but also in the business industry and for banks and other financial institutes.
Back at MU, Stefan and the SC are going to discuss ways of further cooperation with COPERNICUS as well as the implementation of ideas refined during the conference, such as encouraging student-directed activity in sustainability. With oikos International as umbrella organization, this affiliation will benefit from cooperation with other universities and increase its level of awareness.
December 05 2011
Football and fashion collide at student tournament
Ten teams of enthusiastic footballers competed for glory and great prizes this weekend at the MU Friendly Football Tournament. Held each semester, the tourney is a chance for students to be active, have fun, play the beautiful game, and show off their creativity in the “best-dressed team” competition.
Teams consisted of MU students and staff, plus guest teams from Webster University and tournament sponsors Feelslikehome.at. The festivities got off to a rousing start with the dramatic entry to the exchange students’ team dressed in Santa Claus garb, followed by Harry Potter and Camouflage teams (complete with face paint).
On the pitch, the guest teams ended up meeting in the final, which ended in Feelslikehome.at’s favour. Third place went down to the wire and was decided in favour of Studentenfutter via penalty kicks.
Team Exchange won a close vote against Magical Unit for best-dressed – they certainly earned it for playing in their Santa suits! The winners got to take home great prizes from the MU Wine Society and main sponsor Feelslikehome.at, who secured the support of TheBOX 2.0, T-Mobile and Starbucks.
Many thanks to all players, sponsors, volunteer referees and especially the student volunteers who helped make the day a big success.
December 01 2011
Social media as a barometer of environmental policy – Analyzing coverage on the COP 17 Climate Change Conference
To coincide with the UN World Climate Conference in Durban, South Africa (COP 17), MODUL University Vienna, together with a team of Austrian researchers, presented the newest release of the Media Watch on Climate Change (www.ecoresearch.net/climate), a comprehensive system for the analysis of social media and online reports from many different sources (Anglo-American news media, scientific publications, social media including Twitter, Youtube and Facebook, environmental organizations, corporations, etc.).
COP stands for the “Conference of the Parties” yearly assembly, which consists of the 195 countries that signed the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. The current COP 17 event emphasizes the importance of global communication and collaboration for addressing environmental problems. Acquiring, managing and applying knowledge are crucial steps in ensuring that change is conceived and implemented on both regional and society-wide scales.
The new release of the Media Watch on Climate Change aims to support these processes by increasing transparency, creating shared meaning and supporting sustainable processes. The impact of the Kyoto Protocol is a chief component of the COP discussions, and a media watch search turns up an extensive array of articles from across the globe. By querying terms such as “COP 17” and “Durban”, users can obtain an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of matching quotes, semantic associations, and the geographic distribution of search results. Color-coded by sentiment (green = positive; red = negative), the current distribution reflects a skeptical Anglo-American media landscape with diverging views on whether urgently needed progress will be achieved, as well as intense discussions about previous treaties such as Kyoto.
The interactive technologies of the climate portal (see www.weblyzard.com) underline the importance of new forms of environmental communication and cooperation. The visual exploration tool allows users to monitor in real time in which countries and on which online platforms relevant content is published, whether the sentiment is positive or negative, and what main topics related to climate change are being discussed. More than five years into the project, the Media Watch on Climate Change is an important contribution to creating more transparency and understanding the positions of various stakeholders.
Related Research Projects
• Climate Change Collaboratory (www.modul.ac.at/nmt/triple-c)
• Dynamic Integration and Visualization of Information from Multiple Evidence Sources (www.weblyzard.com/divine)
Social media as a barometer of environmental policy – Analyzing coverage on the COP 17 Climate Change Conference
To coincide with the UN World Climate Conference in Durban, South Africa (COP 17), MODUL University Vienna, together with a team of Austrian researchers, presented the newest release of the Media Watch on Climate Change (www.ecoresearch.net/climate), a comprehensive system for the analysis of social media and online reports from many different sources (Anglo-American news media, scientific publications, social media including Twitter, Youtube and Facebook, environmental organizations, corporations, etc.).
COP stands for the “Conference of the Parties” yearly assembly, which consists of the 195 countries that signed the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. The current COP 17 event emphasizes the importance of global communication and collaboration for addressing environmental problems. Acquiring, managing and applying knowledge are crucial steps in ensuring that change is conceived and implemented on both regional and society-wide scales.
The new release of the Media Watch on Climate Change aims to support these processes by increasing transparency, creating shared meaning and supporting sustainable processes. The impact of the Kyoto Protocol is a chief component of the COP discussions, and a media watch search turns up an extensive array of articles from across the globe. By querying terms such as “COP 17” and “Durban”, users can obtain an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of matching quotes, semantic associations, and the geographic distribution of search results. Color-coded by sentiment (green = positive; red = negative), the current distribution reflects a skeptical Anglo-American media landscape with diverging views on whether urgently needed progress will be achieved, as well as intense discussions about previous treaties such as Kyoto.
The interactive technologies of the climate portal (see www.weblyzard.com) underline the importance of new forms of environmental communication and cooperation. The visual exploration tool allows users to monitor in real time in which countries and on which online platforms relevant content is published, whether the sentiment is positive or negative, and what main topics related to climate change are being discussed. More than five years into the project, the Media Watch on Climate Change is an important contribution to creating more transparency and understanding the positions of various stakeholders.
Related Research Projects
• Climate Change Collaboratory (www.modul.ac.at/nmt/triple-c)
• Dynamic Integration and Visualization of Information from Multiple Evidence Sources (www.weblyzard.com/divine)
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