The Lauder Business School’s Erasmus Policy Statement
The guiding policies for LBS’s mobility and internationalization activities are the Bologna Process, the Erasmus+ Programme, the EU 2020 Strategy, and the Agenda for the Modernisation of Europe’s higher education systems.
In accordance with the legal framework for Austrian Universities of Applied Sciences, LBS offers first- and second-cycle academic degrees, which are industry-oriented and prepare students for professional activities in an ever more globalized economy. In its mission statement, LBS commits itself to internationally recognized business degrees and the promotion of worldwide careers. Applicability and employability are thus the hallmarks of our English-taught study programs, which include a bachelor’s degree offering a comprehensive introduction to International Business Administration as well as two more specialized master’s degrees in International Management and Leadership and Strategic Finance and Business Analytics. Subsequently, we consider an international outlook and cross-border collaboration in teaching, research and administration to be essential in achieving LBS’s overarching goal.
LBS’s mobility strategy encompasses mobility of students, lecturers and staff as well as Knowledge Alliances with businesses and public organizations in the European Higher Education Area. We particularly encourage (a) intern- and traineeships abroad, and (b) faculty and staff exchange with the aim of increasing our academic and administrative capacity. Sustainable networks with practice-oriented higher education providers and corporate R&D partners are the foundation for commissioned master theses, funding proposals, and joint research projects. We gladly build on the intercultural and plurilingual expertise of our numerous students coming from Central, Eastern and South-East Europe, Israel and the Americas to reach out to these knowledge-based economies and emerging markets within and beyond Europe.
Recent curricular reforms standardized the teaching of quantitative subjects and increased the number of Business and Academic English classes, with a particular emphasis on learning and working in an English as a Lingua Franca environment. Our responsiveness to international subject and teaching demands will enhance the competitiveness of our graduates on the global job and continuing education market.
LBS has accrued considerable expertise in business-related diversity research and in managing an extremely diverse higher education institution. Moreover, we are closely cooperating with key actors in the field of migration and integration policies in Austria. First and foremost, LBS actively supports the incorporation of international graduates in the Austrian highly skilled labor market through intensive German language trainings, diversity workshops, and customized information and advice. These competencies will also benefit any type of incoming mobility.
Clearly, LBS gives preference to academic and corporate partners whose basic orientation is compatible with ours (e.g. English as language of instruction or dominant working language, industry-orientation, and applied R&D). At the same time, we seek to learn from different approaches in teaching, research and higher education management in line with the principle of diversimilarity. All Erasmus+ activities are professionally supported by our Department of Research and International Relations.
In a nutshell, LBS’s commitment to Erasmus+ is crucially informed by the quest for boosting our students‘ employability and citizenship competencies by means of a challenging international business education. In our pursuit to be an attractive employer, LBS encourages its faculty and staff members to participate in transnational mobility and exchange measures. However, female applicants are preferred before male applicants in case of having the same qualification and admission scores.