The Faculty of Social Sciences, Economics & Business (SOWI) at the Johannes Kepler University Linz is the university’s largest faculty with 41 institutes and over 7,000 enrolled students. Creating a Business School (which will also be internationally accredited in the medium term) is the next step in the university's new, forward-thinking strategic plan. The Business School will launch three new Master’s degree programs this fall, reflecting the Business School’s commitment to being internationally oriented, yet regionally anchored.

JKU Rector Meinhard Lukas remarked, "The JKU Business School was created on a model similar to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School. Just as at the Sloan School of Management at MIT, the JKU Business School goal is to create the “ideal manager”."  The JKU Business School will offer educational programs to help students adapt to today’s challenges, such as digital transformation. The Business School is a regionally anchored academic hub with an international focus. The Business School’s objectives are not only reflected in the fact that a number of academic degree programs are offered in English, but also provides students with unique opportunities to earn double degrees at partner universities abroad and benefit from many additional guest professorships and exchange programs. The JKU Business School’s direction and focus is embedded in the JKU’s technology-oriented environment. This means that important social and technological issues such as digital transformation are clearly reflected in teaching and research at the Business School, particularly by including academic fields such as business informatics alongside business administration.

In times of artificial intelligence and big data, interdisciplinary networking is also becoming increasingly important in business - the JKU Business School will continue to support the JKU's position as a digital hotspot.  Rector Lukas added: "The JKU Business School will help us reach our goal to position ourselves among Europe’s top universities in the area of business studies. The JKU Business School’s long-term goal is to become internationally accredited. This will help facilitate exchange programs in teaching and research together with leading partner universities and is also a recognized seal of quality." In addition to sound theoretical education, the programs also feature hands-on education designed to address real-world issues. The job prospects are outstanding and graduates are highly sought after. By clearly positioning these elements as part of all of the academic degree programs and appointing program directors, the Business School underpins its commitment to high quality education.

The Business School will be managed under the JKU umbrella brand, giving the range of degree programs a stronger profile and better positioning. Similar to LIT, interdisciplinary research will be one of the Business School’s cornerstones and will not only be important at the School, but also between Schools. The Rothschild School of Economics and Statistics is currently in the planning stages and programs by our economists and statisticians will be pooled under this brand.

New Academic Degree Programs

The Business School will soon offer 12 new academic degree programs; 4 Bachelor’s degree programs and 8 Master’s degree programs.

Bachelor’s Degree Programs:

• Business Informatics
• Business Administration (beg. Winter Semester 2020 to succeed WiWi)
• Business and Engineering (to begin Winter Semester 2020/2021)
• International Business Administration (to begin Winter Semester 2020/2021)

Master’s Degree Programs:

• Finance and Accounting
• Management *NEW beg. WS 2019/2020
• General Management Double Degree
• Global Business ACT and TROIKA
• Leading Innovative Organizations *NEW beg. WS 2019/20
• Economic and Business Analytics *NEW beg. WS 2019/20
• Business and Engineering (to begin Winter Semester 2020/2021)
• Business Informatics

Three of the new degree programs - MA Leading Innovative Organizations, MA Management and MA Economic and Business Analytics – will begin this fall for Winter Semester 2019/2020.

• MA Leading Innovative Organizations

The Master’s degree program LIO (Leading Innovative Organizations) was created under the motto "Fast Track to Excellence" and is aimed at so-called high potential students who want to complete a 120 ECTS credit graduate degree program in one year. The program focuses on leadership, innovation and organization, as well as state-of-the-art science combined with deep insight into the demands that today’s business executives and organizations face. Offered entirely in English, the one-year program begins in August and ends the following year at the end of September. Prospective students must possess strong base-knowledge in management and be fluent in English. Prospective students must also take the GMAT test (a standardized test designed to assess certain analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal and reading skills in written English) and only the top 40 students will be accepted to the program.

• MA Management

The keyword for the recently revised Master's degree program in General Management is Digital Omnipresence. Starting this fall, the program will focus on digital transformation with regard to management processes. The digital component will be a key element in all areas of study and the program has been designed to be even more global and hands-on. The program combines education in management with a specialization in one of three competence areas (Marketing and Global Marketing, Strategic and International Management and Digital Transformation: Leadership, Human Resource Management and Change). Students also have the opportunity to complete a comprehensive, interdisciplinary project at a top, local business company. A special feature: Students can enroll in a high-quality, international English-language degree program (optionally combined with a semester abroad) but stay in the region.

• MA Economic and Business Analytics

Digitalization and globalization are creating new challenges and opportunities for science, business, and industry. Big Data influences the entire business process from the planning stages to logistics, marketing, sales, human resources and accounting. In order to survive and grow in a highly competitive market, it is critical to have the ability to successfully analyze and interpret this data. The two-year Master’s degree program Economic and Business Analytics meets the industry's demand for graduates possessing strong skills in business analytics. A combination of courses in data analysis, decision theory and strategic management prepare graduates to fill this particular occupational gap.

In addition, a Bachelor's and a Master's degree program in Economics and Technology are scheduled to launch this fall at the start of the 2019/2020 academic year. Starting in Winter Semester 2020/2021, the JKU will also offer a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration for the first time, as well as a degree in International Business Administration which will not only be held in English, but will also require students to spend a semester abroad. In this regard, this is the last year students can enroll in Bachelor’s degree programs in Business & Economics and Social Economics without being subject to the new admission procedure.

Functional Fields at the Business School

The Business School focuses on research in the areas of Finance and Accounting, Supply Chain and Information Management and Management and Marketing.

• Finance & Accounting focuses on research in the fields of Digital Transformation, Sustainable Development, and Finance as well as interdisciplinary research conducted together with research groups at schools of natural sciences-engineering, medicine, and law. The goal is to provide companies with a holistic view of essential aspects in different transformation processes and share the research and practices within the Business School.
• Supply Chain & Information Management focuses on Supply Chain and Information Management, making significant contributions to research, education and knowledge transfer and to plan and implement transformation processes as part of the digitization framework. The starting point is an interdisciplinary perspective of technology and business administration, learning about the methods and procedures to design, plan and implement internal and cross-organizational processes as well as value creation networks.
• Management & Marketing: Key challenges include technological, economic and social changes that need to be recognized in time as well as transformations that need to be globally designed and scaled. At the same time, effective transformation strategies must be increasingly carried out and implemented beyond the organization’s borders (Open Strategy and Innovation).