Modern Education: Interaction and Applied Practice

What is modern education and teaching? We asked Kepler Award winners Almina Besic, Regina Gattringer, Lisa Niehoff, and Thomas Werani.

Almina Besic
Almina Besic

Prof. Regina Gattringer (head of the Institute for Strategic Management), Assist. Prof. Almina Besic (Institute for International Management), and Prof. Thomas Werani along with Lisa Niehoff (both from the Institute for Retailing, Sales and Marketing) were presented with the Kepler Award in recognition of their innovative teaching approaches. We spoke with them about what the award means to them.

What are the characteristics of modern teaching methods?
We believe that modern education combines recent research findings with applied practice and how to address the challenges professionals are encountering now. We include interaction and feedback elements that enable students to better understand complex problems and solve them in a professional way.

What makes the way you teach special?
We work together with students and to address current, real-world business problems based on "real" case studies.

In one sentence, what is the course "Interdisciplinary Business Project: Marketing and Global Marketing / Strategic and International Management" about?
Supervised and assisted by faculty members from three JKU institutes and partner companies, students develop solutions to address real-world business issues in an interdisciplinary way and then apply their solutions to address problems in B2B markets.

What does winning this award mean to you?
Winning the award confirms we are on the right path when it comes to innovative education, including current research findings, and addressing real-world business issues that, on one hand, benefit students, and, on the other hand, benefit real businesses.