“The range of courses offered immediately appealed to me”

“I first developed an interest in business topics while I was still at school at HAK International in Klagenfurt, which is where I completed my secondary education,” Miriam Wiltsche recounts. After graduating from high school, she opted to further expand her knowledge in the field of economics with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the University of Innsbruck and subsequently pursued her Master’s degree in Business Administration at the University of Klagenfurt. “From the very beginning, it was clear to me that a Bachelor’s degree would mainly teach me the basics, while a Master’s degree would allow for deeper specialisation,” she explains.

The decision to embark on a Master’s degree programme in Business Administration at the University of Klagenfurt was easy for her. “The range of courses offered immediately appealed to me”, she tells us. For her, the high level of practical relevance during the Master’s programme was another important aspect. “Many of the lecturers have a strong practical background or work in the private sector in addition to their work at the university,” says Wiltsche. During her Master’s degree, she chose Innovation Management as one of her areas of specialisation. This gave her the opportunity to work closely with companies, gain practical experience and forge valuable contacts for her future career. “The university goes to great lengths to support its students by incorporating practical relevance into their degree programmes, for example by means of job shadowing, offering numerous courses in English and bringing international teaching staff to the university,” she emphasises. In order to establish further international contacts and gain intercultural experience, she spent a semester abroad in Florida during the winter semester of 2023/24. “The University of Klagenfurt promotes exchange programmes and provides excellent support when it comes to planning semesters abroad,” she underlines, “so I was able to get to know student life in America, which was very different to Austrian university life.” Thanks to her Master’s degree in Business Administration, she not only gained intercultural experience and valuable practical insights, but also acquired comprehensive specialist knowledge and a deeper understanding of economic relationships.

Moreover, Miriam Wiltsche’s business studies broadened her perspective on the importance of staff, as she points out: “It’s not always just about figures in terms of profit and performance, but above all it’s about the employees, because no company can survive without them.” This insight has significantly broadened her understanding of business and company management, and she is looking forward to being able to put the business skills she has acquired into professional practice soon. She is currently working on her final thesis entitled “Leadership in the United States and Austria and the consequences on employees’ motivation and satisfaction” – supervised by Heiko Breitsohl and Theresa Tschauko – which focuses on employee satisfaction and motivation.