#fhburgenlandundich: A new chapter begins

Changing economic structures for the better

Nina, for example, is fulfilling a long-standing dream in September. "I've always wanted to study and go abroad," the 31-year-old tells us in an interview. But after school, her full-time job as a teenage mum took priority. "When you become a mum at an early age, society often labels you as a 'loser' without opportunities and possibilities. This stigma slowed me down for a long time as a young single mum. But now that my son is older, I'm just doing my thing."

Nina's career since then has been anything but one-sided. In addition to various training courses in dance sports, mental health, relaxation techniques and yoga, she most recently worked in the social business "FreuRaum", where she has already realised her potential as a chef, restaurant manager and deputy managing director. "I have already utilised everything that was possible in my career. But now it's time for a new adventure. In Austria, you also have limited opportunities without a degree. That's why I want to open up new perspectives for myself with the Bachelor's degree programme in International Business Relations."

The soon-to-be full-time first-year student explains her choice of degree programme by the omnipresence of economic contexts. "Economics is simply a big topic in our world, as is capitalism. In other words: the rich get richer, the poor get poorer. I want to learn to understand how the economy works and its mechanisms in order to change it for the better. Because I believe that we can have all this without exploiting people." She hopes that the Bachelor's degree programme at FH Burgenland will open the door to the international banquet: "I think it's great that the lecturers come from a practical background and I'm looking forward to expanding my network. One of the highlights of my degree programme will definitely be the semester abroad."

Protecting the climate for tomorrow's future

Marjan, on the other hand, has come to us from abroad to study for a Master's degree in Energy and Environmental Management at the Burgenland University of Applied Sciences. In her home country, Iran, she has already completed a degree in agricultural engineering, specialising in agricultural economics. "During my studies, I realised that a lot of energy is consumed in the production of agricultural products, especially in greenhouses. This not only increases production costs, but our environment also suffers the consequences."

The 33-year-old was not prepared to accept this fact. Instead, she wants to be part of the solution. And she can undoubtedly do that after completing her Master's degree. After all, with her degree from the Burgenland University of Applied Sciences, she is not only in demand on the labour market in view of the advancing climate crisis, but above all she can use the knowledge she has acquired to drive forward the energy transition in the future. It was precisely this motivation that drove Marjan to study: "I want to make our world a better and more sustainable place for current and future generations."

The future student is most looking forward to the internships and laboratory courses, but also to the exchange with her fellow students: "I can certainly gain a lot of new knowledge and improve my skills in the laboratories. I know that the UAS Burgenland is very progressive and modern here."

Putting health at the centre of society

Kenny's interest in health was already evident in his school days. After his A-levels, however, he first tried his hand at social pedagogy. "Because my mum is also a social pedagogue. However, I then realised that I was more interested in counselling than providing care. My communication skills from my former job are definitely coming in handy on the Bachelor's degree programme in Health Management and Health Promotion."

As is so often the case, it turns out that no path in life is taken in vain. Otherwise, Kenny might not have discovered business administration for himself: "I became interested in it while working as a social pedagogue. Business management aspects, for example in organisation, were very important there." That's why it quickly became clear to the future full-time student why he wanted to continue his education at the Burgenland University of Applied Sciences: "I particularly like the unique combination of health promotion and management or business administration. After all, the Bachelor's degree programme in Health Management and Health Promotion is unique in Austria. But I was also impressed by the familiar atmosphere at FH Burgenland in general. I'm sure I can pick up a lot of knowledge and meet new people." Kenny is already making plans for his professional future: in the medium term, he would like to gain experience in the healthcare sector and try his hand at research after a few years.

Sharing knowledge digitally, independently and in a structured way

Thomas found his way to us at FH Burgenland - thanks to the digital zeitgeist - via Google. "In the course of setting up my online academy 'exvomo', I was looking for a consultant for e-learning systems. I didn't find what I was looking for, but the Master's degree programme in e-learning and knowledge management suddenly popped up among the search queries," the 28-year-old tells us. "So I thought to myself: maybe I'll be an e-learning consultant myself in a few years with this degree programme?" The founder had at least already gained some experience: after completing a Bachelor's degree in Business Consultancy, he went on to complete a Master's degree in E-Commerce before setting up his own company "exvomo - experts of tomorrow". "Our focus is on the further development of people and companies in e-commerce. At some point, we came up with the idea of an automated e-learning course series for the online retail sector." In spring, he finally realised his vision: Since then, interested parties have been able to learn more about e-commerce regardless of time and place and receive an e-commerce driving licence or basic course at the end of the course.

Why did Thomas apply to us? "Quite simply because I wanted to. I looked at the syllabus and it clicked immediately. The programme covers a lot of things that are also relevant to my company and will help me in my career. For example, the course 'E-learning course design'."

In addition, the future part-time student could always imagine working as a teacher. And after pursuing a similar goal as a consultant - namely to pass on expertise to third parties - he would also like to learn more about structured and efficient knowledge transfer during his studies.

Would you also like to start studying at FH Burgenland this autumn? Then apply quickly for one of the remaining places on our Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes! Simply click HERE .