Review

Jan Van Riet, President Melitta Europa GmbH & Co. KG, Household Products DivisionOn January 30, 2014 the captain of the international Melitta fleet was the visiting speaker in the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series at the Entrepreneurial School®. The international Melitta Group is a vendor of products for the household, catering trade and bulk consumers in Europe, North and South America and Asia. Melitta was founded as a family business in 1908. It is now a group of 50 companies with 3600 employees and net sales totaling 1.4 billion euros. An electrical engineer by training, Van Riet only became a marketer later in life. At Melitta, after some initial setbacks, he managed to steer the company into the market for fully automatic coffee. The traditional manufacturer of coffee filters found it difficult at first to extend its activities to include the new segment, and the German manager is surprisingly candid on the subject of initial quality problems, product recalls and resulting image problems, and a general internal skepticism with regard to new systems. But they persevered, and following a relaunch were able to establish themselves on the market. In this context Van Riet stresses the importance of intensive marketing, which is decisive for survival in a competitive market. But Van Riet also has a word of warning: “Self-satisfaction is the biggest enemy” and speaks of Melitta’s possible entry into the highly competitive market of coffee capsule systems. He also emphasizes the importance of combing “tradition with innovation” because that, he says, is the biggest challenge on the road to success. The talk was moderated by Professor Johannes Dickel. {phocagallery view=category|categoryid=780}

Between the twin calls of entrepreneurial goals and social responsibilityDr. Gunter Dunkel, CEO, NORD/LB Norddeutsche Landesbank On January 17 2014, in the framework of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series, Management Center Innsbruck, the Entrepreneurial School®, took pleasure in welcoming the international bank manager Dr. Gunter Dunkel from Hanover, Germany. The banker began his talk by stressing the importance of correct and transparent communication in crisis situations: “The goal is not to solve the crisis at once but to win a breathing space.” The first step is to briefly withdraw from the public eye and discuss the steps to be taken within the inner group, then communicate the cause of the problem and quickly take initial corrective action. After that, the first positive results can be communicated and fundamental structural measures introduced. You have to keep on your toes, however: “A crisis is only over when no-one is interested any more, not when the management would like it to be,” said the CEO. In addition to crisis management strategies and the importance of the right effect on pubic opinion, the German banker also spoke about the learning process. According to Gunter Dunkel, every crisis has the basic potential to stimulate the further development of the organization involved. The talk was chaired by Professor Jürgen Huber, University of Innsbruck.{phocadownload view=file|id=5030}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=777}

Uday Nanda, MBA (Grassroutes Journeys Ltd. & Ujivanna Life Resorts Ltd., Mumbai)On December 3, 2013, in the framework of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series, the Entrepreneurial School® took pleasure in welcoming a very special businessman from India. Uday Nanda gave a presentation on his companies and spoke of the stony path he had had to tread to set up his own business. It is the story of a successful bank manager who “converted” to social entrepreneurship. Today the young Indian is running a socially compatible tourism project, which offers stressed-out city dwellers (and others) an opportunity to restore their energies amidst the simple life of rural India. At the same time, the scheme is designed to bring economic benefits to the local people without disrupting their way of life. Uday is also about to launch a new and revolutionary housing project for the elderly and especially those living isolated lives. The goal of this project is to establish and maintain homes designed for the elderly and handicapped in his home town of Mumbai. But what triggered this conversion? What persuaded the bank manager to take the first step? The young and dynamic entrepreneur Uday explains that his earlier job with the bank was lacking in terms of sustainability, whereas his projects permit him to create sustainability and help people in the long term. “That’s something I find very important, especially in my daily work,” says the MBA from Mumbai. The event was chaired by Professor Siegfried Walch.{phocadownload view=file|id=4937}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=770}

Chance, Leid, Herausforderung, Hoffnung. Am 21.11.2013 lud das Kuratorium Sicheres Österreich gemeinsam mit dem Management Center Innsbruck zu einem Informations- und Diskussionsabend ins MCI, um den Themenkomplex Migration aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven zu beleuchten. Landespolizeidirektor und KSÖ Tirol Präsident Mag. Helmut Tomac hob in seiner Begrüßung die gesamtgesellschaftliche Bedeutung des Themas Migration hervor. "Unser Ziel ist es zu informieren, aufzuklären und durch Sensibilisierung dem meist negativen Vorurteil gegenüber Migranten/-innen zu begegnen", sagte Mag. Tomac.  Der Leiter der Rechtssektion im Innenministerium SC Dr. Mathias Vogl referierte zu den Themen Asyl und legale Migration und gab Einblicke in die komplexe Materie von Fremden-, Niederlassungs- und Asylgesetz.  Warum brauchen wir Migration? Die Wirtschaftsexpertin Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. habil. Gudrun Biffl von der Donau-Universität Krems beleuchtete diese Frage aus der Sicht der Wirtschaft. Oberst Gerald Tatzgern der Leiter des Büro Menschenhandel und Schlepperei im BM.I informierte über die organisierte Schlepperkriminalität und die unmenschlichen Methoden von Schlepperbanden.  Über die Ursachen für Migration und deren globale Zusammenhänge referierte Priv.-Doz. Dr. Belachew Gebrewold. Nach den Eingangsreferaten hatte das Publikum Gelegenheit Fragen an die Fachexperten zu stellen und über das Thema zu diskutieren.  Aufgrund der vielen Wortmeldungen der ca. 170 Veranstaltungsteilnehmer/-innen musste der Diskussionsleiter TT Chefredakteur Mario Zenhäusern die Diskussion kurzer Hand um eine Stunde verlängern. {phocadownload view=file|id=4920}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=765}

Peter Augendopler, inventor of the Kornspitz® grain roll, Backaldrin The Kornspitz® Company On November 20, 2013, in the framework of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series, the Entrepreneurial School® took pleasure in welcoming Peter Augendopler, inventor of the Kornspitz® grain roll, Europe’s most successful branded baking product, which today is marketed worldwide. Back in 1964 Peter Augendopler became the first employee in the new company founded by his parents and in 1969 was given the job of establishing its first foreign subsidiary, in Germany. By 1989, Backaldrin was setting up subsidiaries in the countries of the former Communist bloc in Eastern Europe, and a program of international expansion was initiated in 1995. Today, the company, which is headquartered in Asten in Upper Austria, produces more than 600 products for bread, rolls, cakes and pastries, which are exported to 99 different countries. In 2006, Backaldrin commenced manufacturing operations at a second factory, located in Jordan, which supplies baking products to the Arab Region and countries in Africa. Peter Augendopler refers to himself as a baker: “There is no finer occupation”. For him, the company’s mission is to turn bread into a modern form of nutrition. To that end, Backaldrin delivers not only the ingredients for bread worldwide but also the knowhow needed to use those basic materials to bake bread of the same high quality every day. Grain, for example, is first analyzed in the laboratory and then tested in the baking process. Depending on the results of the tests, modifications are subsequently made to the dough production process. The House of Bread in Asten includes a modern training centre, where the company’s employees are taught baking theory and skills, and the results of the laboratory and baking tests are made available there. To ensure that all customers worldwide are able to produce bread of a consistently high quality, Backaldrin maintains a baking hotline and if required will also send a baking advisor. Asked what tips he had for the many students in the audience, Peter Augendopler advised them to acquire as much broad-based knowledge as possible, collect practical experience, read a serious newspaper every day and above all take advantage of today’s opportunities to go abroad to learn. The event was chaired by Dr. Florian Becke, Executive Director of Gründungszentrum CAST. {phocadownload view=file|id=4916}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=763}

Sustainability in a conflict of interests Georg Schöppl, CEO, Österreichische Bundesforste AG On November 12, in the framework of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series, the MCI again offered an opportunity to hear a leading expert in the role of visiting speaker. Georg Schöppl, CEO of Österreichische Bundesforste AG (Austrian Federal Forests), provided exciting insights into working in and with the nature. It quickly became clear to the audience that the old romanticized image of the forester has nothing to do with modern reality. His work today has more to do with climate change and dealing with storms and natural disasters. In the last few years, pronounced price fluctuations have made it necessary for the Austrian Federal Forests to develop additional sources of revenue so as to consolidate the undertaking’s position in the long term, with real estate and renewable energy generation as just two of the new fields of business. The main challenge, however, remains the sustainability of the timber harvest. In view of the long life cycles of the trees, generation-spanning work remains the organization’s core activity. What is planted today will only be harvested in 140 years’ time. A sustainability balanced scorecard is used to achieve sustainable targets based on a compromise between the calls of economics, society and nature. The focus placed by the company on human resource recruitment and training is reflected in the fact that its forestry expertise is also in demand as an international service offering. The presentation was followed by a lively discussion, thus rounding off a very successful evening. The event was chaired by Professor Andreas Altmann as Rector of the MCI.{phocadownload view=file|id=4917}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=761}

Hap Klopp, Entrepreneur, Founder of The North Face®, San Francisco On Thursday, November 7, in the framework of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series, the Entrepreneurial School® at Management Center Innsbruck took pleasure in welcoming Hap Klopp, founder of the world-famous and highly successful outdoor brand The North Face and as such a visiting speaker who is something of a perfect specimen of the entrepreneur. Speaking in English, Hap Klopp started off by telling his numerous listeners something about his own personal development, including an individualism that involved the desire to take his own decisions and run his own business. That dream came true with the foundation of The North Face in 1968, which soon became one of the best and best managed outdoor companies in the world. The speaker provided an overview of developments from the company’s early years to the establishment, development and continuous grooming of a successful brand. From the beginning, the keys to success at The North Face included a commitment to innovation and continuous product development, a strong focus on quality (“quality is an attitude”) as reflected in a life-long guarantee, and motivated employees who made it possible to develop the best possible products in line with the motto: “Don’t tell them how to do it; tell them why”. The audience were particularly impressed by Hap Klopp’s entrepreneurial mindset. His style has always been to get things done, seize the opportunities, take risks and retain enthusiasm for his activities. For him, management is about taking decisions, leading the way and generally being a doer. The alumni talk was held in the framework of the MCI’s Open House. That gave lots of high school students an opportunity to experience the international atmosphere of the MCI and test their command of English. A lively discussion concluded a fascinating presentation. The event was chaired by Professor Peter Mirski, head of department at the MCI.{phocadownload view=file|id=4911}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=760}

Dr. Stefan Sommer, CEO at ZF Friedrichshafen AG With 75,000 employees and net sales totaling 17.4 billion euros, ZF Friedrichshafen is the third biggest automotive industry supplier in Germany. The main focus at the South German company is on transmission engineering, and the production of steering and axle components. ZF Friedrichshafen’s customer base includes the world’s leading car and truck manufacturers. On October 30th the Entrepreneurial School® at Management Center Innsbruck took pleasure in welcoming Dr. Stefan Sommer, CEO of this high-powered company, who gave a talk in the framework of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series. On the subject of “Factors for success at a global enterprise”, the German manager placed a strong emphasis on corporate vision and strategy as the keys to progress and further development. He said, “You have to make it clear to almost 80,000 employees that they have to deliver that little bit extra in terms of workmanship and innovation if you are simply on a par with the others.” The focus must be on achieving a “leading performance” and delivering “world class technology”. For Dr. Sommer, the main factors for success today are dynamism, and speed and flexibility in responding to the needs of changing markets, as well as the power of innovation, freedom and creativity required to move down new avenues in a pioneering spirit. And that, the CEO added, is not possible unless you have a few people with vision on board. The talk was chaired by Oliver Stock, editor-in chief of Handelsblatt Online. {phocadownload view=file|id=4870}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=758}

Management and market in a global world.Michel Wurth, CEO of ArcelorMittal On Friday, October 25, in the framework of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series, the MCI again welcomed a high-powered visiting speaker, namely Michel Wurth, CEO of the world’s largest steel company, ArcelorMittal. Attendees at the event were attracted by the prospect of a fascinating insight into the challenging activities of a global player in a growing industry. ArcelorMittal is the market leader in the EU and also accounts for about 30 % of steel output in the USA. With a total labor force of some 245,000 employees worldwide, the company is very much aware of the value of human resources as a company’s number-one asset. In addition to industrial safety, ArcelorMittal attaches corresponding importance to the welfare of its employees, especially in the newly industrialized countries like Brazil. Michel Wurth also spoke about the challenges confronting the steel industry with regard to environmental protection and energy consumption. He said the economic crisis of the last few years had led to a downturn in demand in Europe especially and to over-capacities among the steelmakers, but the speaker saw little reason for concern in view of today’s strong growth in Asia. Steel production is a cost-intensive process and the CEO said that the resulting impacts on profitability constituted one of the main obstacles confronting the industry today, one that should also be addressed in the context of EU industrial policy. “Steel is a fine product.” The fact that 40% of total output is secondary steel shows that it is also a sustainable product. As steel is cheaper to produce than light metals such as aluminum, is easy to work and has good recycling potential, Michel Wurth is convinced that there is a good future for continued cooperation with the automotive industry. Attendees in a full auditorium were invited to ask for further details and add their comments in a long discussion and needed no further prompting to do so. The successful event was chaired by Professor Andreas Altmann, Rector of the MCI.{phocadownload view=file|id=4854}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=756}

Between state control and private enterprise. Dr. Michael Philippi, CEO of Sana Kliniken AG With about 26,000 employees, Sana Kliniken AG, which is headquartered in Ismaning near Munich, runs almost fifty hospitals in Germany and cares for some 1.6 million patients. The German group of hospitals is seen as the country’s benchmark in terms of the medical services offered and patient satisfaction. On October 8 the Entrepreneurial School® at Management Center Innsbruck took pleasure in welcoming Dr. Michael Philippi, CEO of Sana Kliniken AG, who gave a talk in the framework of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series. In his presentation, Dr. Philippi, who studied business management, stressed the role of the state in the national health system. With regard to health and personal wellbeing, he said that people became “irrational”, and personal health, as an important and possibly the most important good, could not therefore be considered in pure market economy terms. “Complete control over prices is not always possible,” the CEO added. Dr. Philippi also spoke about the importance of a fully functional and above all generally available healthcare system for the infrastructure of a region. People want to live where they know they will be well looked after or at least where there are good healthcare facilities in the area. In spite of today’s problems in recruiting suitable personnel, especially nurses and carers, and reduced budgets for research and development, Dr. Philippi is confident that progress will continue to be made in the level of treatment available to patients. He also stressed the growing importance of international cooperation in Europe as a development to the mutual benefit of all. The talk was chaired by Professor Siegfried Walch.{phocadownload view=file|id=4760}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=749}

Economy | Technology | Science | Society H.E. Aviv Shir-On, Ambassador of the State of Israel in Austria On June 18, 2014, in the framework of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series, Management Center Innsbruck and the Leopold-Francis University of Innsbruck took pleasure in welcoming His Excellency Aviv Shir-On, Ambassador of the State of Israel in Austria, who spoke on the subject of “Israel in the World”. H.E. Shir-On was born in Israel in 1952. He studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and joined the diplomatic service in 1978. In 2009 he was posted to Austria as Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the State of Israel. Ambassador Shir-On opened his presentation with an overview of the historical development of his country, from the foundation of the state of Israel in 1948 to the present day – from the first Jaffa oranges exported from a relatively infertile and underdeveloped land to today’s modern industrial state with its high-tech products. In comparison with the rest of the world, Israel makes an above-average investment in research and development, with a focus on electronics and information technology in addition to biomedicine and clinical research. Apart from the country’s economic success story, H.E. Shir-On also spoke about Israel’s image problem, the Middle East conflict, the continuing conflict with the Palestinians and the country’s domestic social problems. He particularly stressed the social situation, with poverty on the increase in Israel and the gap widening between the rich and the poor in spite of the fact that per capita GDP has increased from year to year. With regard to the Palestinian conflict, H.E. Aviv Shir-On, as ambassador of the State of Israel, spoke in favor of a two-state solution and expressed a desire for unconditional peace talks. The event was moderated by Dr. Eric Frey, Managing Editor of the Austrian daily “Der Standard”.{phocadownload view=file|id=4484}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=732}

News from the MCI As is the tradition at the MCI, this year’s MCI Alumni Weekend was the convincing climax of the annual MCI Alumni & Friends series of lectures given by prominent visiting speakers. The event began on Friday afternoon with a reception given by the MCI’s Rector Dr. Andreas Altmann, who had even more reason than usual to offer a warm welcome to the particularly notable visitors: In recognition of his services to the MCI, the Tyrol as a university location and the university system in general, Minister Töchterle presented him with the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art.

On 14 and 15 June, more than a thousand visitors came to celebrate yet another successful academic year with Management Center Innsbruck and its graduate club MCI Alumni & Friends. Now a long-standing tradition, this year’s MCI Alumni Weekend again provided an exciting climax to the top-class series of events organized by MCI Alumni & Friends. The program started on Friday afternoon with a reception given by Rector Andreas Altmann, who had something to celebrate himself and welcomed a number of VIPs in that context: Minister Töchterle presented him with the Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Art for outstanding service to the MCI, the Tyrol as a university location and the Austrian university system in general. In the subsequent lecture given by Arun K. Nanda, CEO of the Mahindra Group, a global player with more than 115,000 employees, the participants were carried away to India as an upwardly mobile economy. He spoke of India’s constantly growing middle class with its considerable purchasing power, its need to invest in the public infrastructure, its wealth of raw materials, and its young, well educated society as factors for growth in a country that is a logical partner for cooperation in the high-tech sector especially. The evening was very much about socializing and networking: Graduates, students and the MCI team, plus friends and partners of the MCI enjoyed summer clubbing in the Hofgarten with good music and an exquisite buffet until the early hours. On Saturday morning, Yang Liu, international award-winning graphic designer with Chinese roots, introduced attendees to the world of design and the differences between East and West, which were illustrated with the help of strikingly simple shapes and symbols. Opinions, queues, parties, the positions of the elderly and children, eating and sleeping, and hierarchies were unequivocally presented with a few deft strokes, dots and lines. A wonderful weekend under the motto “Meet with motivated people” thus came to a close.Presseinformation Press release on the award of the Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Art to the MCI’s Rector Andreas Altmann.Pressekontakt und Rückfragen:{mcicontact view=presse|id=1}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=724}

News & Aktuelles aus dem MCI.Seit vielen Jahren Tradition, setzte auch dieses Jahr das MCI Alumni Weekend einen fulminanten Höhepunkt in der hochkarätigen Vortragsreihe von MCI Alumni & Friends.Das Programm startete am Freitagnachmittag mit dem Empfang von MCI Rektor Dr. Andreas Altmann, der aus erfreulichem Anlass besonders hochrangige Gäste begrüßen durfte: Herr Bundesminister Töchterle überreichte ihm für seine Verdienste um das MCI, den Hochschulstandort Tirol sowie das Hochschulwesen insgesamt das Verdienstkreuz der Republik Österreich für Wissenschaft und Kunst. Präsentation MCI {phocagallery view=category|categoryid=729}

Deutscher Freundeskreis, Innsbrucker Universitäten und Wissenschaftsminister Töchterle im Herzen der Bayerischen MetropoleNach dem tollen Erfolg im letzten Jahr eroberte auch heuer wieder der Deutsche Freundeskreis der Innsbrucker Universitäten das benachbarte München und war zu Gast im prunkvollen schönen Maximilianeum / Bayerischen Landtag. Niemand geringerer als der österreichische Bundesminister für Wissenschaft & Forschung, Univ.-Prof Dr. Karlheinz Töchterle, sprach in einem spannenden Vortrag über die "Hochschulen als Standortfaktoren - Gemeinsam im europäischen Hochschulraum." DFK-Vorsitzender Dr. Yorck Schmidt sieht den Auftrag des DFK erfüllt, die Universität Innsbruck, die Medizinische Universität Innsbruck und das Management Center Innsbruck mit renommierten Persönlichkeiten, Unternehmen und Hochschulen aus Wissenschaft & Wirtschaft zusammenzubringen und die deutsch-österreichischen Beziehungen nachhaltig zu fördern. Neben dem Präsidenten der Österreichisch-Bayerischen Gesellschaft, Carl Paul Wieland und Dr. Thomas Zimmermann (Mitglied des Bayerischen Landtages) waren von Tiroler Seite auch u.a. der Präsident der Industriellenvereinigung Tirol Dr. Reinhard Schretter, Vizerektorin Univ.-Prof. Dr. Helga Fritsch von der Medizinischen Universität Innsbruck, Rektor Dr. Andreas Altmann vom Management Center Innsbruck, Altrektor em. O.Univ.-Prof. Dr. Manfred P. Dierich, Altrektor em. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Otto Muck, Altrektor Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dr.h.c. Clemens Sorg, sowie über 200 Spitzenvertreter/-innen aus Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft vertreten. Eine lebhafte und abwechslungsreich geführte Diskussion mit zahlreichen Wortmeldungen und ein gelungener Ausklang sind ein kraftvoller Beleg für die Richtigkeit der nach außen gerichteten Vision des DFK "Universitäten treffen Freunde". {phocadownload view=file|id=4221}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=719}

Reflections on the future of Austria and Europe. Dr. Ludwig Scharinger, entrepreneur, founder, visionary (and more) On 6 May 2013 Dr. Ludwig Scharinger, the legendary Raiffeisen manager from Upper Austria, was invited by the Entrepreneurial School® Management Center Innsbruck to give a talk as part of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series. The former bank manager made it clear right from the start that the European debt and financial crisis is first and foremost a “crisis of uncertainty.” People are confused, and as a result necessary measures to boost the economy are not implemented. Yet we need to be careful about how to apportion the blame, as owing to the “crisis of uncertainty” the clear distinction between investment and speculation tends to become blurred. “Greed eats brains,” Scharinger commented on specific types of stock exchange transactions, referring to high-risk speculation as the driving force behind financial crises. According to Scharinger, however, investments made by a conscientious businessman should not be regarded as speculation, and it is important to differentiate between banks which cater to the needs of the real economy on the one hand and various investment banks and financial services providers with a penchant for speculation and a careless approach to handling money on the other. At the same time Scharinger pleaded for “more Europe” as well as uniform regulations and procedures for everyone, and not for the financial market only. According to the former CEO of Raiffeisen-Landesbank OÖ AG, Europe lacks actual leadership, a genuine control center: “Where is the red telephone for real emergencies, and who is there for the Americans or the Chinese to talk to about issues concerning the EU?” The lecture was chaired by Prof. Dipl.Kfm. Bernd Kirschner. {phocadownload view=file|id=4321}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=717}

Prof. Dr. Christian Keuschnigg, Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies, Vienna As part of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series, the economist Prof. Dr. Christian Keuschnigg was invited by the Entrepreneurial School® in cooperation with Industriellenvereinigung Tirol to present his views on the topic “The future of the welfare state.” Keuschnigg, who is originally from Tyrol, was appointed Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna in June 2012. At the beginning of his lecture the speaker emphasized the strong position of the welfare state in Austria. “The most important achievement of the welfare state is security,” Keuschnigg said, referring to the citizens’ fundamental need for security. In his opinion the essential responsibilities of the welfare state are social insurance (accident, health, unemployment insurance) and pension insurance as the free market is unable to cope with the relevant complex challenges. Keuschnigg repeatedly emphasized the importance of education in a welfare state: the higher the educational attainment of the population, the higher the level of employment, and the better educated people are, the less likely they are to be on sick leave, and the higher is their life expectancy. “If people live longer they are able to work longer,” according to Keuschnigg. To put it in a nutshell: the better educated the population, the stronger the welfare state. The lecture was chaired by MCI’s Rector Dr. Andreas Altmann.{phocadownload view=file|id=4273}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=713}

Ralph A. Cossa, President, Pacific Forum CSIS, Honolulu/Hawaii On 29 April 2013 the Entrepreneurial School® Management Center Innsbruck invited Ralph A. Cossa, the renowned expert on Asia, to give a talk as part of the MCI Alumni & Friends lecture series. Cossa, a native of Hawaii, emphasized the remarkable development China has undergone over the past few decades. After having studied China and the developments in the country for more than forty years, Cossa regards the resultant changes as largely positive. Nevertheless in his summary he pointed out that social issues constitute the greatest challenge for the People’s Republic, a challenge to be faced by 1.3 billion Chinese citizens. According to Cossa, “the major issue is to leave poverty behind.” The lecture was chaired by Floo Weissmann, the senior foreign editor of the daily newspaper Tiroler Tageszeitung.{phocadownload view=file|id=4294}{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=714}