MCI appoints new heads of department

In the next few days, several new appointments will take place in the MCI business departments: Professor Maria Rabl, who has been at MCI since 2011 and previously acted as head of the Business & Management Department, will take over as head of the Department of Business Administration Online. Financial market economist Thomas Stöckl, currently professor with the Online Business Administration Department, will succeed her as head of the English-language Business & Management Bachelor’s program at the Department of Business & Management.

The change is necessary because Matthias Seeler, who has been head of the Department of Business Administration Online for many years, is planning to turn to new challenges abroad. We are especially pleased that the replacements come from within our own ranks: Maria Rabl and Thomas Stöckl each faced an open application procedure and were able to assert themselves against their competitors with high professionalism and competence.

Change at the top of Business Administration Online

With his great expertise, professionalism, and personality Professor Matthias Seeler has substantially contributed to the success of MCI in recent years. Together with a dedicated team he has nurtured and grown the recently established online department. Business Administration Online – notably the first mobile learning course in western Austria – combines high-quality academic education with modern teaching concepts and innovative technologies. In 2014, the German-language Bachelor’s program was launched. The course is now complemented by an English-language Bachelor’s and Master’s program, each based on innovative mobile learning concepts.

With Professor Maria Rabl, a graduate economist and excellent business pedagogue will be taking on the management of the department. In her research, she primarily deals with the characteristics of adult learning. She investigates how teaching and learning are changing under the influence of new technologies and media, especially opportunities in the social media sector. Rabl also addresses the question of what new forms of study, which meet the changing requirements and demands of working students, might look like. Her latest position was as head of the English-language Bachelor’s program in Business & Management at the Department of Business & Management.

New management function in the Department of Business & Management

As Maria Rabl is switching to Business Administration Online, Professor Thomas Stöckl is taking on her previous responsibilities, in particular the management of the English-language Bachelor’s course in Business & Management. Thomas Stöckl is a qualified financial market economist with a research focus on experimental financial market research. Not only does he have profound scientific qualifications, he has also distinguished himself through his outstanding didactic skills. In the past years, he has contributed substantially to the development of the Department of Business Administration Online.

Statements

MCI Rector Andreas Altmann appreciates the groundwork laid by Matthias Seeler and congratulates the new heads on their appointments: “My special thanks go to Matthias Seeler, who has done an outstanding job in recent years and made a significant contribution to the success of the MCI online study programs. I warmly congratulate Maria Rabl and Thomas Stöckl on their appointments and wish them all the best for the further development of their departments and courses of study.”

The new head of the Business Administration Online course, Maria Rabl, is looking forward to her new task: “I am very happy about this appointment. Developing contemporary study formats that meet the special requirements of professionals is one of the most important concerns in my research and teaching. Our online courses of study are among the best I know in the German-speaking world.”

Thomas Stöckl, the new head of the English-language Bachelor’s in Business & Management program, is also enthusiastic: “As a professor and researcher at the Entrepreneurial School®, I see it as one of my most important tasks to make my findings and methodological know-how available to students. I look forward to the tasks ahead of me.”