The World as Guest - Europe's Best Academic Lecture Series at MCI

2019-05-29

Heads of State, CEOs, Leaders: Distinguished Guest Lectures at MCI cause an international sensation - Europe's best academic lecture series once again at the Entrepreneurial School®

Since the beginning of the academic lecture series, around 500 personalities of distinction have graced the MCI. Photo: MCI

An extremely successful academic year with impressive Distinguished Guest Lectures is approaching its climax at the Entrepreneurial School®. In the 2018/19 academic year, EU commissioners, heads of state, prime ministers, chairpersons of boards of directors and leading personalities of high standing once again provided students, alumni, partners and guests with valuable inspiration, opened up perspectives, and promoted critical dialogue. The series is regarded as the best academic lecture series in Europe and attracts worldwide attention.

The conclusion and highlight of the current academic year will be the academic guest lecture by former Federal President Heinz Fischer at the MCI Alumni Weekend on 14 June, which is of particular importance in light of current political events. Since the beginning of the academic lecture series, around 500 personalities of distinction have graced the MCI.

This is also remarkable because MCI does not grant a fee for a Distinguished Guest Lecture, i.e. the academic guest lectures at the MCI are held on a voluntary basis (with the exception of economic forums). The Distinguished Guest Lectures are open to the public and free of charge upon confirmation of registration.

Registration: alumni@mci.edu
Preview: https://www.mci.edu/en/alumni/events

MCI Alumni & Friends chair Bettina Stichauner and MCI rector Andreas Altmann agree: "The world is a guest at MCI: our students, alumni and partners avail of invaluable perspectives, inspiration and opportunities for dialogue. We are delighted by the fact that it is always possible to attract personalities of distinction to Innsbruck".

MCI DISTINGUISHED GUEST LECTURES - ACADEMIC YEAR 2018/19
(in alphabetic order)

EU Commissioners, Heads of State, Government Members:

Andrej Babiš, Czech Prime Minister
Elżbieta Bieńkowska, EU Commissioner for the Internal Market, Industry and SMEs
Juliane Bogner-Strauß, Federal Minister for Women, Families and Youth
Heinz Fischer, former Federal President of the Republic of Austria
Karin Kneissl, Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Vienna
Margarethe Schramböck, Federal Minister for Digitization and Business Location, Vienna

Business leaders:

Wolfgang Anzengruber, CEO of VERBUND AG
Olaf Berlien, CEO of OSRAM Licht AG
Ulrich Bez, former CEO of Aston Martin
Elisabetta Castiglioni, CEO of A1 Digital International
Christoph Boschan, CEO of Wiener Börse AG
Helmut Fallmann, Member of the Board of Fabasoft AG, Linz
Gerald Hörhan, start-up investor and CEO of Investment Punk Academy
Mahender S. Khari, Chairman of Indo-Global Academia Alliance and of Khari & Co
Fabian Kienbaum, CEO of Kienbaum International Consultants
Daniel Krauss, Founder & CTO of Flixbus
Andreas Matthä, CEO of ÖBB
Mario Moretti Polegato, Founder and President of GEOX SpA
Dominik Schiener, co-founder and CIO of IOTA
Bettina Würth, Chair of the Advisory Board of the worldwide Würth Group

Ambassadors:

Talya Lador-Fresher, Israeli Ambassador to Austria
Trevor Traina, US Ambassador to Austria
Li Xiaosi, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Austria

Institutions, think tanks, special personalities:

Josef Aschbacher, Earth Observation Director of ESA European Space Agency
Hans-Joachim Eckert, former Chairman of FIFA Ethics Committee
Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for New American Security
Hermann Glettler, Bishop of the Diocese of Innsbruck
Brun-Hagen Hennerkes, CEO of the Foundation for Family Business
Klaus Kumpfmüller, Member of the Austrian Financial Market Supervisory Board
Josef Plank, Secretary General Federal Ministry for Sustainability & Tourism, Vienna
Edward Snowden, Whistleblower

Lectures on economic forums:

Dumëne Comploi, Director, Walt Disney Imagineering Research and Development
Carlo Cottarelli, Prime Minister of Italy 2018, Professor
Daria Illy, Member of the Board, Illycaffè S.p.A., CEO, Mitaca S.r.l.
Frederik Willem de Klerk, former President of the Republic of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates
Thomas Middelhoff, former CEO of the Bertelsmann AG and Arcandor AG
Sven Seidel, board member of the Otto Group
Barbara Wittmann, CEO DACH of LinkedIn