MCI Alumni Weekend 2014

2014-07-09

More than a thousand guests celebrated at the MCI

On June 13 and 14, members and supporters of MCI Alumni & Friends came together to celebrate the end of the 2013/14 academic year.

Full and varied program

This year, too, the MCI Alumni & Friends Club marked the close of an intensive and interesting year of events with its traditional MCI Alumni Weekend, offering an exciting program as the rousing culmination of the academic year.

The event began on the Friday afternoon with words of welcome spoken by Rector Andreas Altmann and a get-together of MCI graduates including the jubilee years, who learnt about and discussed the MCI’s highly promising plans for the new campus, Ph.D study programs, and the new online study program in Business Administration, etc.

Presentation by the CEO of Austrian Railways (ÖBB)

In the following talk given by Christian Kern, CEO of Austrian Railways, the gathering heard that the ÖBB is optimistic about the future and sees further potential for corporate growth in people’s changing mobility habits. According to the speaker, the number of railway users in Austria and their level of satisfaction are higher than ever before, and productivity at Austrian Railways is outstanding at the European level. The CEO is determined to further consolidate the ÖBB’s position in the future and to move up to join the leaders in Europe in terms of profitability, economy and punctuality.

Following the interesting talk given by Christian Kern, the MCI was privileged to welcome another top-level guest, namely Professor Tilmann Märk, Rector of Innsbruck University and Chairman of the Tyrolean University Conference, who spoke about the current situation of the Tyrol as a university location. He explained that the various tertiary education facilities in the Tyrol are not hostile competitors but part of a healthy higher education market on which they complement one another and thus make the university scene more attractive. The decision to pull together in the framework of the Tyrolean University Conference is seen as a source of additional effective cooperation in the fields of teaching and research. It also underlines the importance of the goal of knowledge transfer to society.

Chilling out at the MCI Summer Clubbing

Socializing & Networking was the order of the night: At the MCI Summer Clubbing in the Hofgarten, graduates, students and the MCI team, as well as friends and partners of the MCI gave themselves over to the clubbing sound and a delicious buffet until the early hours.

Zoological end to a successful Alumni Weekend

On Saturday morning, Dr. Michael Martys, Director of Innsbruck’s Alpine Zoo, provided interesting insights into behavioral research in the animal world. The speaker explained that animals live in a space-time system based on incentives and enticements. Even though human beings are zoological creatures, he said, they cannot be treated on a level with animals; human thought and action are shaped by processes of socialization and decision-making and involve a greater degree of responsibility. Even though Dr. Marty refused to equate human beings with animals, he was able to draw fascinating parallels between human and animal behavior.

Dr. Marty’s presentation brought to a close a wonderful weekend under the motto “Meet & celebrate with motivated people”.

Pictures Alumni Weekend

Pictures Summer Clubbing

Jubilee event at the MCI’s alumni club

250th platform session with leading speakers at the Entrepreneurial School® - The MCI success story with its academic lecture series continuesMCI Alumni & Friends recently celebrated a special jubilee: The talk given by H.E. Sergey Nechayev, the Russian Federation’s Ambassador to Austria, was the 250th platform event – with international speakers from the worlds of business, academia, politics and the arts – organized by the Entrepreneurial School®.These unique events deliver a useful stimulus, promote the exchange of knowledge and experience and help students, faculty, partners and visitors to the MCI build up their networks.The list of speakers is as varied as it is impressive and includes such famous names as President Vaclav Klaus, President Jean-Claude Juncker, EU Commissioners Franz Fischler, Benita Ferrero Waldner and Johannes Hahn, numerous ministers and undersecretaries from Austria and many other countries, and the CEOs of international corporations like Daniel Vasella (Novartis), Stefan Sommer (ZF), Michel Wurth (Arcelor Mittal), Helmut Maucher (Nestlé), Brigitte Ederer (Siemens), Helmut Rothenberger (Rothenberger), Peter Bettermann (Freudenberg), Martin Kind (Kind Group, Hannover 96), Mario Moretti Polegato (Geox) and Hap Klopp (The North Face) and of leading Austrian companies like Georg Kapsch (Kapsch), Niki Lauda (FlyNiki), Christian Kern (ÖBB) and Sabine Herlitschka (Infineon).And that is far from the end of the story: For the next few years, the MCI has succeeded in booking the prestigious speakers needed for such a high-powered program: preview“Along with the other offerings, our international lecture series puts our program in a class of its own,” says Bettina Stichauner, Director of MCI Alumni & Friends, and she continues, “which goes to show that it does matter which university you attend!”The MCI’s Rector Andreas Altmann has this to say about the MCI’s alumni club: “A lively service platform, MCI Alumni & Friends offers support in terms of contacts, careers and personal development and contributes to the international standing of the Entrepreneurial School®. The winners are our graduates and our common university and business location.”{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=921}Press contacts and queries:{mcicontact view=presse|id=18}

Strategic Management in the Tourism & Leisure Industries

The part-time MCI Executive Certificate course in Destination & Leadership is targeted at Entrepreneurs, managers and decision makers in the tourism and leisure industries, especially those responsible for destination management and development.The tourism, leisure and tourism-related service industry is one of the biggest industries worldwide and still has enormous potential for growth. Fascinating opportunities for destination development and international marketing call for managers with professional training. The special focus of the course on strategic destination management and a sound theoretical basis combined with practical applications, including study tours to selected destinations, are the key to long-term success in the field of destination development and an effective way to strengthen one’s own position within the industry.With this 14-day course in Destination & Leadership, MCI Management Center Innsbruck is offering its first executive education course explicitly designed for managers in the tourism industry. The course is being taught by highly qualified lecturers and trainers and organized in association with the Austrian Hoteliers Federation and in cooperation with the Federation of Austrian Tourism Managers and the Federation of Tyrolean Tourism Associations.The course starts on April 15, 2015 with a schedule tailored to the needs of the target group. The number of places on the course is limited.More Information:Registration & CounselingVictoria Lettenbichler+43 512 2070 2102victoria.lettenbichler@mci.edu{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=923}Press contacts and queries:{mcicontact view=presse|id=1}

2014 Science Award for MCI graduate Marco Rückl

Science Award of the Chamber of Commerce for innovative Master’s thesis in the field of Mechatronics-Mechanical EngineeringThe Mechatronics Department at the MCI has something to celebrate: professional recognition for the Master’s thesis submitted by Marco Rückl, BSc, MSc. In his work in the field of control engineering, he developed a dynamic and efficient position controller for geared drives. In comparison with conventional controller designs, the new solution offers faster error convergence and long-term stability and has great potential for use in a wide range of drive systems.The Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce first announced the Science Award in 1997. Since then the prize has been awarded on an annual basis for outstanding Diploma and Master’s theses and dissertations which display a high degree of innovation and have practical applicability for Tyrolean SMEs. For Dr. Jürgen Bodenseer as President of the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce, the presentation ceremony for the Science Award is a special event signaling support for the young people and the future of the Tyrol.At the ceremony, the MCI’s Rector Andreas Altmann said, “I am particularly grateful to the Tyrolean Chamber of Commerce and President Jürgen Bodenseer for making this award. It is so important to build bridges between the academic and business communities. Academic research is a pillar of the economy in that the findings generate innovation. And innovation needs to be applied in trade and industry so that it can develop its potential and contribute to prosperity.”The other winners of the Science Award were Mag. Johannes Ager (LFU), Mag. Lukas Fischer (LFU), Magdalena Posch, M.A. (FH Kufstein), Irene Riccabona, MSc (LFU) and Dipl. Ing. Martin Peter Schwarz, MSc (LFU).Congratulations to all the prizewinners!{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=922}Press contacts and queries:{mcicontact view=presse|id=1}