MSc in Management

Industry Excellence Program

Purpose

The Industry Excellence Program pairs top MSc students with senior representatives of Austrian and international companies for on-the job experience in your chosen field. Over the course of two semesters, you will be mentored by a senior-level manager to learn first-hand how management decisions are made in the modern business environment.

Prerequisites | Mentor-Mentee assignment

  • At the end of the spring semester preceding the Industry Excellence Program, eligible students (with grade point average of 90% and higher) will be invited to apply. However, eligibility does not result in entitlement.
  • First, students are asked to express their field of interest. The deadline for application is mid-July of the respective year.
  • Based on the students’ interest, the MU program coordinator will contact potential mentors who are asked to take over the patronage of the respective students.
  • MU does not guarantee that potential mentors work in a specific industry, within a specific organizational division, or reside in a specific location.
  • Should there be no overlap between students' interest and the expertise of potential mentors, the MU program coordinator reserves their right to decline applications.
  • Mentors are assigned to the students by mutual agreement. However, students can reject a suggested mentor only once.

Before the semester

  • Mentors may choose to arrange activities either in a block or regularly over a longer period of time.
  • MU Vienna appoints a course coordinator who functions as a liaison person for both, mentor and mentee.
  • In an introductory meeting mentors and mentees have the opportunity to get acquainted and discuss the mentoring details and agree on the objectives to be met and tasks to be full filled.

Responsibilities of the mentor

  • The content and form of the course may vary dependent on the business/organization and the student assignments designed by the mentor. Activities may include but are not restricted to site visits, participation in business presentations and meetings, and discussions of business problems.
  • The language of instruction is English.
  • The program carries a student workload of 150 hours (6 ECTS). The mentors are expected to arrange for at least 40 contact hours within the course thus ensuring regular communication between mentees and the mentor, the remaining workload is to be spent with independent work.
  • The mentor gives his protégés one or several business-related assignments to foster problem based learning. Students study selected business problems, develop possible solutions and present the outcomes.

Course assessment

  • The students maintain a work diary and submit the entries on a monthly basis at the end of each month.
  • The mentor provides feedback to his protégés and the program coordinator at the end of the course (appraisal form).
  • A 10-15 minute presentation of the assignment(s) at MU Vienna.
  • A project(s) report (3000 - 4000 words)