MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® establishes innovative university education "E-Commerce" together with the Austrian Trade Association and the FH Technikum Wien
The long wait is about to come to an end. In October 2022, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® in Innsbruck and the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, in cooperation with the Austrian Trade Association, will launch the first university-level courses leading to a Bachelor Professional degree in eCommerce. Science Minister Heinz Faßmann welcomes this forward-looking cooperation between science and business.The long wait is about to come to an end. In October 2022, MCI | The Entrepreneurial School® in Innsbruck and the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Wien, in cooperation with the Austrian Trade Association, will launch the first university-level courses leading to a Bachelor Professional degree in eCommerce. Science Minister Heinz Faßmann welcomes this forward-looking cooperation between science and business.
"This year we have laid the legal foundations for the further development of university-based continuing education. In this respect, I am particularly pleased with this first Bachelor Professional 'eCommerce Specialist'. This is because the cooperation between MCI, FH Technikum and the Trade Association promises a high-quality and very practice-oriented academic education. The focus of a Bachelor Professional is on a very strong professional orientation - and this is taken into account here in an exemplary manner," said the Minister of Science."This year we have laid the legal foundations for the further development of university-based continuing education. In this respect, I am particularly pleased with this first Bachelor Professional 'eCommerce Specialist'. This is because the cooperation between MCI, FH Technikum and the Trade Association promises a high-quality and very practice-oriented academic education. The focus of a Bachelor Professional is on a very strong professional orientation - and this is taken into account here in an exemplary manner," said the Minister of Science.
"The new higher education 'eCommerce Specialist' is the logical continuation of the success story for digital specialization in the retail industry, which began with the 'eCommerce Apprenticeship'. On the basis of the new legal foundations for university-based further education, we are thus setting the next milestone, guaranteeing a strong practical focus at an academic level - the Bachelor Professional degree. The proven system of dual training is thus complemented at the academic level with a new range of specialization in the field of STEM subjects," says a delighted Rainer Will, Managing Director of the Retail Association."The new higher education 'eCommerce Specialist' is the logical continuation of the success story for digital specialization in the retail industry, which began with the 'eCommerce Apprenticeship'. On the basis of the new legal foundations for university-based further education, we are thus setting the next milestone, guaranteeing a strong practical focus at an academic level - the Bachelor Professional degree. The proven system of dual training is thus complemented at the academic level with a new range of specialization in the field of STEM subjects," says a delighted Rainer Will, Managing Director of the Retail Association.
"75 percent of our traders want this graduate program, now it's time to implement it. Many thanks to Science Minister Faßmann as well as to MCI Innsbruck and FH Technikum Wien for this historic shoulder-to-shoulder cooperation between science and business. Together we are making Austria fit for the future as a retail location to meet the challenges of the 21st century," says Will.
The challenge: a practice-oriented curriculum
The new Bachelor Professional "eCommerce Specialist" shall be offered from the winter semester of 2022 in order to be able to train the urgently needed specialists in the field of digital trade and eCommerce in Austria. To this end, the trade association is working together with its members, the MCI Innsbruck and the FH Technikum Wien, to develop a practice-oriented curriculum that is optimally tailored to the specific needs of the domestic retail sector. A professional start in retail will become even more attractive in the coming years with the help of the university course "eCommerce Specialist" - especially for the Y and Z generations.
Higher education courses leading to a Bachelor Professional degree are equivalent to regular Bachelor studies. Prerequisites for admission are relevant professional qualifications or several years of relevant professional experience. Almost two-thirds of domestic consumers are convinced of the potential of the new training, as a survey conducted by Mindtake Research on behalf of the trade association shows. The background: the Corona pandemic has led to a shortage of apprentices in Austria and massively exacerbated the staff shortage in the retail sector. Many companies complain about too few IT specialists.
The goal: highly qualified specialists for a digital retail environment
"We mentor motivated people - that is MCI's guiding principle. We are therefore all the more pleased to be able to offer this high-quality higher education program in cooperation with the retail association and other partners. In this way we are strengthening the competence of the local business location and offering young people attractive opportunities to shape their future," explains Andreas Altmann, Rector of MCI.
"We are pleased to contribute to an innovative educational product with our comprehensive expertise in management, digital business, e-commerce, logistics, IT law, etc., our many years of experience in e-learning and our worldwide network in order to strengthen Austria's competitiveness and build bridges between science and business. Our team is waiting in the wings," Altmann confirms.
"The training to become eCommerce specialists also requires sound technical knowledge from the future professionals. We are pleased to have the opportunity to demonstrate our great expertise at the interface of digitalization, technology and business in the development and implementation of the new Bachelor Professional higher education program," says Sylvia Geyer, Rector of FH Technikum Wien.
"With focuses ranging between Artifical Intelligence, User Experience Design, Data Science and Social Media Management, our university of applied sciences can contribute expertise in a broad range of topics for this field. In addition to teaching digital skills and learning the relevant technical tools, we also focus on hands-on mentality as well as a sound mix of theory and practice. On this basis, we can train highly qualified specialists who are ideally equipped for the diverse requirements in the digital retail environment," Geyer is convinced.
About the trade association
The Trade Association - spokesperson and partner of the trade - has been active since 1921 as a free, non-partisan and independent interest group and innovation platform to provide its more than 4,000 members with the best possible support in the environment of changing market challenges. In addition to the members, who in Austria with approx. 300,000 employees at 25,000 locations achieve an annual turnover of more than 65 billion euros and together cover approx. 85% of the market, numerous companies of diverse specializations are associated as partners with the trade association.
About MCI Innsbruck
As an Entrepreneurial School®, the MCI combines science, business and consulting in a unique concept for more than 3,700 students in 29 study programs. It stands for internationality, academic quality, practical relevance, innovation, close cooperation with business, solution-oriented research & development, modern infrastructure, high customer and service orientation and international reputation.
