Danube University Krems
Encyclopedia
Danube University Krems calls itself "the only state-funded university throughout Europe that has specialized in post-graduate academic studies". It is located in Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...

.

History

The first 93 students enrolled in 1995, when the institution began operation with programs in European Studies
European studies
European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on current developments in European integration....

 and journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...

. In 2004, the Austrian parliament passed the Danube University Act (DUK-Gesetz) granting the institution the rights of a full university (such as appointing its own professors). More than 11,000 students have already graduated from Danube University Krems.

Courses


Danube University Krems has specialized in postgraduate education. It currently offers more than 200 academic courses and degree programs (leading to Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

s) in the fields:
  • Health and Medicine
  • Communication and Globalization
  • Business and Law
  • Education and Media
  • Arts, Culture and Building


The university co-operates with various foreign institutions, including the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

 and The City University of New York.

Students

Today, more than 5,500 students (average age: 40 years) from nearly 80 countries study at Danube University Krems. The majority of the students already have a university degree and attend a postgraduate course at Danube University. 33 percent of the students come from foreign countries.

Campus

Danube University Krems is located in the Wachau region along the Danube, which has been named a world cultural heritage site by the UNESCO. A renovated tobacco factory dating back to the onset of the 20th century and new buildings on Campus Krems provide students and educators room for research and studying. The design for the new buildings is the creation of Architekt Dietmar Feichtinger
Dietmar Feichtinger
Dietmar Feichtinger is an Austrian architect established since 1989 in Paris. He studied architecture at the Graz University of Technology and graduated [summa] cum laude in 1988. After gaining initial experience with Prof. Huth, Prof. Giencke and Prof...

, who places a new facade of steel, glass and aluminium opposite the industrial building from the previous century.

Departments

  • Department for Arts and Management
  • Department for Building and Environment
  • Department for Clinical Medicine and Biotechnology
  • Department for Clinical Medicine and Preventive Medicine
  • Department for Continuing Education Research and Educational Management
  • Department for European Integration and Business Law
  • Department for Evidence Based Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology
  • Department for Governance and Public Administration
  • Department for Image Science
  • Department for Information and Knowledge Engineering
  • Department for Interactive Media and Educational Technology
  • Department for Interdisciplinary Dentistry and Technology
  • Department for Knowledge and Communication Management
  • Department for Management and Economics
  • Department for Migration and Globalization
  • Department for Political Communication
  • Department for Psychosocial Medicine and Psychotherapy

Rector

On 2 February 2007, rector Helmut Kramer resigned due to "conceptional differences on strategic leadership". In May 2007 Prof Heinrich Kern was assigned as the new rector. The interim rector, Prof Ada Pellert, who also had applied, was not considered on the shortlist of three by the nomination committee. This was followed by protests in the university senate claiming the decision to be gender-discriminating.

On 8 August 2007, Danube University issued a statement that the discussions on the rector's nomination are based on structural problems in the university. So Danube University has decided to split the organisation into two universities. Professors Kern and Pellert were asked to apply for the positions of the two universities' rectors.

On July, 2008 the vice rectors Ada Pellert and Hanna Risku resigned. On August, 2008, rector Heinrich Kern resigned according to an agreement with the university council. The former vice rector Jürgen Willer was elected as new rector of Danube University Krems. Willer took office in January, 2009.

External links

Official website
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