Lauder Business School

Lauder Business School is a business school in Vienna, Austria, operating as a "University of Applied Sciences" in the Austrian education system. It is headed by Mr.Ronald S. Lauder (president), Prof.Jacob Biderman (chairman), Alexander Zirkler (executive manager), Prof. (FH) Dr. Hanno Pöschl (director of graduate programs) and Prof. (FH) Mag. Julius Dem, MBA (director of the undergraduate program). There are currently 240 students enrolled in the school^[1] in one undergraduate and two graduate programs. The language of instruction is English.

History and development

The Main Building

Lauder Business School was established in 2003 under the name of Vienna International College's Department of Economics, with financial help from Ronald Lauder, who also became the school president. Later the plans of VIC were dropped, and since then Lauder Business School has operated under its own name.

Due to the ongoing construction activities and renovation of the campus facilities, the first intake was only 17 students, but by the 2008/2009 academic year, the number had increased to 240, and 95 new students joined the school.

During the first years of its existence, Lauder Business School offered an 8-semester Magister degree in International Marketing and Management, but since 2007 students have been accepted to two new programmes: a 6-semester Bachelor and a 4-semester Master's.

The school's founding dean was Dr. Bruno Kohlberg, who stepped down in 2006, leaving his chair to Prof. (FH) Mag. Silvia Kucera, who was formerly the director of the Export-Oriented Management graduate study program at the IMC FH Krems University of Applied Management. She left Lauder Business School in 2012.

Campus

A view of the campus and dormitory

Lauder Business School has one campus, which includes a main building with classrooms, library and the school synagogue, an administration building, auditoriums, a dining building and a student residence. They are all located in the Döbling district of Vienna, between Pyrkergasse and Hofzeile.
These buildings (except one for the auditorium and dining room, which was built especially for the school) comprise a former palace of Maria Theresa, given to her by Charles IV and built by Nicolò Pacassi. Later the building was owned by members of the Rothschild family and served as a hospital. It was given to Lauder Business School by the mayor of Vienna Michael Häupl for a symbolic price in 2003.
The Bank Austria Creditanstalt Auditorium was built in 2003 and is dedicated to Gerhard Randa, former chairman of BA-CA. The first floor of the building works as the school canteen, and bears the official name of the Bogolyubov Foundation Beit Baruch Dining Hall. It is divided in two parts to accommodate kashrut requirements. The conversion and extension of the baroque ensemble of Lauder Business School was done by Kuhn Malvezzi, a Berlin-based architecture bureau.^[3]

Educational programs

As of 2008/2009 academic year, Lauder Business School awards the following degrees:

• Magister in International Management and Marketing (not accepting new students)
• Bachelor in International Business Administration, 6 Semesters, 180 ECTS
• Master in International Management and Leadership, 4 Semester, 120 ECTS

Jewish Education Learning Program

The Jewish Learning Program is a support program for Jewish students of the Lauder Business School, funded by the Jewish Heritage Fund which provides housing and dining scholarships for eligible students.

Criteria for acceptance to the Jewish Learning Program are:

• being Jewish according to Halakha
• good academic standing
• financial need

The main requirement of the participants is attendance in the JELP curriculum, which offers introductory classes in Torah, Jewish practices and customs, and Talmud. The focus of the curriculum is the study of Chumash (Pentateuch) with commentaries and midrashim. Participants can later on continue their Jewish studies in the JELP program and complete an additional BA in Jewish education.

The head of Jewish Studies is Dr. Michael Kigel.

Integration of Judaism

Although the school itself is secular, the majority of the students are Jewish and almost half of them are members of the Jewish Education Learning Program. There is no influence of this on the business studies curriculum, but the school life is adjusted for observant Jews and people interested in Judaism. The dining in the school canteen is kosher and supervised by Chabad. There are no classes on Shabbat nor on all the major Jewish holidays, as well as on Austrian. Additionally, there is a synagogue on the school grounds. Non-Jewish students can freely participate in the JELP classes.

See also

• Education in Austria
• List of business schools in Europe

External links

• Official Site of Lauder Business School
• unofficial site of Lauder Business School
• Jewish Heritage Center
• LBS promotional video from 2005
• Official Site of the Jewish Education Learning Program

Notes and references

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Austrian FH board
2. ↑ de:Maria-Theresien-Schlössel (Wien Hofzeile)
3. ↑ Kuehn Malvezzi website entry on the LBS project