Excellent research, teaching and transfer in the field of business studies has been taking place at the FH Salzburg for 25 years. Since last year, the study programs "Business Administration", "Innovation & Management in Tourism" and "SME Management & Entrepreneurship" have been united under one roof in the Department of Business and Tourism.
1998 - 2004: The pioneering phase
The development of the study program "Information Economy and Management" (today: Business Administration) arose from the idea of taking into account the change from industry to the information society through an innovative and future-oriented university education. In 1998, the study program for full-time students starts at the Techno-Z in the city of Salzburg under the motto: practical relevance and education of students from and for companies. This makes the FH Salzburg one of the first providers in the education segment to offer a combination of work and study.
An academic training program in the field of tourism is a logical conclusion in Salzburg, the city of Mozart: In 2001, the study program "Development and Management of Tourist Offers" starts in Klessheim.
2005 - 2010: Time of change
In 2005, a new UAS building is erected at the Puch Urstein site. All degree programs of the FH Salzburg, which had previously been housed at different locations, find a common headquarters there.
A new educational era also begins: With the Bologna Process, a harmonization of educational offerings in the European Higher Education Area takes place in 2007. Instead of diploma courses, there is now a two-tier offer in the form of bachelor's and master's courses. Based on the first completed bachelor's degree programs, master's degree programs for "Business Administration" and "Innovation & Management in Tourism" are also offered in 2010.
2011 - 2018: Dynamism and professionalization
In the course of an internationalization of the educational offer, a double degree program is offered for the first time in 2014: Students in the bachelor's degree program "Innovation & Management in Tourism" are given the opportunity for the first time to gain international experience in a semester abroad through the partnership with Asia Pacific University and to obtain a double bachelor's degree in four years.
Under the motto "Competence - Innovation - Tradition", the bachelor's degree program "SME - Management & Entrepreneurship" will start in 2014. This degree program is the first in Austria to respond to the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) not only predominate in terms of numbers, but also that the majority of all employees in this country are employed in SMEs.
Digitization is also advancing - and with it the education offered at the FH Salzburg. With the two-semester certification course "Search Engine Marketing", an additional training course will be offered in 2017, with which competencies can be imparted beyond the classic study formats. In the fall of 2018, the bachelor's degree program "Business Informatics & Digital Transformation" will be launched, jointly developed by the business administration degree programs and the "Information Technology & Systems Management" degree program.
2019 - 2022: Competence expansions and synergies
The international offering is also constantly being expanded: In addition to offering students the opportunity to spend a semester abroad at a variety of partner institutions in what are now numerous countries, the "Innovation & Management in Tourism" program is expanding its double degree offerings in 2019 by collaborating with the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in Spain.
Since 2020, the FH Salzburg has offered the certification course "Digital Communication and Leadership" in cooperation with the Institute of Management (IfM). In addition to the established Bachelor's and Master's degree programs, this will also expand the range of continuing education modules in order to be able to guarantee knowledge transfer with its finger on the pulse.