Pressegespräch: Wie Österreich mehr Unternehmer:innengeist entwickeln kann

The eXplore! Initiative invites you to a press conference to shed light on central questions at the interface of education and entrepreneurship.

Austria has strong companies, stable structures and a high quality of life. At the same time, potential in entrepreneurship remains untapped. The Austrian Startup Monitor points to a slow start-up dynamic, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor sees Austria in the international midfield when it comes to entrepreneurial activity.

The crucial question is therefore not whether Austria is innovative - but rather how this potential can be developed more effectively. A central starting point lies in the education system: This is where the skills are developed that make it possible to recognize opportunities and transform ideas into entrepreneurial solutions.

The eXplore! Business Case Challenge at the Vienna University of Economics and Business: Students work on real issues from companies such as OMV, Erste Bank and Wiener Städtische and present their solutions to representatives from practice.

On the occasion of Business Case Day 2026, the eXplore! Initiative to the press conference to shed light on central questions at the interface between education and entrepreneurship:

• How entrepreneurial thinking can be strengthened at an early stage
• What role universities and schools play in this
• How interdisciplinary collaboration accelerates innovation
• What expectations companies have of young talents
• And what contribution such initiatives make to innovative strength

The focus is on the question of how education, science and business can work even more closely together to attract more people to entrepreneurial activity - as a basis for growth, innovation and competitiveness.

Your interlocutors:

• Univ. Prof. Dr. Jonas Puck, head of the Business Case Challenge at WU Vienna
• Assoz.-Prof. Dr. Christina Holweg, Vice Rector at the Montanuniversität Leoben
• Andreas Leitner, Senior Vice President for Innovation & Technology at OMV
• Prof. GDR. Michael Tojner, co-initiator of eXplore! Initiative

When:

Monday, May 11, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. (Duration: 45 minutes)

Where:

WU Entrepreneurship Center, Vienna University of Economics and Business

Directions to the venue: https://www.wu.ac.at/gruenden/ueber-uns/wir/wo