About

What are the contents of the program?

Business informatics is an academic discipline that deals with information processes and the associated phenomena in a socio-economic context. At TU Wien Informatics, we consider business informatics as an engineering discipline, which mainly dedicates itself to analyzing, designing, implementing, and evaluating information systems in business, public administration, and the private sphere. Information systems are socio-technical systems that include human and machine components. Modern information systems play a central role in almost all economic, political, and social contexts. They represent a fundamental prerequisite for the increasing digitization of the economy and society and thus will gain even more importance in the future.

Which qualifications do I acquire?

You will learn scientifically sound concepts and methods that enable you to analyze, design, implement, operate, and use information systems within and between organizations. As future decision-maker, you will be able to understand the potential benefits of targeted provision of information, in particular for information, goods, and cash flows and to realize them via the appropriate use of information systems. You acquire a broad and—in selected subtopics—deep technical knowledge related to methods of design. You also develop a solid understanding of possible areas of application within organizations. The focus is always on the ability to design and deploy IS toward the implementation of corporate goals. This includes reflecting on products, services, and processes within and between organizations. Paying heed to design-related tasks in the development of application systems requires an understanding of the effect mechanisms of software systems. Thus, it is essential that you develop programs yourself.

In addition to subject-specific skills, key social and personal skills are also acquired. Being professionally active in business informatics often means assuming a ‘‘translation role’’ between the languages found in business administration and those found in the technical area. This necessitates high requirements being set in terms of certain social skills (including cooperation and communication skills for working in interdisciplinary and possibly distributed project teams, even across countries and continents; presentation and discussion of work results, also in foreign languages). Developing social and personal skills is done partially in an implicit manner, via the acquisition of subject-specific skills. In addition, modules in which relevant skills are taught and practiced are also a high priority. These include seminars and project work in which teams work on real-life tasks and present the results under realistic conditions.

What can I do with my degree?

As a graduate, you are qualified for a wide variety of professional activities. You gained the prerequisites to develop technology-based innovations and, in doing so as entrepreneurs, to establish and lead companies. In addition, as intrapreneurs, they can assume corresponding roles in innovative companies or spin-offs.

You have acquired the ability to build a holistic view of an organization's strategy, processes, information, and information technology assets. You ensure that business and IT are in alignment. An enterprise architect links the business mission, strategy, and processes of an organization to its IT strategy, and documents this using multiple architectural models or views that show how the current and future needs of an organization will be met in an efficient, sustainable, agile, and adaptable manner.

You are educated to look at a company as an interdepartmental value chain and to identify and improve processes. Also, you are prepared to take a leadership and supervisory role in which one aims for effective and efficient information supply and use of IT. IT managers lead organizations such that the value contribution IT makes to organizational objectives and results is maximized and the risks associated with the use of IT are minimized.

As a consultant, you can provide support in areas such as the design of IS and in the selection and implementation of application systems. Furthermore, you can support organizations in various decisions related to IT: IT strategy, IT portfolio management, and enterprise architecture, as well as mergers, acquisitions, or the introduction of new IT.

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