IMC Krems has claimed a podium finish in Industriemagazin’s 2018 university of applied sciences ranking, taking second place. Hot on the heels of the 2018 Winter Olympics, Industriemagazin has been handing out the medals to Austria’s universities of applied sciences. Every year Industriemagazin surveys hundreds of employers to discover how they rate these domestic higher education institutions. IMC Krems’ ranking is further confirmation of its status as one of the best on the domestic and international scene.
Excellent performance
This success is certainly no flash in the pan. For years now, IMC Krems has consistently earned top-five placings in a range of different rankings. This includes many podium finishes over the last few years, such as in the trendence Graduate Barometer, Universum’s Talent Survey and the U-Multirank survey.
A hair's breadth off top spot
Industriemagazin commissioned online market research and polling institute meinungsraum.at to carry out the survey. From 15 January to 10 February 2018, the institute questioned 560 decision makers at Austrian companies about their experience in relation to degree programmes offered by Austrian universities of applied sciences. This mainly involved questioning human resource managers. The respondents were asked to grade programmes from 1 to 5 – the marking scale used in the Austrian education system – where 1 was “excellent” and 5 was “fail”. The survey evaluated a total of 335 degree programmes at 18 universities of applied sciences. IMC Krems received an overall grade of 2.315, only just behind University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, which came out on top with 2.313. The Management of Health Institutions, Marketing and Sales, and Medical and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology programmes at IMC Krems scored particularly highly. This second-place ranking – just two thousandths of a point off top spot – is a fantastic result for the university and an improvement on last year’s fourth place.
IMC Krems CEO Ulrike Prommer was delighted with the outcome: “We’re very pleased with the results of this ranking, which can be put down to a great team effort by all our staff. Excellence in teaching and research is our top priority and it’s great to know that this is winning plaudits from industry. This result clearly demonstrates that the university is continually moving in the right direction. And congratulations to our graduates too, because the survey shows that their employers are extremely satisfied with the work they are doing.”
New degree programmes from autumn 2018
IMC Krems is offering two new English-language bachelor programmes from autumn 2018: Data Science and Analytics*, and Applied Chemistry*. Massive amounts of data containing valuable information are produced every day. Developments such as the internet of things, Industry 4.0 and social media, and ever-increasing storage capacities mean that we currently generate around 5 zettabytes of data a year – and this is growing exponentially. But how is it possible to filter out the useful information from this flood of often unstructured data? The answer is data scientists – who have a job that Harvard Business Review described as the “sexiest” of the 21st century. From this autumn, IMC Krems will be educating the data scientists of the future on the new English-language Data Science and Analytics* bachelor degree programme.
Applied Chemistry*
Rapid technological advances and the advent of Industry 4.0 mean that today’s chemical industry professionals require additional skills. In-depth knowledge of chemistry is still essential, but employers also expect expertise in process analysis and process management due to the wider application of networked IT systems. The full-time English-language Applied Chemistry* bachelor degree programme is a direct response to the changing skills profile of chemical industry professionals. By linking specialist fields of chemistry with computer-based methods, students acquire the competences for which industry demand will be stronger in the future.
Two healthcare master programmes
IMC Krems is also offering two new part-time healthcare master programmes: Advanced Nursing Practice* and Applied Health Sciences*. The Applied Health Sciences master programme is aimed at non-physicians working in the health sector who would like to boost their professional development by obtaining an academic qualification. The degree programme is based on broad transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary foundations, providing students with extensive scientific and research-related knowledge, as well as insights into the latest trends and technologies.
Advanced Nursing Practice
The Advanced Nursing Practice (ANP) master programme develops students’ specialist, enhanced skills in research, ethical decision-making, clinical and professional leadership, interdisciplinary approaches, consultation and counselling, as well as coaching and management. It prepares them to deal with the constantly changing challenges facing the health service, and the nursing profession in particular.
*Subject to accreditation by the Agency for Quality Assurance and Accreditation Austria
