1529

When Vienna was besieged by the Turks in 1529, the liberation armies, led by the polish emperor Ian Sobieski III, stormed down into the city from here and caught the Ottomans by surprise. After Vienna's liberation, the Viennese built the St. Joseph's Church, a beautiful landmark on Kahlenberg, which still overlooks the city today.

1683

The church and peaceful natural surroundings attracted dukes and emperors throughout Vienna's history, but it was emperor Ferdinand II who is credited with transforming Kahlenberg into one of the top touristic locations in Vienna. Kahlenberg is still very popular with visitors and locals alike. Politicians, artists and even popes have visited Kahlenberg and its little church.

1930

The first restaurant and hotel buildings were built in the 1930s when there was still a rack railway going up to the plateau.

2005

In 2005 the buildings, partly designated as historic monuments, were fundamentally restored and modernized, transforming into a university building that opened its doors to students for the first time in 2007. MU students benefit from the modernized buildings and the natural environment offering great views and trails into the city. 

Zoltán Szalai
(Representative of the Owner - MCC)

Balázs Szepesi
(Representative of the Owner - MCC)

Botond Varga
(Representative of the Owner - MCC)

Botond Varga is Managing Director of LTE Hungária Kft. (Member of LTE-Group). Born in Vienna, Botond spent the first years of his life in Austria before moving back with his family to Budapest, Hungary. He has always taken advantage of the German language he learned as a mother tongue. First by attending a bilingual (German-Hungarian) secondary school in Budapest and later on in his bachelor studies at the Budapest Business School's (today Budapest Business University) Faculty of International Management and Business as well, where he studied international economics and business, and international relations specifying in EU-relations. After graduation (2005), Botond successfully applied for the post-graduate studies of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, where he graduated as MSc in Business and Management with a scope of Production Organization, Production Control and Logistics in 2008.

In 2005, during his postgraduate studies, Botond started working for a Hungarian private freight railway company, where he was assistant to the management and responsible for international relations and sales besides administration. Afterwards, in 2008, Botond was offered the possibility to build up the Hungarian branch of LTE Logistik- und Transport- GmbH, an Austrian based freight railway undertaking, serving customers throughout Europe. It was a great challenge for him, as he had to setup an operating company in a field known for its strict rules. LTE Hungary became very successful in the short term becoming an employer of more than 70 coworkers using their own traction (locomotives), personnel (loco drivers and wagon inspectors) and partially with their own railcars. Botond is managing director of LTE Hungária Kft. and steers the company as a proud member of LTE-Group. He is also a founding board member of HUPRA, the Hungarian Private Railway Association, an organization representing the interest of the private railway sector in Hungary. Botond lives in Budaörs, a suburb of Budapest in Hungary, is married and has a daughter and a son.

Dr. Kasia Greco
(Representative of the Owner Vienna Chamber of Commerce)

Karim Jalloul
(Representative of the industry or a public institution nominated by the owners)

Karim Jalloul was born in Beirut, Lebanon, and later relocated to Austria with his family during his childhood. Having completed his education at the Military High School in Austria and fulfilling his military service commitment, Karim initiated his professional endeavors while simultaneously pursuing further education. He became part of IAS (International Aviation Security) at Vienna Airport, a company associated with Trans World Airlines.

In 1993, he successfully graduated from the International Center for Hospitality Management MODUL in Vienna. Over the course of his career, he gained extensive experience in the hotel industry, starting from entry-level roles and progressing to managerial and executive positions. Additionally, he played pivotal roles as a founder and shareholder in various hospitality ventures.

Karim's professional journey included notable stints with renowned companies such as Country Inns & Suites by Radisson, Marco Polo Hotels & Resorts, Lifestyle Living Hotels & Residences, Lake’s Hotel in Austria (located on Wörthersee), Grand Hotel Vienna, The Ring Hotel Vienna, and the Kneissl Sports brand. Alongside his managerial roles, he shared his expertise as a lecturer at the International Center for Hospitality MODUL in Vienna from 2000 to 2020.

In addition to his professional pursuits, Karim was actively involved in various advisory and ambassadorial roles. He became a member of the Executive Club at the College of Higher Education Vienna, Co-Chairman of the Industry Advisory Board of Modul University, a Member of the Advisory Board of Green Tourism Group, and an Ambassador for Teach for Austria. Since its establishment in 2009, Karim has held the position of Vice-Chairman of the "Dr. Michael Häupl Förderungsfonds," a fund dedicated to supporting higher education for students in need.

Elisabeth Köstinger
(Representative of the industry or a public institution nominated by the owners)

Prof. Dr. Rony Flatscher
(Representative of another university or research institution nominated by the University Board)

University of Economics and Business Administration, Vienna

Born as an Austrian expat in Beyrouth (Lebanon), raised in France, Italy and Austria, led Rony G. Flatscher to have an open mind for different cultures. During his studies in Innsbruck (Austria) and Vienna (Austria), he consulted companies in Austria, Egypt and the US. This accompanied his business administration studies with the special business administration fields “tourism" and "information systems" (German: "Wirtschaftsinformatik") at WU Vienna, one of the largest business administration universities in Europe.

After earning his PhD and successfully concluding his habilitation thesis, Rony G. Flatscher worked at the German universities of Essen and Augsburg before returning to WU Vienna. His interests encompass among many other fields analyzing, modeling and designing of information systems (led e.g., to his habilitation thesis "Meta-Modelling in EIA/CDIF"), but also implementing and rolling out information systems.

Rony has devised a unique lecture (8 ECTS) in which it has become possible to teach in a single semester students from scratch all that is needed to create programs on their own to interface with Windows and MS Office, but also exploiting Java technology on Windows, Linux and MacOS, allowing such BA students to interface with OpenOffice/LibreOffice on those systems, but also to empower them to create internet (socket) client-/server programs, including (even quite complex) GUI applications!

Prof. Dr. Alfred Posamentier
(Representative of another university or research institution nominated by the University Board)

Prof. Karl Wöber
Extraordinary members with an advisory vote