The new campus of the University of Economics and Business in Vienna (WU) was officially opened on Friday. A building complex has been brought into operation that fulfills the highest standards of contemporary facilities and modern research and corresponding teaching methods. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has funded this large educational project with a loan of EUR 250 million.
Wilhelm Molterer, EIB Vice-President, said at the opening ceremony: "The fact that today this impressive campus has become operational is for me personally a great joy. I actively supported the development of this institution, a truly pioneering one for Austria's educational policy, when I was still Austria’s Finance Minister. The Vienna University of Economics is one of the most prestigious universities in Europe. Facilities like these demonstrate the enormous importance of education for Europe's performance and productivity. This will remain one of the pivotal tasks for EIB lending in the future."
Education and urban infrastructure have long been a focus of the EIB’s activities. In the current year, the Bank has expanded its commitment in these areas and increased investment in skills, for example by investing in universities and research institutions as well as vocational training. Furthermore, the EU bank finances scholarships and mobility programmes in the field of teaching and training. These and other measures aim to improve the employment situation of adolescents and young adults and to counteract youth unemployment, which has reached dramatic proportions in some European countries. By the end of this year, the EIB will provide a total of EUR 6 billion for these measures.
