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Education & Tourism -
Vienna is a
hotbed of learning in the better sense of the word. It's been a
university town since 1365 and elementary schooling has been
obligatory since Maria Theresa's day. There are a wealth of
international educational institutes on offer, from multilingual
primary schools to private universities, and not just for
Viennese pupils but for the whole international community.
Vienna's specialists are in high demand. Adult education has a
long tradition. The standard of research is world-famous.
Today's
children are posterity's capital, so their care and education is
a vitally important investment. The term kindergarten was born
between the two world wars already, and comprehensive schooling
has been obligatory since the days of Maria Theresa. Today
Vienna's primary schools comply with the highest international
standards and the number of bilingual schools (German/English)
is growing steadily. Like practically everything else in Vienna,
the school system has undergone radical refurbishment in recent
years, starting architecturally with face-lifts for the older
establishments and, in keeping with the criteria applied in
subsidized housing projects, aesthetic innovations in the
building of new ones. In this respect everything possible has
been done to make the beastly business of learning more
palatable to the young, and the curriculum on offer leaves
nothing to be desired. In addition to all the conventional
German-language state schools, there are kindergartens conducted
in English; a French Lycée, American, Czech, Swedish,
International and Japanese schools, even one holding classes in
German, Hungarian and Slovakian, and Webster University. The
international Lauder Foundation has built a Jewish school in the
traditional Jewish quarter, 'Matzos Island'. So there's no fear
of an educational dead end if you live or work here temporarily.
And with
130,000 students in a population of just over 1.6 million,
Vienna is a disproportionately large seat of learning. The
University of Vienna is one of the oldest (founded in 1365) in
Europe and embraces every faculty. On the north side of the
Danube, there's a brand-new, campus-style Veterinary University.
Qualifications earned at the Vienna campus of Webster University
are recognized both here and in the US. There are also some 800
research centres.
The
"School Building Programme Vienna 2000" is another of
Vienna's trail-blazing innovations. Since the early nineties,
fledglings and architects of international repute work here side
by side, shaping their ideas. The building programme's range is
manifold, and some 59 new buildings have gone up, most of them
in newly expanding areas. Another beneficial aspect of Vienna's
emphasis on advanced education is the high employment
involvement of the populace: one person in eight has to do with
schooling in one form or another.
The names of those who taught in Vienna, or were educated here
themselves, are legion. From the world-famous Vienna School of
Medicine and Sigmund Freud, Viktor Frankl and Paul Watzlawick to
the economists Schumpeter, Hayek & Co. Medicine and medical
technology have attained a position of supreme importance in
modern society, and the foundations of our knowledge in this
field were almost all laid in this city. Today, after much
teething trouble, Vienna can proudly point to its General
Hospital (Allgemeines Krankenhaus), a huge state-of-the-art
university-linked complex affording students and re-searchers
ideal surroundings in which to pursue their profession.
Last but not
least: Vienna is also a capital of adult education. A close
network of 'Adult High Schools' offers everyone the chance to
catch up, offering lifelong learning in modern work and
communication skills, on reasonable terms and without red tape.
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