Looking for a BIP Partner | Combining businesses, local government and early childhood education for regional sustainability | February 26
Fachhochschule Wiener Neustadt are looking for a partner to join their BIP in February 26. Do you have Erasmus funding still available, with students who would benefit from this topic, could you be the partner to join this BIP?
The BIP will take place from 16 to 20 February 2026 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria at the University of Applied Sciences (City Campus). Wiener Neustadt lies approximately 30 minutes south of Vienna City Center and one hour from the international airport. Perfectly reachable by train directly from the airport or from Vienna. Trains run numerous times per hour.
The BIP is open to Bachelor and Master students from varied disciplines. The team greatly appreciate new and out of the box approaches. Diversity will result in an outcome bigger than the sum of its parts.
Background to the BIP
Dr. Ionela Gavrilă Paven(1 Decembrie 1918, Alba Iulia) and Marion Mansberger (FHWN, Wiener Neustadt) have been developing a research initiative centered on what they call “Dependent Triangularity” — a conceptual framework examining the interrelations among early(!) childhood education and opportunities, local government support, and local business engagement. They already integrated this research interest into the BIP at FHWN last year to fit student´s interests and level of competencies. The feedback shows, it was it was a very successful approach.
Their working hypothesis posits that these three spheres are mutually influential in shaping the choices of then young adults regarding where to live and work, the decisions of businesses concerning where and how to locate and engage, and the ability of local governments to attract funding, support early childhood education and promote livable, sustainable communities.
They would very happily see you and your chosen students, including management, marketing, finance, economics, political science, pedagogy, psychology, and even history to participate in our BIP 2026. Diverse perspectives are essential to understanding the full complexity of this triangular relationship.
In the previous year, participation has already been highly interdisciplinary. For instance, a bachelor theology student explored how faith-based organizations (including church) might contribute to affordable early childhood initiatives, recognizing the broader socio-economic benefits. Master’s students in marketing designed city-level promotional strategies in their respective countries to attract families and businesses by leveraging these interconnections. Naturally, business students have formed most of our participants, analyzing practical implications and policy outcomes.
The last cycle of research during the BIP 2025 focused on facilities catering -or related to catering- to children aged 2–6 years, analyzing dimensions such as affordability, accessibility, public transportation, safety, and overall service reach. This year, the emphasis will shift toward businesses and their role within the triangular model. Having participated in the BIP 2025 is NOT a prerequisite by any means! This BIPs topic and approach will be a unit in itself.
From the research perspective: Dr. Gavrilă Paven and Marion Mansberger have designed a comprehensive cross-national survey, aimed at collecting data from four countries (pending participation). They anticipate identifying statistically significant correlations among our three focal dimensions — early child education, governance, and business.
Participation will include two main components:
- Pre-Conference Work: Students will be asked to collect a pre-determined number of valid survey responses before arrival. The target number will vary by country and cohort size.
- Two online sessions: January 19 and 20
- On-Site Collaboration: Once on site, students will be organized into mixed international teams. Each group will be tasked with developing an analytical or creative approach to address a contextual challenge. There are no fixed “right” or “wrong” solutions — the emphasis lies on critical thinking, logical coherence, and interdisciplinary problem-solving. We do not expect or look for highly educated and experienced statisticians (albeit always welcome). No student should feel intimidate by the topic of this BIP.
The program will also feature excursions to businesses, a day in Vienna with unique experiences and impressions, and a keynote by a renowned economic cabaret artist and speaker who regularly addresses global corporate audiences. We are currently finalizing the event schedule in collaboration with city officials to ensure optimal timing.
They very much hope this background information spikes your interest, and they will be able to welcome you in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
If one university (due to Erasmus+ regulations, the remaining participants must come from the same institution) would like to participate and still has Erasmus+ funds available for this time period, please contact Marion (marion.mansberger@fhwn.ac.at) directly and she will share all specifics and details. Students would normally sign up via their international office. Sometimes, the travelling professor collects all data and forwards it to the International Office.
BIP is now available in Beneficiary Module. BIP Number: 2024-1-AT01-KA131-HED-000203043-1
BIP Title: Combining businesses, local government and early childhood education for regional sustainability
BIP Date: 16.02.2026 – 20.02.2025
Virtual components:
- 19.01.2026: Session 1: welcoming, arrival details, forming groups, small lecture on research topic and economic indicators
- 20.01.2026: Session 2: details on project work and work needed to be completed BEFORE arrival, reasoning & aim for approach; Q&A
Interested partners please contact please contact Marion Mansberger (marion.mansberger@fhwn.ac.at)