Barbara Schmidt-Unterberger

Dr. Barbara Schmidt-Unterberger serves as a Senior Lecturer at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), affiliated with the Institute for English Business Communication. She coordinates the EBC 1 programme, oversees the EBC 1 tutorial, and teaches EBC 1, EBC 2, and the elective course 'English as a Teaching Language' at the Institute for Business Education. Additionally, she acts as an academic advisor for WU's partner universities in Lisbon, conducting interviews with students seeking exchange opportunities.

Dr. Schmidt-Unterberger completed her MA in English literature and linguistics at the University of Vienna in 2008, with a focus on adult education and English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Her MA thesis evaluated a bilingual program at secondary schools commissioned by the Vienna Board of Education. She joined WU's Institute for English Business Communication in 2009 as a Research and Teaching Assistant while commencing her doctoral studies. After becoming a Senior Lecturer in 2013, she contributed to restructuring EBC 1 and transitioning the course from LVP to the current PI format.

Her research centers on tertiary education, specifically teaching and learning at universities, encompassing higher education didactics, English for Specific Purposes (ESP), English-medium Instruction (EMI), and the internationalization of higher education. Her work examines how universities implement English-medium instruction, particularly in business and economics contexts. She investigates program design, delivery challenges, and stakeholder perspectives on international education initiatives.

Dr. Schmidt-Unterberger's publication record demonstrates a clear trajectory from practical program evaluation to conceptual frameworks for English-medium instruction. Her research spans from analyzing CLIL programs (2010) to developing conceptual paradigms for EMI (2018) and exploring forward-looking perspectives on international business education (2021). Her methodological approach typically combines case studies with stakeholder analysis to understand both theoretical frameworks and practical implementation challenges.

As an educator, she has significantly shaped English language instruction at WU, particularly through her coordination of the EBC 1 program. Her teaching responsibilities directly reflect her research interests, focusing on business communication in English and addressing the challenges of teaching in multilingual academic environments. Her presentation on URL shorteners for academic communication demonstrates her interest in practical educational technology solutions that enhance scholarly work.