World University Service (WUS) Austria is a politically independent, non-governmental organization committed to the promotion of the human right to education on the basis of academic freedom and university autonomy.Since its establishment in Graz in 1983, WUS Austria has been working on the promotion of this aim in various countries all over the world (thus, for example, in the 1980s in Africa, and Southern and Central America). Today the organization has a regional focus on the countries of South-Eastern and Eastern Europe and employs a branch office in Prishtina. While this area remains at the center of WUS Austria’s work, the organization additionally focuses on other regions such as Central Asia and the Caucasus and is further interested in cooperation with other countries in the world.  

During its 40 years of existence WUS Austria has positioned itself as one of the most important operative partners for enhancing knowledge transfer and comparability in Higher Education between EU and non-EU countries. WUS Austria provides operative and technical support and consultancy for a faster, more efficient implementation of the Bologna system and global trends in the Higher Education (HE) sector.

Our VISION: We develop solutions for contemporary challenges of the 21st century through the promotion of an inclusive and equitable access to quality education for all.

Our MISSION: we believe that the right to education includes not only the right to access and complete education but also the right to quality education. We therefore aim at increasing the quality of HE in accordance with European and international standards in order to establish solid and sustainable structures for a strong role of universities in society. Against this background, WUS Austria has implemented change management in accordance with the Bologna principles and UNESCO standards since 2001.

Sustainable development of Higher Education goes beyond the university level. Responding to this, WUS Austria works together with the public sector, economy and society as a whole.
WUS Austria’s work is based on the following principles: top-down and bottom-up approach from the policy level to the individual level, local capacity building, sustainability, and local ownership. We provide experts, used to work in complex and intercultural environments, and cooperate with many different partners such as Higher Education institutions, public bodies (e.g. ministries, accreditation agencies), NGOs and companies on a national, regional, European and international level. We further collaborate with donors at national (e.g. Austrian Development Cooperation) and international (e.g. European Union) level, as well as foundations.