It’s in high spirits that I begin my second term of office as mdw Rector this winter semester of 2019/2020. And both I and my fellow members of the newly appointed mdw Rectorate team now look forward to continuing our successful work together with colleagues from the areas of teaching, research, and administration as well as with students.
This issue’s Special section provides a look at the mdw’s Diversity Strategy, which was presented back in June: just why diversity makes a university strong and just what measures are needed to make further progress in terms of diversity and equal treatment are some of the many things you can read about on the following pages.
We also provide a look back at the mdw’s highly eventful past few months: in August, isaScience 2019—with its conference theme of “Just P(l)ay! Music as Labour”—presented a new selection of fascinating insights into current research. And to mark the occasion of our music therapy programme’s 60th anniversary, we revisit the beginnings of training in music therapy at our institution. Farther afield, an inter-university theatre project in Hanoi shows us how international exchange in the performing arts can be of the highest value to all those involved.
We also introduce you to the Film Academy Vienna project Confronting Realities, which focuses on examining one’s own social biography through the medium of film, as well as the European Commission-sponsored research and innovation action TROMPA, which is developing a digital platform that will make possible the digitisation, networking, and enhancement of classical music in all its forms and for all people.
I wish you a great start into this new semester and an enriching read!
