Awards 2026: 17 Graduates Honored at the Steyr Campus

The award-winning theses at the FH Upper Austria School of Business and Management in Steyr once again demonstrated how hands-on, diverse, and future-oriented research and study can be: the honored graduates addressed topics such as the use of artificial intelligence in Austria’s emergency medical services, predictive analytics for the early detection of SME insolvencies, risk assessment in the event of IT failures, the acceptance of insects as processed food, quality improvement in manufacturing, sustainable B2B sales, and dynamic marketing capabilities.

In total, 17 graduates were recognized, seven of whom received the Chimney Award – the most prestigious honor of the Management Faculty at the FH Upper Austria Campus Steyr.

The Chimney Award: 115 award winners since 1999

The Chimney Award is the most prestigious distinction awarded by the FH Upper Austria School of Business and Management and was presented this year for the 27th time to outstanding graduates. Selected by a high-level jury based on scientific merit, practical relevance, and innovation, the award recognizes theses each year in the fields of controlling and finance, marketing and sales, production, logistics, digital business, as well as process and agricultural management.

The award is sponsored by Sparkasse Upper Austria and the FH Steyr Support Association. The ceremonial award presentation took place at the Museum Arbeitswelt in Steyr.

Awards 2026: Best of Automotive and Finance, as well as the Digital Business Award

In addition to the Chimney Awards, the 2026 Awards Gala once again recognized outstanding theses in the automotive sector. This year, six students from the fields of logistics and production received awards from the Austrian Association of the Automotive Industry.

KPMG and Porsche Holding presented prizes for excellent work in the field of finance, while the Alumni Club, the FH Steyr Support Association, and Sparkasse Upper Austria honored students for their exceptional commitment. The Digital Business Award was presented for the second time this year.

In addition, 14 students were recognized for their outstanding engagement in topics related to their degree programs.

Chimney Award Winners 2026

Ing. Florian Stotz, BA
Program: Process Management and Business Intelligence (PMBI), Bachelor’s
Thesis: Assessing the risk of IT outages using selected cause-and-effect analyses, illustrated by a retail company

Sarah Theresa Wallner, BA MA
Program: Controlling, Accounting and Financial Management (CRF), Master’s
Thesis: Predictive analytics for SME insolvencies in Austria: a comparison of traditional and modern machine learning methods, considering financial, non-financial, and macroeconomic variables

Maximilian Bernhard Anleitner, BA MA
Program: Supply Chain Management (SCM), Master’s
Thesis: Digital technologies in Austria’s emergency medical services with a focus on artificial intelligence: current status and future perspectives

Eva Maria Schillhuber, BA MA
Program: Agricultural Management and Innovation (AMI), Master’s
Thesis: Acceptance of insects as processed food in Austria

Christoph Harald Benda, BSc
Program: Smart Production and Management (SPMT), Bachelor’s
Thesis: The PDCA cycle as a tool for continuous quality improvement in manufacturing

Matthias Klinser, BA MA
Program: Global Sales and Marketing (GSM), Master’s
Thesis: What training content does B2B sales in the Austrian IT industry need to successfully sell sustainable solutions?

Hannah Grestenberger, BA
Program: Marketing and Digital Business (MAB), Master’s
Thesis: Dynamic marketing capabilities: a qualitative comparison of literature and practice

About the FH Upper Austria Campus Steyr

Around 1,400 students from all over the world are currently enrolled at the School of Business and Management in Steyr, studying in 15 top-ranked degree programs. These cover areas such as controlling and finance, marketing and sales, smart production, logistics, e-business, and process management and business intelligence, as well as agricultural management, human resource management, and leading transformation for impact organizations.

The faculty offers 14 part-time and three English-taught programs, along with a global network of 130 partner universities. In the latest CHE ranking, Steyr was once again named Austria’s top university of applied sciences for management.

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