Social Impact Start-up Academy (SISTAC), an initiative developed by Bayer Foundation and Prof. Dr. Andre Habisch at WFI enables master’s students in the Social Innovation course at WFI to work with social entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa over a 12-month period to jointly address challenges of upscaling the African social innovator’s business model. Creating remarkable social impact over a sustained period of time, SISTAC will usher in its fifth cohort in autumn this year. This unique action learning program actively supports United Nations Sustainability Goals #2 (zero hunger) and #3 (good health and wellbeing) while providing evidence of curriculum-driven social impact at WFI.

Here are some other select examples of our societal impact through our Curriculum...

• Action Learning Master Theses.
• Action Learning and Partners in our Innovation & Creativity (Master’s) course.
• Economist ranking & ranking of the most influential female economists. For the first time, the F.A.Z. an influence ranking of women in economics. Prof. Langenmayr ranked in 15th place. F.A.Z.-Ökonomenranking der Frauen 2019 - Fazit - das Wirtschaftsblog
• Teaching Award @WFI, “Preis der Lehre". News2: Katholische Universität Eichstätt - Ingolstadt (ku.de)
• WFI- Ingolstadt School of Management is regularly awarded a top ranking,also by the student portal Studycheck.de, one of the online portals with the widest reach in the field of universities and studies in Germany The Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU) has been awarded the title "Most Popular University in Germany 2021"

KU’s Research Institute for Business and Economics in Service of Humanity (BESH) is a mission-driven research institute that produces, nurtures, disseminates, and celebrates academic research that makes a societal contribution. Research by the four WFI professors who are founding directors of BESH addresses important societal topics such as parental choice of healthy food for their children, financial well-being and resilience,  migrant worker skills, labor market returns to human capital, and export price and wages of rural workers. BESH, along with the soon-to-be-launched KU Center for Ethics and Sustainability (launching in October 2022) demonstrate a research agenda that values societal impact. The inter-disciplinary Ethics and Sustainability center will be housed in a 15th-century building (Georgianum) in the historic city center of Ingolstadt, steps away from the WFI campus, is a collaboration with faculty from WFI, and the schools of Mathematics and Geography, Theology, and Philosophy & Education. These two research centers also point to KU and WFI’s investment in research, people, and resources towards meaningful impact that benefits society.

Here are some other select examples of our societal impact through research and knowledge transfer...

• The Center for Flight and Migration, an interdisciplinary institute for research and education at KU addresses the challenges posed by global and regional migration. Researchers from various disciplines, including from WFI, work collaboratively to create and disseminate knowledge about diverse and complex issues of flight and migration. The Center for Flight and Migration Eichstätt-Ingolstadt: Katholische Universität Eichstätt - Ingolstadt (ku.de)
• The Ingolstadt Research Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AININ - Artificial Intelligence Network Ingolstadt).
• KU Research Institute for Taxation.
• KU Research Institute for Business and Economics in Service of Humanity (BESH).
• Program Young Researchers Day 2021. Program: Katholische Universität Eichstätt - Ingolstadt (ku.de)
• Call for education policy measures initiated by Simon Wiederhold, Alexander Danzer and other leading education economists during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020. Co-signed by more than 90 economists in Germany, covered by SPIEGEL online.
• Transfer.talk - new interactive discussion format organized by Mensch in Bewegung and hosted by Katharina Hartinger. 
• KU offers a mentoring program for young female researchers KU offers a mentoring program for young female researchers: Katholische Universität Eichstätt - Ingolstadt
• Collaboration with BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt on issues of sustainability. 
• One of the best studies in 50 years of European Economic Review is a study conducted by Prof. Wiederhold, who holds the chair for Macroeconomics at WFI. 
• Teaconomics - informal discussion format for WFI students. Zoom classes do not allow for casual interactions between teachers and students before / after class. This is why Katharina Hartinger from the Chair of Macroeconomics created the Teaconomics format where students can discuss economic research, career planning, gender issues, mental health (...) in an informal atmosphere.
• PILLARS project is a joint research project by an international consortium of highly renowned scholars, co-led by Professor Simon Wiederhold (Chair of Macroeconomics at WFI). With funding from the European Commission under the framework of Horizon 2020, the project aims to better understand how new technologies and globalization affect labor markets in Europe, to derive policy strategies for inclusive labor markets. 
• Prof. Dr. Alexander M. Danzer participates in a research project funded by the British Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). 

Faculty members at WFI actively provide their time, expertise and mentoring to aid societal impact initiatives in the community. One such initiative where faculty members foster immediate societal impact involves multiple WFI professors who work with, mentor, and evaluate high school students who address societal challenges as part of the YES! Young Economic Summit. The Faculty Council governance structure at WFI promotes the regular exchange of ideas and initiatives among all internal stakeholder groups at WFI, which leads to enhanced collaboration and participation in mission consistent activities.

Here are some other select examples of how we foster and promote societal impact.

• Coordination and Mentoring for YES! – Young Economic Summit.
• Improving Equality of Opportunity: Key to a fair society? (2019) – YES! – Young Economic Summit (young-economic-summit.org)
• Tax Compliance – Aufgabe des Staates oder der Moral? (2020) – YES! – Young Economic Summit (young-economic-summit.org)
• In cooperation with the city of Ingolstadt and the KU, a Science Gallery opened in Ingolstadt’s city center
• KU is the first Bavarian university to receive the "Family Friendly University" award. After many years of successful completion of the audit "Family-Friendly University". Family friendly KU: Katholische Universität Eichstätt - Ingolstadt
• KU joined the Best Practice Club "Familie in der Hochschule e. V." which supports its students and its employees to lead a balanced life in and with families in all phases of life and education. 
• KU and WFI cooperate with the Pedagogic Center for providing childcare to students and employees who live in and around Ingolstadt. Childcare: Katholische Universität Eichstätt - Ingolstadt (ku.de) Pädagogisches Zentrum Ingolstadt: PZ IN (pz-in.de)
• Women and Equal Opportunity Officers at WFI are elected representatives of the faculty (including young researchers) in each school. Their role is to ensure that no one is disadvantaged because of their gender. Frauen- und Gleichstellungsbeauftragte: Katholische Universität Eichstätt - Ingolstadt (ku.de)
• WFI Student Organization dedicated to Diversity: empowerIN. A new organization, "empowerIN - the diverse network" was founded by WFI students in early 2021 to create a diverse network of students and other WFI stakeholders.
• “Day of Sustainability” (“Tag der Nachhaltigkeit”) which takes place at four different locations throughout the city of Ingolstadt and is co-organized by WFI and the “Man IN Motion” project.
• WFI is working on a cooperation agreement with the start-up Positive Impacts with the goal of being able to measure the social impact of companies in the future working together with the CEO Martin Viehöver.