Foreword by the Honorary President
Dr. h. c. Karl von Habsburg

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

the Danube Private University is an Austrian success story. It all began a little over a decade and a half ago with the vision of its two founders, the Wagner-Pischel couple. Initially, a “hotly contested, fiercely disputed” vision today this house of learning and teaching is a medical and health science institution and a private university with an excellent reputation. It has a constantly evolving and well-received range of courses comprising Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD programs, as well as the two medical doctorates. It currently has around 2,500 students from 66 nations and a rapidly growing number of graduates. It has a faculty of internationally renowned professors and a network of scientific partner institutions for stimulating research and development that spans the entire globe. And all this in such a short time and against all odds. I am known to be a passionate supporter of private entrepreneurship, and the success of the Danube Private University is impressive proof of the accuracy and importance of my attitude and stance. Today, DPU is a proud family business in which the second generation is already taking on management responsibility.

The history of this start-up reminds me of the actual beginning of university science in our country. My ancestor Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Carinthia, Styria and Carniola and Count of Tyrol, the first Archduke of Austria, a son-in-law of Emperor Charles IV through his marriage to Catherine of Luxembourg, was also regarded as a visionary by his contemporaries. He was determined to found a university in his domain and sphere of influence at the time: as the first founder without a royal crown. The later Alma Mater Rudolphina was founded in March 1365, with the smallest of means and bringing no joy to the Emperor Charles. However, almost two decades were to pass before regular teaching and learning began, as many scholars of international standing had to be poached, from Paris in particular, and brought to Vienna. It was around the same time, in 1384, that a theological faculty was founded and the University of Vienna developed into a full university, despite all resistance. In retrospect and by way of comparison, one could say that the Wagner-Pischels are very well on time.

The time has now come for the DPU to put the Third Mission, as it is called today, on a new footing. In order to ensure that the results of innovative research and the knowledge of the DPU’s international network benefit people in Austria and Europe, and young people in particular, in a sustainable way, the President and CEO of the University, Prof. h. c. Marga B. Wagner-Pischel, has established a university foundation: the Heracles-Hebe Foundation of Danube Private University.

The foundation’s name says it all, as its purpose is to promote health and health behavior among young people and all who are particularly concerned about their health, based on the results and findings of scientific research at the DPU and its excellent international partner network. The focus is on the areas of personalized nutrition, physical activity, and mental and social health.

The fact that medicine and health are conceptually linked to art and culture is a unique feature of this foundation, which can be directly explained by the founder’s life and self-image: it creates a meaningful link between people’s cultural identity and their mental and social health. This is a new vision and all of this is literally embedded in and based on the Wachau World Heritage Site – a heritage of the future in which the DPU has become a modern, constitutive, and integral element.

I am therefore very happy to support this project of the new university foundation and am delighted to accept the invitation to promote the values and goals of the foundation as Honorary President and thus support its esteemed founder. I look forward to the many joint initiatives that will bring lasting benefits in the form of lifelong physical, mental, spiritual and social health, and resilience in the face of the new challenges of our time.

Yours
Karl von Habsburg

Health is more than just the absence of illness. It is a gift from God that encompasses the whole person: body, mind and soul. It is the foundation for a successful life, for joy, relationships and hope. In a time marked by uncertainty, stress and rapid change, we need places that strengthen, encourage and provide guidance.

The Heracles-Hebe Foundation of the Danube Private University understands health in this comprehensive sense. It combines scientific research with education and culture, thus opening up ways for people – especially the younger generation – to develop their gifts, preserve their strengths and shape their lives responsibly. In this holistic view, human beings are not reduced to performance but are respected in their dignity and accompanied in their longing for meaning.

May God’s blessing be upon all who contribute to this foundation and are strengthened by it:

Dear God,
You are the source of all life.
Bless the work and the people involved in the Heracles-Hebe Foundation of the
Danube Private University. Grant joy in their service to all who contribute their energy
and ideas. Let health, wisdom and peace grow wherever this foundation is active.
Accompany young people in particular on their path into the future, so
that they may develop their talents and live their lives to the full.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

His Excellency Dr Alois Schwarz
Bishop of the Diocese of St. Pölten

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Principles and Objectives of the Heracles-Hebe Foundation of the Danube Private University.
Prof. h. c. M. B. Wagner-Pischel, Chairwoman of the Board of the Foundation
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nicole Nicklisch, Deputy Chairwoman of the Board of the Foundation

Die Heracles-Hebe-Stiftung der Danube Private University
Brücke zwischen Wissenschaft und Lebenswirklichkeit des Menschen.
Prof. Dr. Hossam Haick, Director of the Doctoral Program “Precision and Personalized
Medicine”, Danube Private University, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa

Initial Activities of the Heracles-Hebe Foundation of the Danube Private University.

Gremien der Heracles-Hebe-Stiftung der Danube Private University
Ehrenpräsident, Vorstand, Aufsichtsorgan, Ehrenmitglieder, Vorsitzende des wissenschaftlichen Beirats, Wissenschaftlicher Beirat, Mitglied des Freundeskreises, Generalsekretär

Greeting.
Johanna Mikl-Leitner, Governor of Lower Austria
Archbishop Dr. Franz Lackner O.F.M., Episcopal Delegate for Universities and Theological Faculties/Universities

FOUNDER

Friends of the Heracles-Hebe Foundation of the Danube Private University