The Mozarteum University is committed to integrity, professionalism, fairness, reliability and respect in all its operations and decision-making processes. These principles are set down in the university's guidelines for teaching, development and furthering of the arts, academia and research, and management and administration.

Work protocols and decision-making processes are guided by the principles of legality, economic efficiency, expediency, economy and transparency.

In the event of a suspicion of illegal activity or unfair conduct, members of the Mozarteum University Salzburg can implement the EU Directive on the Protection of Persons Reporting Breaches of Union Law (Whistleblower Directive).

• Guidelines of the Mozarteum University on Whistleblower Protection (Whistleblowing Guidelines)

Reporting Office / Whistleblower System in accordance with whistleblower protection law

Are you aware of legal violations at the Mozarteum University Salzburg?

Your information is an important contribution to ensuring legally compliant and ethical behaviour at the Mozarteum University Salzburg and is an important support in bringing to light possible grievances, averting damage and developing measures to prevent violations in future.

The reporting channel is open to all persons who have obtained information about violations of the law at the university through current or previous professional contact with the institution.

Persons who report a violation in accordance with the whistleblower protection law are considered “whistleblowers” and as such are protected by law from any disciplinary measures in the workplace being taken against them (including but not limited to suspension or dismissal).

How can a report be filed?
Reports of (suspected) legal violations can be submitted (anonymously if desired) via the online whistleblower system. Regardless of whether the whistleblower chooses to disclose their name or to remain anonymous, the University guarantees that the report will be handled confidentially and carefully. Every case will be carefully examined and, if necessary, appropriate follow-up measures will be initiated.

• To the whistleblower system: 
  https://moz.academic-whistleblower.at

Following submission of a report:
Every report received is handled according to the following procedure:

• Confirmation of receipt: Receipt of the notification will be confirmed within seven days.
• Review and evaluation of initial information (application of the whistleblower protection system)
• If report is plausible: initiation of a special investigation
• Preparation and implementation of the investigations
• Evaluation and coordination of the interim results
• Initiation of measures following the investigations
• Preparation of a special audit report
• Anonymisation and archiving of the documents

Whistleblowers receive feedback on the processing of the report via the online reporting system.

Independently of this internal reporting office, committees such as the Works Council and the Equal Opportunities Committee are also on hand to provide advice and support in the event of legal violations of any kind (i.e. not only regarding whistleblowing). Students can also obtain the names of helpful people or organisations to contact from the ÖH.

IMPORTANT: The whistleblowing system is not suitable for reporting emergencies! Knowingly making a false report is a punishable offense and constitutes an administrative offense under the whistleblower protection law.

The history of the Mozarteum University Salzburg begins in 1841: On the fiftieth anniversary of  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's death, the music-loving citizens of Salzburg, with the support of the Prince-Archbishop, founded the "Dommusikverein und Mozarteum" as a conservatory for the cultivation of sophisticated church music. At that time there was a shortage of young instrumentalists, which was reflected in the state of the musical landscape: " The choir (...) was drowned out by the orchestra, which really played too loudly (...) the best players were the three trombonists - the next best was the double bass player (...). In the birthplace of the most wonderful composer who ever lived, music is indeed in a state of sad decay " (Vincent and Mary Novello on the occasion of their visit to Salzburg in 1826, from the notes in their travel diary "A Mozart Pilgrimage").

The Mozarteum was primarily intended as a conservatory for the training of young musicians for the ecclesiastical service of the Salzburg Cathedral and was to initiate a revival for Salzburg. The goals of the founders also included organising concerts, engaging musicians and, above all, paying them. In addition, gifted students of the conservatory were supported financially through the awarding of scholarships. In the first decades of its existence, the Mozarteum was not only an educational institution, but also an important focal point around which culturally-minded citizens could unite. Moreover, it was strongly anchored in the political consciousness, through the development of the city into a music and tourist centre based around Mozart''s heritage.

In 1870, the International Mozart Foundation was established to promote talented musicians, and a decade later the Mozarteum Public Music School was founded, which in 1881 was taken over by the International Mozart Foundation. In addition to running the music school, the foundation administered an orchestra (later the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg) as well as a fund for the support of talented musicians.

In 1914, the Mozarteum Public Music School became an independent educational institution and was recognised as a public conservatory. Due to the difficult financial situation after the First World War, the music school was nationalised in 1922, becoming the Mozarteum State University in 1939 and the Mozarteum Reich University in 1941. After the end of the Second World War, teaching, which had largely come to a standstill, was gradually resumed and the Mozarteum continued under the title of Musikhochschule. The beginning of the 1950s saw the founding of numerous new departments, academic institutes and special courses, and in 1953 the Academy of Music was elevated to the status of the "Mozarteum" Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Salzburg. A change in the law governing higher education in 1970 resulted in the Academy, together with the three other Austrian arts academies, became a so-called "Hochschule", marking a democratisation in the development and promotion of the arts (read more: On the way to becoming an arts university). in 1998, the former music school received university status and was given the name by which it is known today: Mozarteum University Salzburg.

In addition to the Mozarteum University, two other independent Salzburg institutions bear the name "Mozarteum": the International Mozarteum Foundation and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg.

In 1981, a remotely administrated department of the Mozarteum "Hochschule", as it was known at the time, was established in Innsbruck. The first students were trainee teachers studying classroom teaching in Music Education (now: Music Pedagogy), with the study programme in  Instrumental Music Education being introduced in 1986. In 2006, in cooperation with the Tyrolean State Conservatory, the degree programme in Instrumental & Vocal Pedagogy was established. In today's Department of Music Pedagogy - Innsbruck Campus around 200 students are enrolled in all music pedagogical degree programmes, in which a balanced artistic, pedagogical and academic education is imparted by renowned teaching staff at a high level. A large percentage of graduates later find employment as teachers in secondary schools and music schools, but also in the regional and national cultural scene, for example as performing musicians, choirmasters, bandmasters and church musicians. Since 2018, the Department of Music Education and part of the Department of Musicology (Department of Musical Ethnology) have been located at the Haus der Musik in the centre of Innsbruck.

The Department of Fine Arts & Design also has a campus in Innsbruck, from 2019-204 in PEMA 2, and since autumn 2024 at Liebeneggstraße 8.

Social Responsibility

We see diversity as an opportunity and recognise its valuable potential, taking into account different socio-cultural backgrounds and embracing questions of gender, physical or psychological challenges, and talents in a variety of ways. This openness to diversity is a  principle that guides our thinking, acting, interaction and communication with one another. 

The following institutions are directly responsible for coordinating, monitoring and evaluating this process:

• Equal Opportunities Committee
• Institute for Equality & Gender Studies
• Inclusion and Diversity Committee

The members of the institute and the two committees act as disseminators, in dialogue with the representatives of various committees and groups (Senate, meetings of department heads, Curricula Working Group) and in particular in individual discussions. They work in close consultation with the vice-chancellor's office, the Department of Quality Management and Development Planning of the University, the Team for Human Resources Project Development, the Department of Professional and Career Development (Human Resources Development and Family Services Unit), the Department of Studies and Examinations, the Austrian National Union of Students and the representatives of the Gender Studies Platform, 

Vision

The Mozarteum strives for diversity-sensitive resource orientation, enabling continuous further development:

• in inclusive communication and acting
• in considering and integrating different perspectives 

The Mozarteum University Salzburg has a social and political responsibility when it comes to sharing and publishing the results of artistic and academic projects. Artistic productions in particular raise questions about accepted norms, open up spaces for critical discourse and, building on this, bring about change.

Implementations

• Code of Conduct
• Human Resources & Students
  • Cultural diversity as a challenge & opportunity
  • Gender-sensitive thinking & actions
  • Social diversity as a challenge
  • Appreciating the contribution of people with disabilities to our activities 
• Research & development of the arts
  • Gender & queer studies and diversity research
  • Migration research
  • Echoes of diversity: at the overlap between academia & art 
• Teaching
  • Elective studies in GENDER | DIVERSITY | ARTS and INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY
  • Anchoring gender & diversity issues in the curricula
  • Supporting measures in the delivery of teaching
  • Internal further education measures
  • "Third Mission" initiative
• Cooperation & networking
  • Inter-university gender platform
  • Cooperation with the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg