37 Years of IKI Vienna
The International Culture Institute (IKI Vienna) was founded by a group of German teachers as a non-profit organisation in 1981. The institute is specialised in German as a foreign language and stands among the most prestigious language schools in the German-speaking realm.
450-500 course participants from all across the world attend our German classes each month.
IKI is certified by the City of Vienna
Apart from the regular coursework, IKI is also an accredited and certified examination centre for the Austrian German Language Diploma (ÖSD) and works closely together with the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF). Excellent relations are also well kept with the WAFF (Vienna Employment Promotion Fund) and AMS (Employment Service Austria).
IKI Vienna is an international language school
IKI also hosts a programme in cooperation with the University of Washington, the NC State University and the University of Kansas.
Institute Management
After the sisters Ann and Elizabeth Safranek took over the International Culture Institute at Wiener Opernring from their mother in the year 2012, the two have been successfully managing the traditional Viennese company in the spirit of the founders for many years now.
With the entry of the next generation, important modernisation measures were set in place in the administration and back office areas. The non-profit, social educational mandate nevertheless remains centre stage as before, with the organisation activity to a large extent well respected and well esteemed.
Ann Safranek, Executive Director
Elizabeth Safranek, Managing Director
In the office
In the office, Anne-Sophie Berset, Ivonne Kirmann und Barbara Pöll, take care of all the organisational matters.
Ann-Sophie Berset, Front Desk
Anne-Sophie is always in a good mood and serves as the excellently-organised point of contact for registration as well as students’ and pupils’ concerns. She answers emails, phone calls and is likewise available to you via Facebook.
Ivonne Kirmann, Front Office
Complete with a smile, Ivonne makes sure that everything is up and running—from the computers to the courses—and exam dates to student accommodation. She also develops ideas for our After-class activities.
Barbara Pöll, Back Office
Barbara takes care of the figures in accounting and the seamless payment flows. Apart from that, she always has an open ear for her protégés and helps with the communication with funding agencies such as WAFF (Vienna Employment Promotion Fund), AMS (Employment Service Austria) and the ÖIF (Austrian Integration Fund).
In the classroom
Awaiting you in the classrooms are professional teachers with academic degrees (language or educational studies) who bring great dedication and top expertise to bear for your personal progress. The entire teaching staff is specialised in German as a foreign language, have many years of experience in language lessons and are employed full-time at IKI Vienna.
Our language teachers:
Barbara Gräf, Johann Gruber, Beate Hacker, Elisabeth Mäser, Eos Paul, Elisabeth Petru, Gertrude Rathbauer, Martin Reiterer, Daniela O’Shea, Andreas Werle, Michaela Weghaupt
Max Aigner, Irene Bisanz, Angela Buzek, Maria Cruz, Josef Diermair, Tanja Erben, Hanna Grabenberger, Rita Hnolik, Eleonor Keisman, Andrea Krakora, Harald Krebl, Birgit Kunz, Stefanie Mayer, Katharina Scherner, Alena Soucek, Herwig Stingl, Stefan Weghuber, Corinna Widhalm