First inner German study week

As part of the 15th study week of the International Business Management (IB) master's program, students from Ravensburg-Weingarten University (RWU) traveled to Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin to gain insights into various companies. "The study weeks are an integral part of the IB course," says Professor Dr. Eberhard Hohl, initiator and director of the study weeks. Due to the pandemic, they were held in Germany for the first time.

The Leipzig start-up scene

The first day of the study week started in Leipzig. A guided tour through the historic city center offered the students a journey into the city's storied past. They also visited the campus of the University of Leipzig, which was renovated by 2017 at a cost of approximately 117 million euros and impresses with its architectural features. However, sightseeing was not the only thing on the agenda for the students; they also visited local companies. The site of the Alte Baumwollspinnerei is home to Leipzig's current start-up scene. There, the company SpinLab welcomed the group. SpinLab supports startups beyond modern coworking offices: new founders receive support on business, legal and technological topics during a six-month mentoring program.

In the subsequent business talk, Ralf Lenich, ZF Aftermarket Germany, provided insights into his area of responsibility as an account manager for spare parts sales and service in the off-highway sector. On the last evening, the group walked in the "footsteps of Goethe's Faust" to the famous Auerbachs Keller, for a joint "literary dinner".

Dresden's future and past

Next on the agenda was a guided tour of the Transparent Factory at VW. Here, the students were able to experience VW's assembly line production up close. The VW ID.3 is produced there over several floors on the basis of the modular e-drive system (MEB). After a tour of the production facility and the "Center of Future Mobility", the group learned more about the history of Dresden during a guided city walk . The day ended with a concert in the Frauenkirche.

On the second morning in Dresden, the group went to the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, where the tour group was welcomed by Dr. Detlef Hamann, the Chief Executive Officer of the Dresden Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In his lecture, Mr. Hamann went into detail about the three legally defined tasks of the IHK and explained to the students the difficult structural developments in the region, especially outside of the metropolitan regions.. "We are becoming fewer and fewer. We are getting older and older. So we are still in the midst of demographic change," Mr. Hamann summed up the situation.

Culture and start-ups in the capital

After successful check-in at the hotel in Berlin-Mitte, the evening ended with a joint dinner. The next morning, the group met with a guide at the Brandenburg Gate to learn more about the capital's past and present. With a view of the Reichstag building, the tour continued at the Holocaust Memorial, to the building of the former Reich Air Ministry. At Potsdamer Platz, with remnants of the Berlin Wall, Berlin's history was literally tangible.

From theory to practice

The next destination for the MBA students was the start-up center "The Factory". There, lectures with live demos took placeat the start-up "AgyleOS" with its CEO and Co-Founder Erdal Ahlatci and his management team. AgyleOS is a cloud computing based operating system that connects HR software systems in an agile organization to promote self-organization in teams. "The visit represented a special highlight for the students. Based on their seminars on agile leadership & collaboration at RWU, they got to know the innovative product range of the company in Berlin, regarding significant practice areas of HR Digital Transformation and Leadership. The current challenges in the context of the "VUCA-World" for HR managers and executives were treated just as professionally during the visit of the extraordinary start-up as design aspects of a necessary change process in practice", says Prof. Dr. Eberhard Hohl.

In the business talk with Christiane Schröder from Sanofi and Thomas Steinmeier from KAM Experts, the students got an overview of the pharmaceutical industry and the current design of a professional key account management.

"The secret of inner strength: resilience as a success factor".
After the discussion session, the study group met at "Ahoy! Berlin" for a workshop on "Resilience as a Success Factor". The facilitator gave an interactive introduction to the topic and offered the opportunity for self-reflection in smaller groups. The students learned how to deal with stress as well as how to focus on their own mental strengths and power resources.

Business dialogue with a BMW executive and learning assessment
On the last evening together in the "Classic-Remise Berlin", a restored Wilhelmine streetcar depot, the group was welcomed by Wolfgang Höss, Head of HR Sales Region East of the BMW Group, for a joint dinner and business talk. This unique pioneer study week ended with an open Q&A session around the topics of talent management, employee retention and career planning in times of digital change, as well as a final learning review with feedback and discussion with Prof. Dr. Eberhard Hohl.

"The study trip brought us closer together as students and was just awesome as a teambuilding event," says Niklas Madlener, 5th semester student, about the study week. "It was impressive to experience the cities from different eras."

 

Text: Niklas Madlener, Tobias Moser and Prof. Dr. Eberhard Hohl