The Intensive, International Learning Experience
In January 2020 the HWR Berlin campus hosted 65 international students for three Winter School programmes. In the course of two weeks, these students learned about doing business in Europe.
The two modules of the Winter School programme were taught by HWR Berlin professors. This intensive study model, aimed at advanced undergraduates and graduate students, allows the participants to learn what is usually taught in a whole semester. Cole Roepke, a participant of the Winter School programme reflected on his two-week study experience:
With classmates from around the globe I learned about International Business Strategy in the Service Industry. I did not know it was possible to learn so much in just a couple of weeks.«
While it was also only the second time the course “Strategy and Brand Management in the Brewing Industry” was offered, it has now already developed into the most popular choice. Students had the unique opportunity to profit from the knowledge of four experts on the brewing industry. The strong theoretical foundation was combined with hands on experience in Professor Carsten Baumgarth’s lab where students measured the performance of beer brands through eye tracking experiments.
Strong Ties to Local Businesses
Essential parts of these intensive short programmes are company visits. These provide the students with the opportunity to learn about management in German companies first hand and create a platform for conversation. Allowing for the insight into different business models, this year’s Winter School complemented visits to well-established companies and institutes as “Siemens Gas and Power”, the German Brewers’ Association and the “IBB” investment bank with visits to successful start-ups, namely the IT service company “NeXenio” and the craft beer brewery “BRLO”.
Intercultural Perspectives
Concurrently, the group of international students mainly from Universities in India, Australia, the USA and France gained intercultural skills preparing them for a career in international environments. Next to learning about German history and culture, students reflected on differences and similarities between cultures, behaviours and communication.