Guest Lectures
Lectures by guest speakers are an important enrichment. Usually as part of the regular lecture schedule or in special events. Guest lectures help to broaden perspectives and bring as yet unknown topics into focus.
Prof. Dr. Kim Werner invited our alumna, Olga Bosak, who is currently pursuing her PhD, to speak to the master’s students in the "Applied Business Research" module. Olga Bosak gave an insightful presentation on a doctorate as a career path, which was much appreciated by the students.
The Master in International Business and Management (MIBM) program effectively blends theoretical learning with practical application, enabling students to utilize their academic knowledge to address real-world challenges and make informed decisions across various scenarios. Several courses within the program emphasize the development of research skills, guiding students through the process of crafting academic papers and master's theses. For instance, the module "Applied Business Research" offered in the first semester equips students with essential skills for conducting scientific research. Additionally, for those interested in pursuing a doctorate after completing the program, there are various pathways available to support their academic ambitions..
Detailed information about Olga Bosak´s professional career can be found in our testimonial rubric.
Global Classroom: Balancing private life and career development - dependent on culture and gender?
Should employees inform their superiors that they are getting married in the near future, especially if they plan an international career and foreign assignments? What implications does transparency about a change in private life have on career development? And what are the potential complications?
During a virtual global classroom on November 19, 2024, students from the International Business and Management Master's program at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and students from Cardiff University in Wales explored the influence of personal decisions on career development and possible differences that can arise depending on culture or gender.
Insights from the participants showed that decisions in their private lives can influence their career development and can be a sensitive topic. Not only for themselves, but also for their superiors and the company. For example, most participants would keep a marriage a secret for the time being to prevent potential career complications. In the concluding plenary discussion, it became clear that the reconciliation of private life and career development is not only gender-dependent, but also culture-dependent. Students specially valued the diverse perspectives of the group and the open and trusting communication during the discussions.
The Global Classroom for the module “Human Resource Management in Multinational Companies” was organized by Prof. Dr. Nicole Böhmer and Prof. Dr. Heike Schinnenburg from Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and their colleagues from Cardiff University, Dr. Xiaoni Ren and Dr. Florence Kode.
From April 14th to April 15th 2023 Master Students with the elective Change Management at the University of Applied Science Osnabrueck were given the opportunity to experience Design Thinking live. While working together in teams the students were instructed how to narrow the strategic search field and interview focus groups to understand the wishes of users. Based on this they not only worked out own ideas, but questioned and improved them continuously using “Quick User Interviews“. Central game play rules and success factors were, among others, a consequent user perspective “show don’t tell” and a reliable “time boxing” which was viewed as especially helpful by the participants. Within the feedback session many positive learning experiences were shared: “Trust the process, even when it’s weird at first”
Olga Penner, the trainer for agile methods and herself graduate of the MA Business Management had been invited by Prof. Dr. Heike Schinnenburg and Prof. Dr. Carsten Steinert within the framework of the module „Leadership & Innovation“. For further information regarding the workshop, please refer to the LinkedIn-Post (German).
Why is CSR in Germany much more focused on sustainability than in the US? And how does a fashion company like Bonprix (Otto Group) deal with it? Those questions have been discussed in a Global Classroom event by students from the University of Pennsylvania with Prof. Femida Handy and master students from Hochschule Osnabrück (specialization “Change Management”) on 27th May 2021.
Prof. Dr. Peter Mayer opened the session and initially gave an interesting insight into the background, which is mostly based on the role of the state. It became clear that a comprehensive social welfare system that guarantees employee protection (e.g. greatly higher leave entitlement in Germany) leads to a significantly bigger role for sustainability as a part of CSR in Europe, whereas corporate volunteering for instance is more on focus in the US.
This focus was confirmed by Dorothea End, who works as CR-Manager at Bonprix. She introduced Bonprix's new sustainability strategy in her presentation. The students learned that when it comes to the reduction of the ecological footprint, it is essentially about looking at the entire supply chain such as product manufacturing, product composition as well as packaging and transport. Dorothea End explained that they want to give the customers a good choice. Following questions were raised, among other things, in subsequent discussions round. “How does the company deal internally with conflicts of interest when price plays such a big role in fast fashion? How strong and influential is the position of the sustainability team compared to others like the purchasing department?” Ms End as the expert explained that “We are bound to the management and the sustainability goals are pursued and negotiated like other challenges".
This event had been organized by Prof. Dr. Heike Schinnenburg from Hochschule Osnabrück and Prof. Femida Handy from U-Penn, Philadelphia. The event took place in English language via Zoom.
Addendum: The participant's feedback is positive
"Expanding international cooperation/ projects if possible" (statement in Miro)
"Thank you so much for an amazing learning experience!” (Ben, U-Penn, Philadelphia, via Groupcard)
Current and up to date expertise is often brought into the lectures through guest speakers from companies or other organisations. Many of these workshops and presentations are held within the individual electives to provide our students with current and practical knowledge on topics relevant in their chosen specialisation. The guest speakers usually follow the invitation of the respective lecturers. Workshop and presentations within our various electives included the following:
December 3rd, 2020: „If you don´t have data, you are just someone else with an opinion…“– E-Commerce challenges, an example of bonprix
How to transform a fashion retail company, which was run as classic catalog business, into a data-driven e-commerce? Tabea Schwarz, “Strategic Project Manager CRM & Personalization” at bonprix (Otto Group) and graduate of the Master’s program Business Management (2015) presented this challenge to the third semester Master students.
"Data Transparency is the key," said Schwarz in her guest lecture that was held in English. She emphasized: „Sharing is caring”, because digital business models require data from different areas to provide dashboards with important KPIs for decision-making. „Feelings and beliefs are traditionally important aspects in the fashion industry, but, according to Schwarz, at the end, data evaluation is one of the crucial elements today. As an example: “Which product is selected for a postcard or which product is suggested to the customer on their website?” Therefore, lifelong learning plays an important role within the Otto Group. All employees are for instance obliged to attend basic e-learning programs in order to understand the digital transformation and stay up to date on this regard.
Ms. Schwarz also introduced the new bonprix test shop in Hamburg to the group. With great interest, students asked questions about the digital selection of clothing via mobile phone and the receiving of the clothes in the automatically reserved cabins. Customers are able to try the reserved clothes on with the matching light in the cabin (e.g. at the beach), in order to reduce classic annoyances from the customers. Furthermore, other possibilities such as Virtual Reality and Virtual Fitting Rooms were discussed during the presentation. It became clear that the test shop was developed by using agile methods so that ideas were quickly implemented into first prototypes, in order to achieve immediate improvements through direct test customer feedback and to capture relevant customer needs.
This online event took place on December 3, 2020 in the course Organizational Transformation Case Studies from Prof. Dr. Nicole Böhmer and Prof. Dr. Heike Schinnenburg.
Extracurricular Activities
Beyond the curriculum, our program focuses on promoting a sense of community among students and helping them develop a strong sense of companionship. Various extracurricular activities are organized and offered for the students throughout the semester. These include company visits, discussions with guest lecturers from partner universities, Christmas parties and other social events.
Intercultural Training event in the first semester offers the best opportunity to get to know each other right at the start of the study program. The event also serves to help the students to get to know each other and learn how to work together in intercultural teams. Students cherish this opportunity, as it helps them to start into the program as a team. Activities such as the Cooking Event, our yearly Christmas party together with the Master program Business Management and our summer event at the end of the second semester, during which it is usually time to say goodbye to the students going abroad in the third semester, are always highlights as they are spent in a nice location in a relaxed atmosphere.
Company visits and "Fireside chats" with senior managers - Fireside chats are get-togethers with senior managers for interactive discussions. Students of the master program "International Business and Management" come together with senior managers to share views on challenges of managing companies and career development. Visits to companies of the region, such as VW Osnabrück, CLAAS, manufacturer of agricultural machinery, or producer of specialized paper Felix Schöller Group are a good opportunity to look behind the scenes and to talk to managers or graduates from Hochschule Osnabrück working there.
Im Jahr 2021 beendete Lukas Reinken sein Masterstudium an der Hochschule Osnabrück, und sitzt bereits als direkt gewählter Kandidat der CDU im Kreis Cloppenburg im Landtag Niedersachsens. Im Rahmen des regelmäßig stattfindenden Kaminabends mit Studierenden des Studiengangs „International Business and Management“ sprach er nun mit Studierenden über sein Studium, sein Werdegang, und vor allem auch über die Herausforderungen für politische Gestaltung in der heutigen Zeit. Er sprach sowohl über seine Arbeit in seinem Wahlkreis, und die Arbeit in den Ausschüssen, z.B. in dem Wissenschaftsausschuss, dem er angehört. Reinken, der selbst im Rahmen des Studiums ein Semester in Südostasien verbracht hatte, ermutigte die Studierenden, die Chancen der internationalen Netzwerke der Hochschule zu nutzen und die unterschiedlichen Lebensvorstellungen anderer Länder und Völker kennenzulernen. Der Kaminabend war ein ausgezeichnete Gelegenheit, und zeigte das Potential der Begegnung im kleinen Kreis von Alumni mit Studierenden.
On 16th October 2024, our MIBM students gathered in the Caprivi Lounge for the first “Fireside Chat” of the winter semester. Our special guest at this event was Mr. Michael Busiek, CEO of Leder Brinkmann. The students were enthusiastic about his international experiences during his studies and inspired by his professional career. He has now been running his own company for over 17 years.
"Fireside chats" with senior managers or MIBM alumni offer students of the master’s degree program in International Business and Management (MIBM) the opportunity for interactive discussions with senior managers or MIBM alumni. At these informal meetings, guest speakers can share their experiences about their career path and give our students insights into their current position. The next event is scheduled for the 20th November 2024, featuring our alumnus Lukas Reinken, Member of State Parliament of Lower Saxony.
Our students had the opportunity to attend a workshop on agile project management on November 12th, 2019. Ms. Julia Bosbach (Senior Consultant) and Ms. Ann-Christine Museler (Consultant and graduate of Hochschule Osnabrück (Business Psychology)) from Assure Consulting GmbH provided an insight into the method Scrum as an agile project management tool. The workshop consisted of two parts: during the theoretical part the students learned the basics and theories behind Scrum and how agile project management is applied in companies to manage processes and projects. During the practical part of the workshop, the students applied the method by themselves in a Scrum simulation with Lego blocks in two seperate groups. Not only did the students enjoy the interactive simulation and learned how to work with the Scrum method, they also received insights into the work of a consulting company and possible career opportunities in this field.
The third iteration of the Mentoring.INTERKULT program reached its conclusion at the end of the 2024 summer semester. The program was established to support international students and students with a migration background in their transition to the job market and to address the shortage of skilled workers in the region. The program therefore includes workshops as well as one-on-one mentorings with mentors from the local industry. Fourteen students, including three students from the International Business and Management (M.A.) program, were celebrated at a closing ceremony and presented with a certificate. By: Kathrin Gottlieb, More details can be found in the press release (in German)
Marina Christine Tama received the DAAD Prize 2023! Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences honoured Marina Christine Tama with the DAAD Prize, endowed with 1,000 euros, for her voluntary work and outstanding grades. The prize is initiated by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for outstanding achievements by international students who are also involved in voluntary work. The 2nd year master student of International Business and Management from Cameroon impressed with her good performance and a wide range of voluntary commitments, both in Cameroon and in Germany, e.g., in the Buddy Programme and the language café at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, but also at a school in Marburg, where she spoke with an English class on the topics of "gender norms and identities", "extreme situations" and "dilemmas". By: Kathrin Gottlieb, More details can be found in the press release (in German)
Four Master IBM students winning the Germany Scholarship of the funding year 2023/24 - Congratulations to our master IBM students Lavinia Rahmawati, Phyo Min Khaing, Rebecca Neil and Mohamed Metwally on winning the Germany Scholarship! "Deeply honored to have been recognized at the awarding ceremony for the Deutschland Stipendium. A heartfelt thank you to Osnabrücker Förderverein für Groß- und Außenhandel (OFGA) e.V. and the German government for their generous scholarship, and to Hochschule Osnabrück for opening up this incredible opportunity." Lavinia is excited about receiving the scholarship. You can find out what impressions and experiences she had at the award ceremony on 12th October 2023 at her LinkedIn-Post. Details on Germany scholarship program ("Deutschlandstipendium") can be found at this link.
DAAD Prize is awarded to our Master IBM student Lorena Escobar Arispe from Peru! In recognition of her outstanding academic achievements and her impressive extra-curricular activities in support of animal protection she has been awarded the DAAD Prize 2020. More details is available at the university press release