February 19th 2022

Guest lectures at the Department of Business Administration Online

Insights from the real world presented to students

One of the most important goals MCI pursues with its degree programs is a high focus on practical relevance. The transfer of knowledge from university to entrepreneurial practice and vice versa is therefore an important component of the Business Administration Online degree program. In order to achieve this goal, we focus some courses directly on practical work, e.g. the course "Digital Project Management & Practice Project", in which students can work together with MCI business partners. In addition, numerous courses are taught by instructors who themselves work full-time in business and can therefore report first-hand how the topics can be directly applied in practice. 

What about practical application? This is where the guest lectures by external specialists come into play. They make the content of the course particularly tangible by bringing it closer to practice. By looking at the practical side of the course, students have the opportunity to apply the content to their own jobs.

During the past winter semester 2021/2022, we had numerous guest lectures on various topics spread across all courses. Three of them took place in the bachelor course Digital Workplace Learning:

 

Katharina Krentz (Corporate Human Resources Transformation at Robert Bosch GmbH) on the topic of Working Out Loud.

How can learning cultures be implemented and promoted in companies in the first place? The Working Out Loud method stands for transparent, open collaboration in networks in the increasingly digitalized and networked world of work. It takes an open attitude that is ready to learn, personal networks and new communication habits to promote the conscious exchange of knowledge and ideas.During the workshop, the students were able to try out the method and its implementation in their companies for themselves as examples.

Petra Hammerle (Learning Solutions Leader - Leadership & Culture at GE Power) on the topic of How to build a Learning Culture. 

How can a corporate learning culture be built in detail? Particularly important prerequisites are knowledge about the company, about the learners and about the existing framework. They are the foundation without which no learning culture can function.Especially exciting: Modern learners increasingly have to deal with impatience, distraction and overwhelm - here the students were able to find themselves very quickly.

Lilian Teuffenbach (Change & HR Expert at Magenta Telekom) on The Future of Corporate Learning.

How is corporate learning actually implemented in a specific company? What are the guidelines for corporate learning at Magenta? What resources and budgets are available, which target groups are addressed, which concrete measures are applied in day-to-day business? The close look also enabled a deeper theoretical discussion: What actually happens in this company, which trends, theories and methods play a role? How can ideas be implemented and what results become visible?

Numerous other guest lectures have taken place in this format during the semester. Here is a brief selection:

  • In the Digital Marketing course: Peter Schwazer, Head of Marketing at Cura Marketing GmbH on the topic of traffic building.
  • In the course Data Management & Statistics: Andres Azqueta-Galvadon, Data Scientist at Sensyne Health on the topic of Artificial Intelligence and the application of statistical methods.
  • In the course Knowledge Management: Ulrich Schmidt, HR Manager in Knowledge Management & Human Resources Development at BGZ Gesellschaft für Zwischenlagerung mbH

All these guest lecturers support the concept of the courses at the Department of Business Administration Online: Students learn to analyze and understand current issues companies face and develop skills that enable them to deal with complexity.