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Networking trip in June 2022 to the double degree partner university in Finland

As part of the English-language MBA program International Business Management, a networking trip could finally take place again in June 2022. Eva Nefen, Director international MBA office of the Graduate School Rhein-Neckar, organized a trip to Scandinavia together with Program Manager Sophia Richter.

The first part of the trip was to Copenhagen, where the ISPIM Innovation Conference took place. The Junior Research Lab offers young scientists the opportunity to exchange ideas and provide new impetus  for research approaches. Workshops, thematic discussions and panel discussions offer exciting insights into the latest academic research results and are linked to practical case studies from industry. With their course director Prof. Dr. Andreas Gissel, the students had the opportunity to synchronize these impulses with their course content on site. 

In the second part of the trip, the group of students was expanded to include lecturers and alumni from the German and English-language continuing education courses. The partner university SAMK, Satakunta university of applied sciences, is located in Rauma, Finland. The delegation was welcomed there by Marina Wikman, who, together with Eva Nefen, promoted the double degree between the two universities last year. With an additional semester, students can obtain a double degree in Business Management and Entrepreneurship. The SAMK's study program is very diverse and also includes a Master's in Maritime Management for captains and ship engineers who want to deepen their management knowledge. At the Maritime Simulation Center, participants were able to sit at the helm of a ship and simulate setting sail.

The company tour of Kongsberg Maritime Finland Oy showed how theory and practice can be successfully combined. Teppo Lundell, Senior Lecturer of Business Competence, encourages his students to develop their skills outside the classroom. A SAMK alumnus gave a tour of the impressive factory premises, where the latest technologies are developed to provide solutions and products for everything from the ship's digital core system to the propeller. SAMK students will be employed is not just a marketing claim.

Kari Sallinen, the owner of Motoseal Components Oy and long-time business partner of Prof. Dr. Rainer Busch and Christian May, provided exciting insights into his family business. His Masi snow tools are the leading brand on the Scandinavian DIY market.

Finally, Daniela Tanhua, Head of Teaching, technology and maritime management, guided the group through the historic old town of Rauma, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site for over thirty years.

Testimonial Faouzi Ouled Belgacem:
"It was a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world, what made it special is the fact that it came after the COVID lockdown and related uncertainty. Students as well as teachers have had an equal passion to exchange ideas and information about different topics. It was a very rich experience where we got to know the culture, traditions, and habits of each other's.

The warm welcome by the SAMK team and the university as well as the city tour were of great value to all the participants. Thanks to the good organization, we were able to visit two medium sized companies, where we have met their senior management, got to know their field of applications, their solutions, and the challenges they are encountering whether routinely or due to the global events (pandemic, war) and the severe consequences it had on their respective businesses."

Network Trip to "The Factory of the World

From September 28 to October 8, 2018, a group of MBA students from the MBA distance learning programs International Business Administration and MBA Corporate Management as well as the integrated business administration program led by Prof. Rainer Busch, Dr. Alexander Unger, Eva Nefen and Christian May visited Gua-ngdong Province, China. After 2012, 2014 and 2016, this is the fourth visit of an MBA group to our network partners in China. The region around Guangzhou, a city of 11 million people, is an important industrial and commercial location ("factory of the world") in the Pearl River Delta, which also includes the major cities of Hong Kong, Shenzen, Dongguan, Foshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, Zhongshan and Zhuzai. Over 100 million people live in an area the size of Baden-Württemberg. With 104.30 million inhabitants, Guangdong is the most populous province in China. During a visit to the MBA Business School of the Guangdong University of Economics and Finance, the students from Ludwigshafen discussed with their fellow students, for example, the consequences of globalization in the context of the trade dispute between China, the USA and Europe and the special features of building relationships in China. The representative of the AHK in Guangdong, Mark Piesberger, reported on the serious changes in the institutional environment that German companies have to face in this province of Canton. The founders of the start-up "Airparking" (developer of a parking management system) from Guangdong were once again available as very interesting discussion partners during this visit. Another highlight of our group's stay was the visit to the Chinese internet giant Tencent (WeChat, QQ); numerous developments in the field of technology and social media formed the basis for discussions here. The visit also focused on formal discussions with entrepreneurs from the furniture industry about marketing opportunities in Europe, but also the challenges in the environmental sector, as well as joint (informal) dinners (with all their "culture-led challenges"). The final stops on the trip were Macau and Hong Kong. 
An impression from Felix Stauder, who is currently studying for an MBA in International Business Administration: "The networking trip to China was an absolute highlight for me as part of my MBA program. The meetings with Chinese start-ups and established companies gave me a formative insight into Chinese corporate culture. At the evening  business dinner with  the entrepreneurs, we were able to continue our discussions in a relaxed atmosphere. The discussions with Chinese students on topics such as globalization, trade wars and environmental protection were very informative. It was also fascinating  to get to know Chinese culture, particularly on Lantau Island, as well as the dynamic life in Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau. The strong organization and the great cooperation within the travel group made China an incredibly impressive experience."
 

International study trip to China from 03.12. to 11.12.2016

From December 3 to 11, 2016, a group of MBA students led by Rainer Busch, Eva Nefen and Christian May visited Fuzhou University in Fuzhou, China. After 2012 and 2014, this is the third visit of an MBA group to our long-standing partner in China, which was again comprehensively prepared on the Chinese side by Alan Lu (Head of the Office for International Exchange and Cooperation at the School of Economics and Management at Fuzhou University) and Anja Feege (Director of the Rhineland-Palatinate Academy). 

Fuzhou  (6.5 million inhabitants) is the capital of Fujian Province (36 million inhabitants) in south-eastern China. Fujian is also a partner province of Rhineland-Palatinate. The students from Ludwigshafen had the opportunity to get to know Fuzhou better over the course of several days and numerous discussions with fellow students and professors, as well as by visiting cultural sights. The group of visitors from HWG-LU was complemented by four students from the International Business Management (IBM) degree programs, who are currently in Fuzhou to complete their year abroad. In addition to numerous cultural activities, the following lectures (together with Chinese MBA students) and company visits were on the program: 

1st lecture "Innovative Network Model ... from a German / Chinese                     Perspective" (Prof. Busch)
2nd course "Chinese Culture" (Prof. Lu)
3rd course "Chinese Economic Development" (Prof. Tao)
4th visit to "Wine City" in Fuzhou / Changle
5. Visit to the Fuzhou Free Trade Zone
6. Visit to the communications company "Newland" in Fuzhou
7. Visit to the Daimler-Benz van production plant in Fuzhou
8. Visit to a production facility of the world's largest manufacturer of monitors TPV in           Fuzhou
9. Visit to the Rhineland-Palatinate chocolate manufacturer WAWI in Xiamen
10. Visit to the Austrian stamp manufacturer Trodat in Xiamen

Testimonials:
Stephan Brahmann:
"The trip to China gives you the unique opportunity to get to know Chinese culture and learn a lot about the companies there. The trip is very well organized and you experience a lot in a short time. As a private person, you would never have the opportunity to talk to the managing directors during visits and gain exciting insider knowledge. The highlights for me were the visit to TPV, a manufacturer of monitors and televisions, and WAWI Chocolate, where I got to taste the chocolate!"

Markus Brahmann:
"The study trip to China, which was part of the interdisciplinary "MBA Corporate Management" program, proved to be a special added value for me as a participating student. The events at Fuzhou University, the exchange with the participating companies and especially the people and their culture left me with unique impressions.
On the one hand, I was able to gain good initial impressions about building business networks in China, and on the other, I had an excellent opportunity to talk to company representatives and managers. The experience of experiencing one's own, partly externally determined, perception of a country, its culture and business practices in a new way rounded off this trip.
I can highly recommend participation in such events to every student."

Andrej Jackzentis, Executive MBA graduate/ General Management:
"Conclusion: "Yes have" - All in all, a specialist study trip to China that was extremely successful in its organization and execution and is unparalleled in terms of impressions and insights. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs. Eva Nefen as the organizer and Prof. Dr. Rainer Busch as the group leader. In my opinion, with great commitment and foresight, it was possible to provide first-class knowledge transfer in the areas of people, culture, companies and the country with unimaginable potential. I hope that many students will have this experience and take part in future trips." You can read the full feedback here.

Susanne Walter:
"The international study trip  to China (Fuzhou/Xiamen) gave us MBA students a good insight into Chinese culture. The local program offered a wide range of content. On the one hand, we visited various companies, such as Trodat and TPV, and on the other, we also went sightseeing. The car-free island of Gulangyu in Xiamen deserves a special mention here. I can only recommend this international study trip. The diverse impressions will not fade so quickly. Many thanks to Prof. Dr. Busch and Ms. Nefen for the excellent organization of the trip."

China trip December 2014

Workshop Morocco

From April 10 to 14, 2016, Prof. Dr. Rainer Busch, Prof. Dr. Andreas Gissel, Dr. Alexander Unger, three MBA/Master students and Eva Nefen were at the ENCG/ Université Hassan II de Casablanca for talks.

For more information, please see the report.

The visitors from Ludwigshafen                                 Company visit
with hosts Nabil Benchekroun
and Karim Gassemi

An MBA student's impression of the workshop "Teaching, Research, Transfer at HWG-LU / ENCG" in Casablanca, Morocco, which took place from 07.06. - 10.06.2015:

"Morocco - The focus of the subject study trip, was to showcase entrepreneurship and intercultural communication skills. The visit to Casablanca had very great success. The presentations of different companies were the core of the event. The areas of offshoring, medical/pharmaceutical industry, as well as the food and beverage industry, could be conveyed in a very interesting way. Impressive insights were gained through the company tours. Networking was the key of the event, which can enable and significantly facilitate further future cooperation.

Conclusion: A successful workshop in all points, which should definitely be repeated, which deepens the cooperation of ENCG Casablanca/ HWG-LU and offers us students extraordinary opportunities in knowledge transfer."

For more information, please see the report

On December 10, 2014, Prof. Rainer Busch met with the Vice President of Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, China, Prof. Zhigang Huang, as part of the accompaniment of a group of MBA students from our university. FuDa is a long-standing partner of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences. Fuzhou (6.5 million inhabitants) is the capital of the Fujian province (36 million inhabitants), which is located in the southeast of China. Fujian is also a partner province of Rhineland-Palatinate. The discussion with Prof. Huang focused on the starting points of a cooperation in the field of "Entrepreneurship". (Here link to the visit).

In addition to numerous cultural activities, the following lectures (together with Chinese MBA students) and company visits were on the program at Fuzhou University in Fuzhou, China,  from December 5 to 14, 2014 under the leadership of Rainer Busch, Anja Hausmann and Ai-Ming Gao: (here the link to the report).

Contact

Annkathrin Scheller

Graduate School Rhein-Neckar Ernst-Boehe-Str. 4
67259 Ludwigshafen

B 305+49 621 595728-17