MBA Excursion Time!
News
Besides the classic business administration subjects, the MBA International Management program at Pforzheim University has a strong focus on practical experience. This means that throughout their studies students will be given ample exposure to various companies in form of Guest in Classroom talks, company visits or multi-day excursions that form a part of the “Company Experience” module of the MBA curriculum.
During the first excursion of the program, that was arranged by Prof. Markus-Oliver Schwaab, the 1stsemester MBA students had the opportunity to visit three companies in Baden-Württemberg, namely Trumpf, Bechtle, and Schubert. All three firms are market leaders in their respective fields, thus enabling the students to gain valuable knowledge from the visits.
TRUMPF
Day one started with a visit to Trumpf in Ditzingen, a family-owned German industrial machine manufacturing company where the students were received by Ms. Jessica Gensel, HR Specialist in Employer Branding, and Ms. Kardelen Ciftci, HR student partner. They gave a brief presentation about Trumpf´s history along with its business model. The students were then taken for a tour of the customer center, a place where potential clients of Trumpf are received to have a look at the company´s product portfolio and see their machines at work. This was followed by a brief session by Annabelle Pichl from Technical Customer Software Solutions, regarding the technology and software integrated into Trumpf´s machines. After a break during which the students could network with Ms. Gensel and Ms. Ciftci, Mrs. Katja Tiltscher, Global Agile Manager R&D Machine Tools gave a presentation on Agile Management within Trumpf. The main highlight of the visit was a Fireside Chat with the CHRO of Trumpf, Mr.Oliver Maassen, where students were given the chance to ask him questions related to HR as well as strategy within Trumpf.
BECHTLE
After the first company visit of the day the students were taken to Neckarsulm, where they visited Bechtle AG, a multinational IT company. Ms. Julia Schirrmeister, who is HR Specialist Recruiting at Bechtle, welcomed the students and gave them an official presentation regarding the company and its products. She briefly touched upon Vision 2030, an outlook in which Bechtle has summarized its strategy for the coming years. In addition to its passion for IT and the success of its customers, the company wants above all to be an IT partner of the future that aspires to market leadership and growth that always outstrips the market. Thereafter Dr. Niharika Singh, a sustainability expert at Bechtle, gave a lecture about sustainability and how Bechtle is using various techniques and methodologies to make its business sustainable in the long run. She also aligned her lecture with Vision 2030, wherein she explained the vision of the company to achieve net zero carbon emissions. The students were then taken on a comprehensive tour of the company´s warehouse where they saw first-hand operations of the warehouse as well as sub-processes within the warehousing function of Bechtle´s supply chain. There were a lot of interesting things to look at such as robots, automatic guided vehicles, and RFID scanners, that gave the students a good overview.
SCHUBERT
On the second day of the excursion the MBA students visited Gerhard Schubert GmbH, a pioneer in the development of modular packaging machines. The group was welcomed by Ms. Janine Gromes, responsible for HR Marketing and Employer Branding who introduced the students to Gerald Schubert, Managing Director of Schubert Business Development, and Peter Gabriel, Managing Director in the Gerhard Schubert GmbH. They gave a detailed overview of the business as well as Schubert´s keys to success in their industry. It became quite clear that innovation is a key driver here, allowing Schubert to expand into new industrial sectors as well. The session was followed by a lecture on Cobot, an innovative robotic solution by Schubert, given by Mr. Hannes Häusler, a Robotics Engineer at Schubert. After this informative lecture, Mr. Joerg Brenner, CEO of Schubert Additive Solutions, proceeded to talk to the students about 3D printing, its application at Schubert and how they are helping other businesses to scale using this technology. After a some of the students presented the MBA program to the executives at Schubert, they were taken on a company tour. The group visited the production hall where the packaging machines are constructed and assembled, the testing center as well as the manufacturing process flow from design to delivery. After these exciting and very interesting impressions, the students had the opportunity to ask their last questions during a joint lunch.
A big thank you to Trumpf, Bechtle AG and Gerhard Schubert GmbH for welcoming us and for the very interesting and inspiring sessions and tours!
Text and pictures: Shantanu Damle, Class of 2024, MBA
