EXCURSION TO MUNICH!
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The international MBA students at Pforzheim University recently embarked on an excursion to the East of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, where they visited various companies to gain insight into their business strategies, work culture, career opportunities and much more.
WMF
The first company they visited was WMF, since 2016 part of Groupe SEB, located in Geislingen an der Steige. The students were warmly welcomed by Mr. Narcisse Benissan-Messan (VP HR Global Professional Coffee Machines) and Ms Natalie Alesi (Lead Global Trade Shows, Showrooms & Events), who introduced the students to the chain of products and brands that WMF is associated with as part of the SEB Professional Coffee Machines business domain. This includes WMF coffee machines, Schaerer, Wilbur Curtis, and Zummo, professional juicers. The visit continued with presentations from on Strategy Marketing & Product Management, Global R&D, Digital & eCommerce), and on Global Service Management & Technical Support. The company representatives shared their business insights and have engaged intensive discussions about the coffee machine business, the advantage of offering an outstanding service to customers, and business strategies for the near future. “
MAN Truck & Bus
The second company visit of the day took the students to MAN Truck & Bus Deutschland GmbH in Karlsfeld, in the greater Munich area. The students were welcomed by Mr. Rudi Kuchta (Senior Vice President) and Ms. Claudia Barca (Head of HR), both alumni of Pforzheim University, who shared their business knowledge about the truck business in Europe and around the world with the MBA students. They also discussed the changes and developments in the automotive industry, especially with respect to climate control, electrification, and carbon footprints. MAN´s business strategy was also one of the topics that were discussed, before the students were given an opportunity to ask questions. Later, the students visited MAN Truck´s manufacturing plant, where they observed the very impressive on-site production of trucks, from a pile of steel to a finished product.
On the second day of the excursion, the students went on to explore the beautiful city of Munich visiting several places like the English Garden, Marienplatz, Frauenkirche and the Deutsche Museum followed by a brief city tour. They tasted the good food and world-famous Munich beers and took out some time for a good sightseeing. This was a good exposure to German culture especially in Southern Germany, in the state of `Bayern´.
AutoScout24 Group
In the evening it was time to visit the office of AutoScout24 Group, where Mr. Christian Schulten (Organisational & People Development and Talent Acquisition) gave the students a warm welcome. He shared his insights into the business of AutoScout24 Group, the firm´s history and turn of events over the time, the concepts of new ways of working and his personal experiences as a business leader. The MBA students engaged in an interactive discussion on key topics like the changing work culture and the challenges businesses face in the upcoming times. The students enjoyed the visit to AutoScout24 Group a lot and had a great time, since the office had a really young vibe and energy which indicated the flexible and very progressive work culture at the company.
BMW Bank GmbH
The third day of the excursion began with a visit to BMW Bank GmbH, where the students were introduced to BMW Bank's business portfolio by Ms. Franziska Ulrich (Personnel Development Specialist) and Dr. Winfried Müller (CFO of BMW Bank). Dr. Müller was excited to share more details about the way of business at BMW Bank, especially with regard to financing pre-owned and new cars of various brands including BMW, Rolls Royce and Mini Cooper. Afterwards Ms. Katja Wiedemann (Team Leader IT Compliance) and Mr. Christoph Schäfle (Head of IT Business Intelligence, Controlling, Platforms, Master Data) elaborated about IT compliance and its importance at BMW Bank. They shared the various challenges of IT and its compliance specifically in a finance business where data and its security are of utmost importance. Students were curious to know the trends in the IT compliance and data security and how BMW Bank safeguards its clients from any data breaches. Later Mr. Johannes Diehm (Team Leader Data Governance) and Ms. Garima Chauhan (Specialist Data Governance & Transformation) shared their valuable knowledge about data governance and data mapping and uncovered the IT Infrastructure behind the smooth functioning of huge businesses like BMW Bank. Finally, Mr. Andreas Klotz (Head of Credit Support and Projects Dealer Financing) delivered a presentation on the digitalization of stock audits. He went into the depths of the topic with its various aspects like data collection, abuse prevention, and anti-abuse measures that the business has incorporated and took the time to address all the students´ questions.
NIO GmbH
In the afternoon, the group visited the NIO GmbH global design headquarter. Mr. Hui Zhang (Group Vice President at NIO), who is an alumnus of the Pforzheim MBA, warmly welcomed the students and shared his business expertise with them. He talked about the business of NIO, their futuristic vision and mission, and their business strategies for the near future. The students were especially fascinated by the latest innovation that NIO has brought into the Chinese and European automobile market like e.g., the battery switching technology and cars with high end technology. The highlight of the company visit to NIO and an unforgettable experience for everybody was the fact that the students got to ride some of the NIO cars into the busy traffic of Munich. After the trip, the MBA students also interacted with Ms. Victoria Wagner (Manager, Talent Acquisition Europe) and Mr. Jan Bengtsson (Senior Advisor HR) and discussed HR functionalities and career opportunities that NIO offers skilled talents.
On the same evening, a small get together of the MBA alumnus and current MBA students was hosted a local beer garden in Munich. Several MBA alumni living in and around Munich visited the get together and took a chance to cherish their nostalgic moments of MBA journey. Everybody was very excited to share their stories about MBA, professional career, and personal lives. It was also a great opportunity for the current students to get to know the seniors and follow the footprints into the career of their choices.
RATIONAL
At RATIONAL, Ms. Sophia Bachmayr (Inhouse Consultant Talent Attraction) welcomed the MBA students to the facility located at Landsberg am Lech. Mr. Lucas Kreuder (Industrial Engineer) showed the group the production facility of the latest kitchen equipment. Students were hooked by the advanced technologies developed and produced at RATIONAL like the iCombi Pro and iVario Pro. At the facility, the MBA students also got to see a series of the products which have evolved from the initial versions in the past to the top-notch equipment that is manufactured and sold today. Ms. Katharina Stormanns (Project Manager & Digitizer for Production and Logistics) and Mr. Claus Hiltensberger delivered a presentation about the business of Rational, the production technologies, automation, and the digitalization roadmap, followed by an interactive digitalization workshop. Our students really enjoyed the cases and were interested in the career opportunities available at the RATIONAL AG.
ElringKlinger AG
The last stop of the excursion took the MBA students to the ElringKlinger AG, a leading system partner of the automotive industry specialized in lightweight solutions, e-mobility, sealing and shielding technology as well as engineering services. The group was welcomed by HR representatives Ms. Petra Flüg (Head of Talent Acquisition & Employer Branding), Ms. Henriette Sprenger (Talent Acquisition Partner), Ms. Laura Nischik (HR Specialist) and Ms. Laura Korner (Talent Acquisition Partner). Following a presentation on the organisation, Mr. Fabian Hörz (Director Global Strategy & Digital Transformation) took over and dived deep into the business strategy of ElringKlinger. He spoke about the product transformation, digital transformation, sustainability, performance, and process excellence. It was a very interactive session with a discussion on several aspects of the business strategy. This presentation specially caught the attention of the students because they saw the concepts and trends of the business application which they have already been studying in classroom. The visit ended with a tour to ElringKlinger’s high end production facility and a chat with HR representatives about possible career opportunities.
Overall, the excursion was a great learning experience and networking opportunity for the MBA students. The students gained valuable insights into various businesses and industries, and the opportunity to interact with professionals in their respective fields provided them with a unique perspective on the German labour market. The Pforzheim MBA program is grateful to the companies for their warm hospitality and valuable insights.
Text: Sourabh Jagtap, MBA Class of 2024
Pictures: MBA