MBA Pforzheim Excursion Days
News
After nearly one and a half years of strict online communications, our students had the opportunity to travel to Munich for a four-day excursion to meet face-to-face with industries and businesses in the area. The joint fourth and second semester students from all over the world met each day at attempto’s loft office WERK 3 in Munich’s Werksviertel-Mitte- an innovative and creative environment that fosters a digital ecosystem promoting co-working, joint innovation with clients and partners, trainings, and events. The students and staff were hosted by attempto all four days, who generously offered their space and time for the enrichment of our students and each presentation.
attempto
The first day, our students received a briefing of attempto from Matthias Leukert (Head of attempto Munich), Anna Erhardt (Marketing and PR), Oliver Siegmar (Head of IT and Product Development) and Alexander Bloß (Head of attempto Lab). The IT consulting company attempto was founded 15 years ago by Franz Berno Breitruck, an alumnus of Hochschule Pforzheim. attempto develops customized software for companies from the fields of finance/banking, insurance, industry, commerce, and public sector. For its innovative projects such as bio123, a leading bio portal in Germany, attempto has won several awards.
Fairventures Worldwide, a partner of attempto, presented their joined project: the development of a platform for forest and landscape restoration and various other agroforestry programmes. The highlight of the presentation was the introduction of the newly developed attempto Lab. This new division has the purpose of anticipating trends, identifying strategic skills for learning, enhancing collaborative learning, providing workshops, and increasing the visibility of the company.
After the informative session of the projects and internal innovation processes of attempto, our MBA students got a Werksviertel-Mitte- tour, learning about this new, innovative business, culture and housing district in Munich, located on a former industrial site. The group ended the evening at a local Werksviertel-Mitte- Biergarten where they were joined by alumni who have settled in the Munich area.
Allianz Consulting and AGCS
The second day’s theme was focused on the world of insurance. First, HSPF’s MBA International Management alumna Diksha Ahuja, Productivity at AGCS, presented on behalf of Allianz Consulting and AGCS. Allianz Consulting serves as an in-house consultant and promoter of innovation. They provide consulting support to Allianz operating entities worldwide to develop innovative solutions and bring the required transformation to the business. Ms Ahuja also talked of AGCS (Allianz Global Corporate &Specialty) that provides risk consultancy and insurance solutions for a wide spectrum of clients across various business lines. The presentation was also a recruiting opportunity in tandem with Caroline Porchy, Senior Talent Attraction Consultant with Allianz who briefed the students on the application and hiring processes full-time and work student opportunities.
Munich RE
Our second presenter of day two was Thomas Faller, CPO with Munich RE and also an alumni of Pforzheim University. Reinsurance is a type of insurance that covers primary insurance and large risks and/or events. Insuring natural catastrophes is one of the core business of Munich RE, which emphasizes the importance of resilience and sustainability when approaching climate control and climate protection. Further, using advanced technologies to assess impacts of disasters, such as drones and satellites as a claim adjustor instead of humans, shows Munich RE’s commitment to risk avoidance and resilience. Understanding the risks is key, since “risks never go away”.
At the end of day two, students and staff met for dinner at a restaurant in the heart of Munich’s city center for some traditional Bavarian cuisine, beer, and networking with additional alumni from out MBA International Management programme.
NOVARES Group
Day three started with Narcisse Benissan-Messan, Business Unit HR Director at NOVARES Group in Munich. Mr. Benissan-Messan’s widely international educational and professional experience is speaking for his success as an HR Director in the global automotive industry. NOVARES specializes as a supplier of automotive plastic components, and prides itself on its commitment to innovation in plastics and “beyond plastics” through making its way into automobiles across the globe. The session also addressed the current challenges of the automotive industry worldwide.
Die Umsetzer
Following NOVARES Group, was Die Umsetzer Consulting presented by founder and board member Cornelia Steven and HSPF MBA IM alumnus Gautam Regulagadda, Consultant at Die Umsetzer. The Austria-based consulting company with a newly opened branch in Germany focuses on consulting, training, and interim management in the fields of IT, Sales, and HR. Die Umsetzer capitalizes through its focus on their competitive strengths in the aforementioned realms and operates through understanding client needs via contracting talks, active partnerships with clients and asking the right questions. A live project example gave insights into their methodologies and success factors in project management and change management.
At the end of day three, our students and staff enjoyed a guided city tour through Munich and took in the sights and history that the city has to offer.
MAN Truck & Bus
Only one presentation was scheduled for day four, the last day of the excursion. To wrap-up a knowledge-filled experience, Vanessa Lang (Marketing Coordinator Digital Solutions) and Sarah Hiltenkamp (Portfolio Manager Digital Processes) presented from MAN Truck & Bus: Digital Solutions. They were joined by Caroline Graf from HR who provided some hiring information at the end.
As client needs are shifting to a service and solutions realm, MAN Truck & Bus exemplified how their business model is keeping up and revolutionizing the customer experience through their app which communicates between the client, driver, and maintenance solutions. The students were able test the functionalities of the app in real time with material prepared by the presenters.
After the last presentation, students and staff visited BMW Welt and were walked through the production and assembly plant to experience the technical know-how and processes required to produce such complex automobiles that are renowned not only in the region but throughout the world.
We want to extend our appreciation to the organizers of this excursion, our presenters who provided so many valuable insights, our alumni who were able to network with our students, and attempto for their generosity in hosting us during these four informative days.
text: Gabrielle Boimann, Class of 2022 / Janina Walther, MBA
pictures: MBA
