To keep our balance, we must keep on moving, to keep our hope still alive we must keep on adapting with the changes, keep on learning, keep on dreaming, and keep on working hard to achive our goal. In order for us to be able to keep on "dancing" to the rhythm of the music of time, we must continue learning to follow the direction of technological development which continues to develop rapidly.

AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is currently being discussed almost everywhere and is a topic of widespread interest by everybody because of its impact on society, the economy, ethics, and technology. It refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and learn like humans. AI involves the development of computer systems and algorithms that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence, such as understanding natural language, recognizing patterns, solving problems, and making decisions.

The idiomatic expressions "sharpen the axe" and "broaden your horizon" encapsulate invaluable concepts in the realm of personal and professional development. At THM Business School in Germany, honing our skills can truly equip us with specialized business knowledge—an act comparable to sharpening the axe. On the other hand, expanding our horizons at Pfeiffer University in the USA exposes us to a spectrum of academic, cultural, and community experiences. Ultimately, our educational journey stands to be enriched by synergizing these two approaches for learning and growth.
Moreover, engaging with THM professors fosters personal skill development and professional growth, elevating our strategic thinking. Networking opportunities with fellow classmates create valuable connections and pave the way for promising career prospects. The mandatory international conference at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, USA, a key component of THM MBA Business School, enables us to explore global perspectives and partake in discussions on international issues.

We recently celebrated the graduation of our 18th MBA class at Johannisberg in Bad-Nauheim on June 30th. From the stunning view of this mountain, we looked out over the THM Friedberg Campus, where our students dedicated two years to their part-time MBA studies.

This graduation marked a significant milestone for us, as we now have a total of 346 MBA graduates! In Germany, women are often underrepresented in MBA programs, making it all the more noteworthy that out of the 18 students in this cohort, seven were female graduates. Six of them can be seen on the picture. What's even more impressive is that two of them managed to give birth to a child during the MBA program. Celebrating with 2 babies and 3 older children it was a  true family event.

I have been attending the Part-time MBA program at the THM Business School since September 2022, and it has been an incredibly rewarding experience. What attracted me the most to this program is the diversity of professional backgrounds among my classmates. They are highly motivated individuals with a strong desire to enhance their business skills. Additionally, the quality of the professors at THM, who utilize interactive teaching methods, has further convinced me that this business school is the perfect place for me to study and improve my business skills.
Throughout the program, I have had the opportunity to dive into various study modules, including leadership, strategic management, international marketing, financial accounting, and even an exchange program in Italy. The case studies and group presentations have been particularly beneficial in improving my business skills. Moreover, this experience has heightened my awareness of the importance of constantly preparing myself for new knowledge that continues to emerge. This is vital for staying competitive not only in the corporate workplace but also in the global arena.
One of the significant advantages of studying part-time at THM Business School is the flexibility it offers. Classes are generally held on weekends (Friday evening and Saturday). This has allowed me to strike a balance between my studies and professional commitments. It is particularly valuable for those of us who work full-time or have other obligations that make attending weekday classes challenging. Furthermore, for students unable to attend lectures on weekends due to unforeseen circumstances, THM still provides the hybrid option for many of the modules, ensuring they don't miss out on quality instruction and can continue learning from any location.

Moreover, the case studies at THM are designed to replicate real-world business challenges. We, as MBA students, are encouraged to apply our knowledge and skills to analyze cases, identify key issues, evaluate alternative solutions, and provide recommendations based on our own analysis. Additionally, the group presentations foster collaboration among students, allowing us to showcase our understanding and findings before the class. These group presentations cultivate teamwork, effective communication, and the ability to convey complex information concisely.

MBA students succeeded in a highly competitive market in the Business Simulation Game

Recently in a one-week block seminar in March 2023, the MBA students joined forces in teams and experienced tough competition in the Business Simulation Game. This simulation was designed to offer hands-on experience regarding business administration, production, marketing and finance, and to depict the complexity of business structures. 

In six teams, the students sat around a huge board which represented a company with production facilities (see picture below). Starting with a small-sized and rather old-fashioned manufacturing line, the teams had to face manifold decisions about product types, market development, stabilizing the financial situation and so on. To handle this complexity, the groups of three had to assign the functions of a marketing and sales manager, a head of finance and a production manager. In between the simulated years of production and sales, lectures about financial planning and investment analysis supported the understanding of the processes and offered explanations for the difficulties faced. This newly received knowledge could be directly integrated into the strategic planning and enhance the performance.

Due to a limited demand of the products and the use of a tendering process, the competition was fierce and the teams had to work hard on their strategy to succeed. But according to the students, this intensive week was worth it. For example, one team commented: “Thank you so much for this incredible module and learning experience. It was really amazing for us to understand the practicality of running a company in the real world and how one small mistake can lead to major issues.”

As lecturers, we would like to thank everyone for their active participation and wish them all the best for their upcoming Master's thesis and future career.

Prof. Dr. Hayo Reimers and Martin Haupt

//picture: Martin Haupt

//picture: Jan Freidank

Visiting the University of Bergamo (or Universita Degli Studi Di Bergamo) is part of our THM MBA program. Having listened to all the interesting stories from Professor Freidank about Bergamo (the city and the University) we were very much excited to take part of this journey. What makes this trip special is to meet with the students of our host, Professor Mauro Cavallone and together listen to expert speakers and to visit successful companies in the area of Bergamo so that we can gain insights on how the companies from Bergamo which are often family businesses can become globally well-known enterprises.

At the first day we started the program by mixing up with the Italian students in a groups to find out our similarities and the differences. The idea was in case there were differences how we could create value in our differences. It was then followed by listening to the guest speaker Giada Zambelli, who was previously a student from University of Bergamo and now successfully develops her family business. Miss Zambelli highlighted an important message to us which is to always keep updating our skills (in a formal or non-formal way) in order to be able to compete in global competition. After an interesting morning we left the university to visit the company Fratelli Beretta, a family-owned business founded in 1812, which is considered one of the biggest food processing companies of high-quality cured meat products in Italy. The important message which was delivered by Mr. Enrico Farina, the Marketing Director of Fratelli Beretta, was besides always keeping their product quality high in order to win the competition, to use digital marketing (social media with popular meme) to engage with their customers even closer.

... sagen viele Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen der zwei Kohorten (16. & 17.), die im Restaurant Johannisberg in Bad Nauheim am 15. Juli ihre coronabedingt ausgefallenen Abschlussfeiern nachgeholt haben: Anwesend waren 20 der 38 Graduierten.

Im Gespräch mit Prof. Jan Freidank, MBA -Studiengangsleiter, haben wir folgendes erfahren können:
Die Absolvent:innen kommen aus sehr diversen Branchen und haben sehr verschiedene Studienschwerpunkte: Betriebswirte, Ingenieure, IT-ler und Juristen. Darunter drei Doktoren (Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Molekular Neurology); aber auch Akademiker aus dem Bereich der Ernährungs- und Sportwissenschaften und den Sozialwissenschaften waren dabei.
Gezeigt hat sich erstmals, dass das "Partial-Female-Scholarship"- Früchte getragen hat, den Frauenanteil zu steigern. Diese sind typischerweise in berufsbegleitenden Programmen unterrepräsentiert. Ein Highlight dieser Absolventenkohorten: insgesamt 7 Frauen und 19 internationale in Deutschland beschäftigte Personen aus Ursprungsländern wie Brasilien, Bosnien, Chile, Kamerun, Indien, Ungarn, Pakistan, Taiwan, China, Süd-Korea, Uruguay, Frankreich, Niederlande, UK und natürlich Deutschland.

„Mit ein wenig Stolz können wir sagen, dass mittlerweile jedes nennenswerte Unternehmen aus Mittelhessen und viele darüber hinaus bereits Absolvent:innen unseres Programms beschäftigen – dies ist ein Entwicklungsschub für unsere Region!“
Nach nun mittlerweile 20 Jahren erfolgreicher Durchführung des MBA’s and der THM gibt es 324 Absolventinnen und Absolventen aus 17 Kursen; der 18. Kurs ist kurz vor seinem Abschluss und der 19. ist vor einem halben Jahr erfolgreich gestartet. In einer Zeit stärksten Wettbewerbs – immerhin gibt es mittlerweile über 200 MBA-Programme in Deutschland – konnte sich das Programm der THM als feste Größe in Hessen etablieren.
„Wir verstehen uns zwar als regionaler Anbieter aber sind dennoch international ausgerichtet. Lehrort ist der Campus in Friedberg, da viele Teilnehmer aus der Rhein-Main Region kommen.“

Seit längerem verzeichnet das Programm einen sehr positiven Trend: Mittlerweile gibt es aus vielen Unternehmen nicht nur einen Absolventen(in), sondern bereits mehrere. Ein wesentlicher Erfolgsfaktor ist die aktive Weiterempfehlung durch die Teilnehmer:innen. Dazu gehören u.a. Continental, Rittal, Bender, Samson, Küster, Evonik, Vodafone, Fuji, British Telekom, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Bahn, Fresenius Kabi, Lilly und Schunk.
Aus einer im November 2015 durchgeführten, anonymen MBA-Befragung mit 78 Teilnehmer:innen (Studierende & Alumni) ergab sich repräsentativ für den MBA eine sehr gute Bewertung des Programms. Dabei sticht ein Wert hervor: 90% der Befragten haben uns bereits weiterempfohlen und insgesamt würden uns 93% wahrscheinlich oder sehr wahrscheinlich weiterempfehlen. Niemand sagte aus, dass er/sie das Programm nicht weiterempfehlen würde.
„Das ist ein tolles Kompliment und spornt uns gleichzeitig an, uns permanent zu verbessern und auch Ideen in unseren gesamten THM Wirtschaftsfachbereich zu streuen.“
Dies hat auch die CHE-Befragung des Zeitmagazins in 2021 ergeben, die Wirtschaftsmasterprogramme in ganz Deutschland untersucht hat, dabei befindet sich die THM unter den Top-10.“
Ebenfalls dabei waren vom THM-MBA-Alumniverein - Herr Cevenini & Herr Hildebrand, die die zukünftigen Alumni begrüßen konnten. Dem erfolgreichen Start der 20. Kohorte im Oktober dieses Jahres steht also nichts mehr im Wege.

//Jan Freidank

Our trip to Bergamo took place from 24^th till 26^th of March 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandamic and travel restrictions, this was the first trip of students from our university to Bergamo since 2020.

Arrival and accommodation

We received information on the planned trip to Bergamo three months in advance, to enable us to book the flights and make a reservation for the hotel in due time.

Most of us decided to go by plane. There are some connections from Frankfurt and Frankfurt Hahn airport to Milan and Bergamo. Some of us went to Bergamo by car. Of cource it took approx. 3 hours longer. On the other hand, forming a carpool with interesting people, like in my case, provided the opportunity to further improve the relationships with fellow students and to discuss recent developments in our studies.

At least half of our team booked rooms in Citta Dei Mille und BB Hotel Bergamo – two hotels very close to each other, with very good price-performance ratio and approx. 10 min walking distance away from the university.

Day 1

Our group of 3 persons arrived at 6 pm, checked in and went for a dinner, where we met some other fellow students. I don’t remember what I had for supper this evening, but I remember it was really good.

After our dinner we found some local bar and as all seats were occupied inside (on Wednesday night!) we took our seats outside and enjoyed our drinks freezing and shaking under the street lights.

We are very much looking forward to travelling to our Partner Program in Bergamo this week. It is the first foreign trip after the Corona Crisis. We very much looking forward to meeting our friends and partners again in person.

This interview with the program director in Bergamo, Prof. Mauro Cavallone and myself will tell you about the beginning of our program and our special partnership.

A report about the trip will follow soon!

Jan Freidank
Program Director

Free expert workshop with Volker Michel sponsored by Executive MBA of the THM Business School

Wednesday, July 14th from 18:30 - 19:30 (via Zoom)

„This won’t work anyway…“
Killer phrases like that are very effective in disrupting communication, dampening creativity and finding an excuse for someone´s inaction.
Don´t let this happen!
Learning how to identify and defuse killer phrases are the key to improve your communication and leading abilities.

Volker Michel our leadership and communication expert will provide valuable insights on how to successfully deal with this widespread phenomenon. As a former top athlete and member of the national handball team he offers leadership and communication trainings for professional athletes and national sports associations and is a top expert for this topic.

Agenda:
- Welcome by Director of MBA Program Prof. Jan Freidank
- Topic Introduction
- Types of Killer Phrases
- How to deal with Killer Phrases
- Hands on training session to work with Killer Phrases
- Summary and Reflection

We are looking forward to seeing you at the event.

For those who are interested we will offer a Q&A session about our MBA program after the workshop.