International project within the seminars Technical English and Technical German

2021-06-28

Elfi Herrmann with students at the graduation ceremony in May 2019.

As a result of globalisation, travelling abroad, contact with other cultures and learning foreign languages have become a matter of course in both private and professional life. But this is where some barriers and obstacles reveal themselves, including language and communication. The bbw Hochschule has students of many nationalities and attaches great importance to bringing students and their different cultures together and networking with each other. But especially in times of a pandemic, this is not an easy undertaking, if only because of the physical separation.

Our lecturer Elfi Herrmann created a unique international project within her courses "Technical English" and "Technical German" in the winter semester 2020/21 and was able to successfully repeat this project in the summer semester 2021. In several online events, Ms Herrmann brought the two language courses together and had the students work together on a case study on the topic of "Business Strategy". In mixed teams, the students created a problem analysis and developed solution strategies. The aim of the international project work was to exchange ideas with each other and to gain experience of what it means to work together in an international team, as well as to build up an international awareness of problems and to develop solution strategies.

The project was very well received by the students and is exemplary for intercultural cooperation.

This is what our students say about the project:

"The case study was a very interesting project to work on. The task was very well designed and contained all information we needed for our presentations. Living in a globolized world, we had the chance to meet and work with a very different culture than our own and were suprised how good it worked out. The groups worked as Teams and all presentations were very good and organized. We benifited from each other strenghts.(...)" - Laura

"(...) I have learned to work in an international collaborative environment and how to communicate on a professional basis with other project partners. This kind of international communication strengthens the idea of the project and maintains a high-quality project by working in an international collaborative network. (...) I strongly recommend that you continue working on the project as it is. The special thing is that the project always can be offered to Indian students and even to students from other countries as well." - Ahmad

"The case study was a very successful project that we enjoyed and were interested in working on. The assignment was well presented and contained all the necessary information students need for a presentation. Through our teacher, we had the chance to learn about and work with a different culture. Communication was surprisingly good and the groups worked together as a complete team. All the presentations were clear and well organised. We benefited from each other's strengths. (...) In summary, it was a wonderful experience to work with a different culture. Everyone benefited from each other and got to know different working attitudes. You could broaden your own horizon." - Mathias