Graduate School News

09.02.2021 EsslingenStudents

Linford Dominic Pinto is a senior student in the Esslingen MBA in International Industrial Management. Linford has been living in Germany for the past five years: before he started his MBA, he was working for AKKA Technologies in Böblingen.

DECIDING FOR ESSLINGEN

A major reason why I wanted to study in the Esslingen MBA is that the curriculum and the course modules are very much in line with modern industry requirements. The programme is very reputed, and it is located at the heart of many world-renowned industries with a number of industrial tie-ups. 

Before I started, I was looking forward to learning as much as possible from the courses, from my professors and fellow classmates who are all from diverse backgrounds - both culturally as well as regarding their professional experience. Now that I am in the middle of my studies I can say that, in every conversation with my classmates, I learn something new.

THE ESSLINGEN MBA - ONLINE !

The majority of my classmates are here in Esslingen, but some of them are in their home countries. We meet mostly online for class activities, but we also have social media groups where we talk and have some good conversations, which helps a lot. Before the situation got so bad, we had planned to meet up, but we unfortunately had to cancel it due to the rising Corona cases in Esslingen. But we are definitely planning to have a meetup as soon as we can.

What I really like about my studies in Esslingen is the practical approach of the course, and that every course is new for me and I become more and more curious with every new thing I learn. Having a background in the industry helps me to correlate certain aspects of the courses and enhance my understanding.

I am enjoying the subjects in my MBA course and, after graduation, I would like to work in the fields I am currently studying. My interests lie in the fields of strategy, finance and marketing and - with my technical background - in roles which combine technical and management aspects.

LIVING IN ESSLINGEN

Esslingen itself is a beautiful, charming town with majestic old churches and buildings. There are lots of places to eat and sometimes, after a busy study schedule, to sit back and enjoy a pint of beer.

The Corona situation is not affecting me much. Of course, I am careful when I go out, I maintain social distancing and so on. I mainly don’t let the negativity regarding Corona affect me - and due to my busy study schedule, I tend to sometimes forget about Corona.

If I could ask the German students around me to do one thing, it would be...

"Komm, lass uns ein Bier trinken und uns kennenlernen."

I joined the Esslingen MBA in September 2019. It was my first time moving to another country, and my first time in Europe. My biggest worry before I came to Esslingen was that I would be a burden for my family at home and that I would not being able to help them when I was away. In part, this did come true, as I have not been able to help during the COVID pandemic. Gladly, though, I did not become a burden for my family.

In Esslingen, I was able to meet many different people from different cultures, and I really enjoyed that interaction greatly. However, COVID made it difficult to spend time with them and get to know them better. I also wanted to find out about the work culture in Germany, and was able to find an internship here and experience a little bit of the working place culture, but I don’t think it is possible to fully experience it from my desk at home.

I think what I enjoyed the most about Esslingen was its landscape. It is very green, and I loved going there early in the morning for class. I must add the Christmas market. Although we did not get to enjoy it this year, we really loved going there after class last December.

STUDYING AND INTERNSHIP DURING THE PANDEMIC

Finding a thesis position during COVID was very difficult. I did not want to give up easily on doing my thesis at a company, as I really wanted to experience the work culture here. I kept trying to find a place until mid-August, when some other students were already starting to write their thesis. The number of rejections kept growing each day and I was running out of time, so I took an internship that could help me finance my time left here and that was in an area I had not worked in before. After accepting it, I got an offer for a thesis position, but it was already too late.

I do feel Corona played a role; some friends had problems with their thesis specifically because of COVID-19, and the panorama looked different from the way our Seniors had described it as being for them. The extent to which it affected the situation would be hard to tell, though.

THE DEUTSCHLANDSTIPENDIUM

I applied for the Deutschlandstipendium because at the time of applying, there was a lack of master’s thesis or internship positions, and I needed to finance my stay longer. I also had a strong desire to find a position that would align with my future goals. Another reason for applying was the encouragement from one of my classmates :)

Before coming to Esslingen, I worked in a Freedom Business, which is a company that employs and supports victims of human trafficking. It was a life changing experience and it is what gave me the push I needed to come.

When I found out that I had won the Deutschlandstipendium, I was very surprised and humbled. To be honest, after applying I thought it was a very long shot. I feel very honoured that TeamViewer selected me. It is encouraging to see companies that are willing to support students, even foreign students, in these challenging times.

Also, meeting the other students who won the scholarship at the event organized by HE was a great experience!

After graduation, I would like to gain more experience and continue collaborating with the company where I used to work and other freedom businesses.

The Deutschlandstipendium is modelled on the principle of public-private partnership, where businesses, foundations or private individuals sponsor young talent, and the German Federal Government matches their sponsorship amount. Esslingen University has been a part of the Deutschlandstipendium programme since 2011. Currently, 20 organisations give their support to this programme, for example, Gips-Schüle-Stiftung, der Verein Bücher tun Gutes, Vector Informatik, Bosch, Pilz and TeamViewer AG.

27.01.21

By Isaac Ismaila
The Esslingen MBA was an excellent career move and one of the best choices I have ever made. Growing up in a low-income Nigerian family, I could not understand why there was such a big economic disparity between different people and regions of the world. I decided that I was going to “make a difference”. I wanted to create value for humanity and make peoples’ lives better. I knew that in order to achieve this with success, I needed to not only get good education and career, but also understand how value creation works.

The Esslingen MBA taught me that. Despite my strong passion for science and engineering, I always wanted to get a business degree; and when I came across the MBA in
International Industrial Management at Esslingen University of Applied Sciences on the DAAD webpage, I knew immediately that it was the
perfect program for me.

Today, I am glad that I took that step to send in my application for the program. Even before graduation from the MBA program, I received a job offer for a role as a 'Technology Scout' within the R&D Department at PERI GmbH, a leading global engineering and technology company – thanks to the immense support from the MBA staff and coordinator. I will never forget how the director of the MBA program at the time thoroughly followed up on us to send out applications for industrial thesis placement and jobs. It fascinated me that the program did not just focus on imparting academic knowledge, but also supported and pushed the program participants to achieve their goals and aims of participating in the program in the first place. The program supported me right from my arrival and settling in Germany to my transition into the labour market – and even to today still follows up on my career progress as an Alumnus of the Esslingen MBA program.

The MBA program was very intensive and challenging – the daily classes from mornings until evenings, personal home assignments, team assignments, teamwork presentations that made us sometimes stay in class until late nights, weekly examinations and more, played a huge role in my career progress and success today. The role of Technology Scout, which I assumed immediately after the program, was the first time the role had existed at the company and my task was to scout for technology trends, explore the possibilities to integrate them to current products or make entirely new products, and oversee collaboration projects with unique and untraditional partners. The role requires one to have in-depth knowledge of market trends, be able to cultivate network of contacts and resources, be able to maximise a firm’s capabilities and work toward its strategic goals, and to be entrepreneurial – to mention but a few. The Esslingen MBA prepared and gave me the flexibility to be able to fill this role and other roles that might cross my path in the future.

In addition, I can also say that the Esslingen MBA has better positioned me to realising my childhood dreams. During the program, I developed a strong mindset for passive income thanks to the finance modules of the program, this made me pick up with enthusiasm one of my childhood interests - investing in the stock market; and to start social media coaching programs, which I work on during my free time. Sometimes, I brainstorm ideas and solutions to problems in my home country and how to bring them to life based on concepts, which I learnt from the MBA program.

In conclusion, I would say that The MBA program pushed me out of my comfort zone and equipped me with the necessary tools to succeed in my career and in achieving my goals of creating value for humanity and making peoples’ lives better. I saw and still see The Esslingen MBA as my family away from home.

 - Isaac Ismaila graduated with his MBA from The Esslingen Graduate School in 2018 and now works as a Technology Scout at PERI in Ulm.

08.12.2020

Yunhua Hou is a first-semester student in the MBA in International Industrial Management. Due to the Covid situation, Yunhua Hou has started his studies on line from his home in China

To Esslingen & Back Again

My name is Yunhua Hou and it's a pleasure to share with you my experience in Esslingen as well as the motivation that has brought me here again.

I first came to Esslingen in 2012 for one semester, as an exchange student in the INTAP program. I chose to study in Esslingen because it is the partner school of my university in China, and it was a fantastic period for both my studies and my life, with excellent professors in the engineering fields and amazing classmates from other countries. For the first time, I had the opportunity to visit the most modernised factories in Bosch, Daimler, and Audi. My horizon and knowledge was broadened greatly in this highly engineering-centered area.

Starting Classes During Covid

Before I started my studies, I was worried about how the classes would be arranged due to the Corona virus. But I think all the school faculty worked hard to work out the class plan for us all and informed us in time. It all went well, and all the students were put together into a chat group to meet each other and share information, so we got to know each other virtually.

Studying at Esslingen University

I looked for an MBA program to better my career development in leadership and management. I wanted to combine my engineering background with my leadership experience in management, and go deeper into operations and finance. There's no doubt that the Esslingen MBA program is just the right choice for me.

What I like most about my studies at Esslingen University is that all my professors are very experienced, with years of work in the industry. And their way of teaching is both interesting and practical. I also really like it that the communication between students and school is always going on well: we are always simply put in the first place. I have a good feeling about my studies because Esslingen is an engineering location and this is a great strength for career development.

If I could ask the German students around me to do one thing for me...

...it would be to just approach me and talk to me whenever there’s any issue related with culture differences. I’m quite open to know more about Germany and also let them know more about China and our culture.

Every year, one of the top MBA informers ‘FindMBA’ comprehensively ranks business schools deemed in the top of their field and compiles a global top 10 list before presenting them with the annual FindMBA award. Now in 2020, the Esslingen MBA has held its position in the top 10 Business Schools for Industrial Management & Manufacturing alongside other prestigious schools such as ESADE business school in Spain and St Gallen in Switzerland.

“It’s really a credit to the whole team here at the Esslingen Graduate School.” Says Esslingen MBA Academic Director Prof. Michael Flad. “We are all constantly striving to stay ahead of the curve to ensure our students are best equipped to navigate the changing landscape they will find themselves in after graduation.”

In 2020 The Esslingen MBA will launch its new ‘3 Major’ structure which will offer streamlined specialisations for students to hone their studies toward a specific area of Manufacturing and Industrial Management. These 3 Majors are a key component to the future thinking approach that consistently set the Esslingen MBA in its prominent positional among Business Schools.

The Esslingen MBA has taken the broad set of industrial engineering topics and focused them into Sustainable Production & Technology, Digital Transformation and General Management.

“We have designed the new program in such a way students are really able to get into the crux of the industry sub-section they are most interested in and which best matches their skill sets.” Explains MBA Academic Director Prof. Flad.

 “Whether students want to focus on sustainable management concepts, examine and utilise the integrated technologies and smart manufacturing, or simply follow a classical industrial management MBA approach, we mix in some new ideas on using Entrepreneurial thinking in any business and send them out into the industry.” States Flad.

FindMBA is a Berlin based company who, since 2003, have prided themselves in providing a comprehensive and current directory of international MBA programmes as well as providing tools and editorial content for people interested in pursuing an MBA degree.

Congratulations to all the business schools featured in this year’s award list and to Esslingen University Graduate School for maintaining its high-ranking position once again.

Esslingen's Neckar Forum was crowded with festive bachelor and master’s graduates from all faculties of the university, among them 83 from the Esslingen Graduate School. The ceremony was opened by the university’s Pep Band playing Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunesia,“ and then passed on to our University President, Professor Christof Wolfmaier, who hosted the ceremony. Also extending their congratulations to the new graduates were Christine Kumpf, Head of Business Development for the City of Göppingen, Marc Grün from Business Development for the City of Esslingen, and the Associate Head of Board of the Friends of Esslingen University (VdF), Markus Sontheimer.

Prof. Dr. Fabian Diefenbach, the University’s Vice President for Strategy and Communication, awarded prizes to top graduates. We were very proud that the following Graduate School graduates were amongst those honoured:

VdF Prize for the Programme Best

• Julinda Sokoli from Albania (MBA)
• Johannes Rauhut from Germany (ASM)
• Debadatta Prasad Swain from India (DDM)

DAAD Prize for outstanding accomplishment

• Ömer Bingöl from Turkey (MBA)

Festo Prize for an outstanding master’s thesis

• Andrew Lewis from the USA (MBA)
• Vitul Bansal from India (ASM)
• Marcel König from Germany (DDM)

Robert Bosch Prize for the top graduate of the Esslingen Graduate School

• Johannes Rauhut from Germany (ASM)

The ceremony was brought to a close by the graduation address of the Graduate School's Julinda Sokoli and Stefan Schlereth.

"These past months have resulted in an experience of self-growth and fulfillment. Taking this Master's degree challenged me intellectually and practically, but I took all my courage and decided to take the challenge and to pursue further education.
"It was great that the program pushed us to the industry in the third semester. This gave us the opportunity to work for well-known German and international companies and in some cases to successfully get employed there.
"The other thing that had an impact on all of us is the international aspect of the MBA program in this University and the diversity of professional and life experiences that we shared among each other during this one and a half year. It is not so common to get such a wide exposure in such a short time. Furthermore, doing the master program in Germany, gave us insight into differences between cultures, study and work environments." – Excerpt from the graduation address by Julinda Sokoli.

"You come to Esslingen as a mechanical engineer so that you can study in the heart of the automotive industry. To do it all in English is an added plus - the industry really appreciates this.
"I was really surprised by the very high academic level of our master's programme, and at the same time by the way the professors treated us - as equals. We had a class size of 25 students and that was really fantastic, as the professors could take time for each and every one of us.
"The same goes for the Graduate School Team, who were always there for us with any of our personal issues and helped us in every way." – Excerpt from the graduation address by Stefan Schlereth.

During the awards ceremony in Esslingen's Altes Rathaus, Kareem Hamza (MBA) addressed his Graduate School colleagues:

"Coming to Germany for a graduate study was not an easy decision for many of us... Our passion for studying abroad and career development pushed us to go into this experience. And now it is the moment of graduation where we are all recalling the whole experience, and we should recall it with great happiness and pride.
"Personally, I had a very fruitful experience... I had a very interesting international experience and many friends that developed my understanding of different cultures. I was able to work at the university during my studies, and at a reputable company, Zehnder Group, during my master's thesis. I was also able to join CERN entrepreneurship Student Program in Geneva last Summer where I had another international experience and gained a higher passion for entrepreneurship." - Excerpt from the graduation address by Kareem Hamza.

Our graduates are now entering a very exciting time of their lives, where their career plans will be pursued and fulfilled, where they are at liberty to concentrate on work and to push themselves as far as they can. With more than a touch of humanity, however, Markus Sontheimer from the VdF advised all graduates, particularly at this point in their lives, not only to see the career in front of them, but also to keep an eye on the values and relationships that give this life meaning:

“I urge you not to plan your career too much, but to let it develop naturally, and to steer it in a direction that brings you happiness and fulfillment. You should enjoy your life with your friends and your family; they are a very important part of you that you should not put aside or neglect.
“For me, one of the most important lessons in life is that you should not work for a boss who does not respect you. If you ever feel that your boss does not respect you, then that is the time to take your career in your hands and change. Life is too short…
“I also counsel you to be very critical of any information that you receive. Be aware of fake news, and try to avoid it by not accepting information from just one channel. You are intelligent academics: find neutral sources, multiple sources of information, and study them critically.“
Mr. Sontheimer finished with a quote from Steve Jobs: “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.“

We wish all our graduates the very best for their start in this new phase in their careers, in their lives. We hope that you will keep in touch with us at the Graduate School, and are always happy to hear from you.

Photo Gallery

- by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager

The major in General Management is comparable to the classical MBA, with a focus on industrial management. Alongside managerial skills, students learn methods and tools to deal with many issues faced by multinational companies: from risk management through relevant business strategies to marketing in a globalized world.

The major in Sustainable Production and Technology centres around sustainable management concepts. Focus is placed on assessing sustainable activities using Life Cycle Assessment and Costing, and on the methods and tools needed to establish a sustainable supply chain.

The major in Digital Transformation focuses on digitalization concepts driven by technology. Here, the students examine the impact of integrated technology and smart manufacturing on company structures and procedures. In addition, they learn how to manage digitalization strategies in correlation with company goals.

In acknowledgement of his many years of dedicated teaching, Georg Mallebrein has been given an honorary professorship at Esslingen University. Professsor Mallebrein works as an engineer in Central Research and Advanced Development at Robert Bosch GmbH: for the past 13 years, alongside his work at Bosch, he has also lectured in Esslingen in the Graduate School, as well as in Automotive Engineering and IT.

“Georg Mallebrein is a remarkably active and dedicated lecturer,“ said University President Prof. Christof Wolfmaier in his opening speech at the award ceremony. “He lectures reliably in a broad number of fields, and for that we thank him, we honour him, and we award him an honorary professorship at our university.“

a Visionary with a passion for teaching

Since 2009, Professor Mallebrein has been lecturing in the Graduate School's M.Eng. in Automotive Systems. Together with Professor Oberhauser, he teaches Sensors and Measurement Technology, Automotive Controller Systems, Engine Control Systems, Lab Automotive Controller Systems, Team Project, and he supervises master’s theses.

"You took over lectures in the Graduate School right from the inception of our new M.Eng. programmes; you were one of our most important advisors, a visionary for these new structures in our education system," said Professor Oberhauser in his laudation address to Professor Mallebrein.

Over the years, Professor Mallebrein and Professor Oberhauser have supervised the PLACIS student project in cooperation with our French partner university, Supméca, travelling to Paris with our student teams.

Combining his job at Bosch with a Teaching Position in Esslingen

Georg Mallebrein has taught almost 1600 hours at the university and has even reduced his hours at Bosch in order to do so. He is also in Esslingen for project planning talks, invigilating examinations, and in order to supervise master’s theses. “Many of his colleagues didn’t know that he wasn’t a full-time professor,“ noted  Professor Jürgen Haag, Dean of the Faculty of Automotive Engineering.

“Combining my job at Bosch with a teaching position in Esslingen is ideal. In this way, I can bring the latest research in advanced development that I deal with at Bosch into the classroom and also win students for thesis work or even a new job,“ said the new honorary professor. “I value the personal, inspiring and positive environment at Esslingen University and really enjoy being able to research topics in depth that I would not have time for at my job at Bosch."

- translated by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager. Please also see the original text in German by Christiane Rathmann, HE RÖM

As long as he can remember, Andreas Paa has been thrilled by automotive engineering: as a young child, he often visited his father's engineering company and watched him at work. "I grew up with machines and technology," he recalls, so a career in a technical field was simply a natural progression. After school, he started off in industrial mechanics at Kärcher and then Stihl, and it was after this that he began his studies in Esslingen.

Andreas spent 10 years completing his studies in Esslingen; his bachelor's and master's degrees entirely at Esslingen University and then his PhD in cooperation with the Technical University Braunschweig. During his PhD, he was working as an assistant in Daimler AG's lab for Internal Combustion Engines. The highlight of his career so far was his appointment as a professor for Internal Combustion Engines and Mechatronics at the Technical University of Eastern Westphalia.

In February, Andreas is moving to Lemgo with his family. There, he will begin lecturing in the Faculty of Engineering and will teach his students, among other things, all about the workings of internal combustion engines. "Teaching is, quite simply, a joy," he says. Working together with young people and giving lectures is something, he noticed very early on, that he greatly enjoys. "I was so lucky to be able to work with so many interesting and motivated people at Esslingen University," he says. "And I was always able to work on innovative projects."

Andreas Paa: "RESEARCH IS COOL"

"I really enjoy being able to help shape the scientific research of the future," he says. "Research is cool. It always bothered me when things didn't work properly." In his new professional world, applied reseach plays a dominant role.

Is leaving his home in southern Germany difficult? "I will naturally miss my parents, friends and colleagues," Andreas admits. "But my family and I have already had a look at our new home: the people in Lemgo have a bit of the Swabian mentality!"

- translated by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager. Please also see the full original article in German by Christiane Rathmann, HE RÖM.

This year's blog is now in the hands of Avani Rathod, Büsra Yildiz, Aniket Shripad Kulkarni and Biswal Pallavi. They have decided to interview MBA seniors and alumni and get their view on the programme and their life and work afterwards. Their first interview, conducted by Avani Rathod with Denisse Cuba, MBA 2020, is already on line at https://humansofmba.wordpress.com/

"...my favorite place is the side of the campus with huge stairs that leads to the entrance of main building. It’s beautiful with huge park and students can chill there."

- Denisse Cuba, MBA 2020, interviewed by Avani Rathod, MBA 2021

With the Graduate Colloquium, the Graduate School gives the university's doctoral and graduate students a platform for interdisciplinary exchange and the possibility to communicate and network.

The 7th Graduate Colloquium started off with a keynote lecture entitled "Sustainable engergy engineering and mobility at Hochschule Esslingen – what on earth are they doing?" by Prof. Dr. Ralf Wörner of the Faculty of Management.

The following doctoral presentations were held:

- By Laura Langenbucher from the Institut für nachhaltige Energietechnik und Mobilität (INEM): „Energieeffizienter Betrieb und ökonomische Bewertung einer solargespeisten Wasserstofferzeugungsanlage."

- By Di Hu, Institut für nachhaltige Energietechnik und Mobilität (INEM): “Simulation of autonomous driving shuttle bus in virtual environment.”

Many thanks to all who came together to make this another successful and valuable exchange.

- by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager

Carmen, which was first performed in 1875 in Paris, shocked its original audiences with its realism and drama, which broke tradition with comical opera. Our students had a chance to experience this famous opera in a fun evening out with Heide's Deutschtreff. Not only was this a chance to enjoy the music and opera, however, but also to see the Stuttgart Opera House before its planned renovation and extension.

The shabby charm of this beautiful building is unquestionable. Built at the turn of the last century, originally as a theatre for the Württemberg court, the Stuttgart State Opera rising behind the small lake in the court gardens is an architectural jewel. Soon, the city plans to renovate and restore this lovely venue for a whopping 2 billion euros! We are looking forward to seeing what our future students report on the changes in the years to come!

- by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager

The goal of the CERN Entrepreneurship Student Programme is for students to develop new concepts for the practical implementation of CERN’s technological research and development. Throughout the programme, students are assisted by CERN researchers and coaches. One example of a creative new idea that was arrived at in this programme is a new manner of filtering microplastics from drinking water using laser technology.

Prof. Dr. Michael Flad, Programme Director of the Esslingen MBA: “We are very pleased that an Esslingen student took part in the CERN programme. We are in close contact with the programme organisers in Geneva would like to continue the exchange between CERN and our Entrepreneurship Course in future years.”

Kareem Hamza was visibly impressed by his summer at CERN: “I highly recommend the CERN Entrepreneurship Student Programme to any student with a technical and business background. It was an experience that comes once in a lifetime, and it motivated me a lot. The five weeks were also full of fun, exploring the beautiful city of Geneva, the Alps, and other interesting places in the area.“

Please also see Kareem's full report on his experience at CERN

Further information on the CERN Entrepreneurship Student Programme

- by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager

20 years of international master's programmes:
acquiring and educating specialists for Baden-Württemberg

20 years ago, 6 faculties of the Hochschule Esslingen got together to create  new, dynamic international master's programmes for students from around the world. The goal: to build bridges between this culture and theirs, to bring in expertise from around the world and further educate students for the industrial greats situated here and internationally. In the team creating these programmes were representatives from industry, politics, and the university, and together they formed the Esslingen Graduate School.

20 years later, we have graduated over 1300 international students. Many have stayed in Germany and begun a life here, some have come back to the Graduate School to teach, some have gone back to their home countries and are ambassadors there for Germany and our programmes.

We celebrated our past, our present and our future on 23 May, and so many important people celebrated with us: it was an evening of reminiscing and of looking forward to the next phase in graduate education in Esslingen.

We thank all our supporters, the many people who at various levels were responsible for building these programmes, and of course our alumni, who have remained in touch and kept a part of the Graduate School.

Please see our History of the Graduate School

and our Photo Gallery of the 20th Anniversary Celebrations .

- by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager

In the May 2019 ranking of the Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung (University Development Centre - CHE), Esslingen University was rated excellent in the areas of Mechanical Engineering, Mechatronics and Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. The CHE Ranking is a nation-wide assessment of students' experience of the programmes, teaching, equipment and research at their university.

In the May 2019 ranking of the Wirtschaftswoche magazine, Esslingen University's Mechanical Engineering Faculty was ranked in the German top 10. The university ranking in the Wirtschaftswoche magazine has been compiled by a national survey of approximately 650 Personnel Managers in small, middle and large Enterprises in Germany.

The M.Eng. in Automotive Systems (ASM) is largely based within the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering: the M.Eng. in Design and Development for Mechanical and Automotive Engineering (DDM) is largely based within the Faculty of Mechatronics: we are very proud that these faculties have been rated so highly not only by Personnel Managers nationwide, but also by university students and alumni.

The CHE university ranking can be seen at ZEIT online.

- translated by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager. Please also see the full original article in German by Christiane Rathmann, HE RÖM.

This kind of creative collaboration is what defines co-creation, bringing new wind into the innovation process of new products and services. Co-creation facilitates meaningful outcomes by integrating design, inquiry and local knowledge.

During the summer term 2019, Esslingen MBA students take this next step in entrepreneurial thinking in Prof. Flad’s lecture “Entrepreneurship”. MBA students work in groups to complete the challenges posed by this project, using Design Thinking and Lean Startup-Methods not only to develop but also to test a sustainable eCommerce business model for and with AEB SE.

“This project is almost predestined for the Esslingen MBA students because it calls for the main strengths of the program: business competence and engineering know-how paired with internationality. Putting their theoretical knowledge to practical use, MBA students will create and complete a business analysis for AEB’s eCommerce business in Asia”, says Prof. Flad, who is also the Programme Director of the Esslingen MBA in International Industrial Management.

AEB’s cloud-based software for global trade and logistics also makes a positive contribution to society: the supply chain gets leaner and greener, more secure and equitable. Moreover, AEB allocates part of its annual profits to the AEB Foundation to promote education projects for disadvantaged children.

- by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager

The Esslingen Graduate School's MBA in International Industrial Management is once again featured as a top business school worldwide in the career placement area of Industrial Management. In the top 10 list of the MBA specialist and university placement portal Find MBA, there are few other European programmes: the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland and the ESADE Business School in Barcelona, Spain are the closest.

"The Esslingen MBA Team is delighted to receive this award, which is a good representation of the industry's demand for our MBA graduates" commented Dr. Flad, Vice Dean of the Graduate School and Academic Director of the Esslingen MBA.

For further information on this award, please see Find MBA – Top Business Schools for Industrial Management and Manufacturing 2019.

- by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager

Since the success of Facebook and Google in the area of data and analytics, data science has become an important tool for many companies, and one that can be applied to various fields.

In this lecture, Dr. Rahe gave an overview of important data science applications in corporate finance, for example in sales forecasting or credit ratings. He also introduced popular data science techniques such as neural networks.

Students learned how data science can be used to support decisions, make processes more efficient and save costs in companies.

- by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager

We are proud to have students who, in addition to 18 months of intensive study, found it important to contribute to the community they lived in. When passing on the project to the next generation of students, Lighthouse founding members said how grateful they were for the many beautiful hours that they spent with the senior citizens in the Seniors’ Centre. 

The students share stories and pictures of their home countries with centre residents, they sing songs and organise games. Residents are clearly delighted to receive so much additional attentional, and enjoy the talks and the informal get-togethers with our young students. For most of the residents, this kind of activity is seldom: the fresh breeze blowing from India, Japan, Bolivia or Canada bewitches smiles into their faces.

Yasuhito Nakazawa, an MBA student in the Graduate School, talks about his experience in the Lighthouse Project.

Read the latest article on the Lighthouse Project on the website of the Senior's Center.

Article in the Esslinger Zeitung from 01.09.2016: The Lighthouse Project Shines Brightly out into the World

- by Catriona Fekete-Nester, GS Marketing Manager