58th Issue
ESTIEM 1990-2020 ... a founder’s and personal perspective
PAGE 11
THE STORY OF LSS IN ESTIEM
... how it started and how the journey continues today
PAGE 18
30
TH
ANNIVERSARY OF ESTIEM
European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management Issue 58 2020/1 | ISSN 0874-5242 | Price €0.- | www.estiem.org
INTRODUCTION
Pursue your Master’s program in the Netherlands? What about the masters in Industrial Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology? tue.nl/masterprograms/oml • tue.nl/masterprograms/im • tue.nl/masterprograms/mse IE MSC wervingsad 210x135 mm.indd 1
18-06-19 09:33
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Central ESTIEMers
Central Entities
Get Active! Chats since 2018
What is CENTRAL ESTIEM?
Why join CENTRAL ESTIEM?
Central ESTIEM can be seen as the working place in ESTIEM.
There are a many reasons why you should join Central
It aims to provide a framework where people can work to-
ESTIEM. First of all, you will be working in an international
gether and develop their ideas with like-minded ESTIEMers.
team. In this team you can create your own impact by deve-
The Central ESTIEM structure consist of the board and se-
loping ideas or starting initiatives. Furthermore, it is a great
veral entities that support the board and the network and
opportunity to develop yourself by learning new things and
others that focus on the value creation by coordinating the
improve a variety of skills. Last but not least, it is amazing to
organization of services. More information on Central ES-
be part of an European Community. In this community you
TIEM can be found below.
will make new friends, collaborate with people from different cultures and have a lot of fun!
Join the Active Mail List 2 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
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INTRODUCTION
Table of contents INTRODUCTION 4 Project Leader’s Speech 5 President’s Speech 6 Introduction to ESTIEM 8 International projects and commitees
FOCUS TOPIC 11 ESTIEM 1990-2020 - a founder’s and personal
14
perspective 14 30 Years of ESTIEM - Darmstadt - Back to the roots 18 The story of LSS in ESTIEM: How it started and how the journey continues today!
SCENE 20 How the aerospace industry has changed in the past 30 years 22 The Importance of Awareness: Environmental
20
26
responsibility 24 Why you are arguing wrong, no matter if you are right 26 How taking initiative can change your life 28 How to live lagom 31 A journey from an outsider to a thriving teammate 34 Benefits of knowledge sharing 36 Data Visualization in Companies
31
CAREER 38 Alumni Interview 41 The hardship of job search 44 Why you should choose a nonprofit career 45 The Evolution of Jobs
INSIDE ESTIEM 46 Global Student Challenge 48 The rebirth of Academic Days
44
50 The 5 benefits of participating in Student competitions 52 How to write an estiem magazine Article?
EXPLORE 53 On the rocky road to Serbian lakes 54 Regional Coordinators Meeting, Berlin 56 5 questions to 5 entrepreneurs from all around Europe
50
54
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 3
INTRODUCTION Project Leader Oliver Dittrich Design Trajko Krstić Bojana Preradović Elena Dubić Vasilije Aleksić Veljko Tonić Article Acquisition Tanja Gagić Sonja Borota Kosta Savić Anđela Vasojević Aleksandra Ćirković Proofreaders Evdoxia Pantazi Lea Lemberg Sebastian Hummel Mark van Uden Milena Zoraja Nikola Milošević Jovan Vitošević Tanja Gagić Anastasiia Plishkanovska Aleanxdru Florescu With special thanks to Robin Dietrich Contact leader.magazine@estiem. org ESTIEM Permanent Office Atlas 2.328 P.O.Box 513 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands Fax: 0031-(0)40 2473871 info@estiem.org www.estiem.org Disclaimer The contents may not always reflect the opinion of the publisher. Any reproduction or copy is permitted only with the permission of the editors. Our Partners Allianz ABB Oy Continental Eindhoven University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology Lappeenranta University of Technology Eurosender Asia Exchange Elium UNIT4 Tableau BEST EESTEC VWI
PROJECT LEADER’S SPEECH Dear reader, Back in 1990, 50 students from seven different countries
were
focusing
on
building
the
foundation of an organisation which they named ESTIEM: European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management. 30 years later, it has grown into an organisation bringing together 8000 students from 74 European countries, and it keeps growing. ESTIEM has great memories to share, knowledge and expertise, time of intense professional activity, positive initiatives which turned into exciting projects, all of which were accomplished together by generations of ESTIEMers. We as the Magazine Project are proud of our
Happy Birthday ESTIEM!
active network full of creativity, professional drive, innovative ideas and determination to execute it. We truly appreciate its longevity and very active alumni group. Oliver Dittrich Celebrating our anniversary is an excellent opportunity to communicate our experience, to take a glance back and to recognize all the events we participated in. Everyone should remember one’s 30th birthday: we graduated not too long ago, are matured and responsible adults with the necessary wisdom for significant decisions in life, start moving together with our beloved ones and also build a family. 30 years of ESTIEM also means 30 years of family and growing together. With the 58th issue of the ESTIEM magazine, one of the oldest projects in ESTIEM, you are invited to question yourself, take a step back, set new goals, share your personal moments, do something different, but also to celebrate the anniversary. With nothing left to say, enjoy reading.
4 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
ESTIEM Magazine Project Leader
INTRODUCTION
30 Years of ESTIEM - PRESIDENT’S SPEECH Dear reader, As you might have already understood, ESTIEM is reaching its thirty-years-milestone this year. I would not know, but it is said that reaching 30 years of existence is not always easy to cope with. Lacking the necessary personal life experience, I conducted thorough research on how to embrace this achievement. Please find the summary below: 1. Throw a fantastic party - 30th-anniversary party planned. 2. Make plans and set goals - Long Term Strategy created. 3. Be confident in what you have learnt - always. 4. Appreciate family and friends - for sure. We have not thoughtfully planned to be prepared for this milestone but it looks like, somehow, we are.
In the pages that follow, you are invited to read the collection of articles we have selected for you
Throughout my journey, I have met some of the ESTIEM’s founders and heard both their stories and ideas; I have seen pictures and heard songs; I have been marvelled by past opportunities this network has presented to people all over Europe - And, above it all, I have added my own stories to the endless list of things ESTIEM helped people accomplish; I have seen people increase their own personal network, achieving new goals and setting new plans.
regarding history and stories from 1989 onward. You will see that ESTIEM has survived plenty of things and that regardless of unpredictable adversities, like the ones we are currently facing worldwide, we are here to stay. From each trial, each success and/or failure, came a learning experience for someone else. Nobody ever agrees on a perfect definition for ESTIEM, but after all this, I will subscribe and add to the words said firstly by someone I unfortunately never met:
The last item my research presented was also my favourite. It went as follows:
ESTIEM is a playground. Are you joining or will you just watch?
5. Try new things What I, like countless other people, got the chance
In High ESTIEM,
to experience was the result of new seeds someone once decided to plant; and that is a challenge I will always promote - plant your own seeds! Over
the
last
three
decades,
ESTIEM
has
undoubtedly seen a lot. My question is: “What is
Inês Moreira ESTIEM President
next?”
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 5
INTRODUCTION
ALL OVER EUROPE... Back in 1990, students from five different countries founded an organisation, which they named ESTIEM: European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management. After 30 years, it has grown into an organisation
The decision-making body of ESTIEM is the
bringing together over 60,000 students from 79
Council, which meets twice a year, in autumn
universities in 31 European countries, and it is
and in spring. Each university, represented by
still growing. All these universities offer courses in
its so-called “Local Group�, sends two student
IEM. Based on this structure, ESTIEM forms links
representatives. The six members of the Board
between students, academia and companies in
of ESTIEM are elected during the spring Council
order to create an Europe-wide, multi-level IEM
Meeting. The Board is responsible for the
network. ESTIEM has continuously increased the
management, coordination and administration
number of its activities, thus being able to offer
of the association.
a great variety of events to IEM students and an opportunity to experience different cultures, take
Besides taking leadership positions in the Board
part in international projects and become friends
and as Project or Committee Leaders, ESTIEM
with other ESTIEMers from all over Europe.
members can also take up responsibilities by working in one of the Projects, Committees or
Naturally, the backbone of ESTIEM is the
Initiatives. With lots of teams and tasks to choose
European IEM student. The students involved in
from, there is a place for everyone.
ESTIEM incorporate both the skills required for modern business and an open-minded approach
For
more
detailed
information
about
our
towards other people and cultural issues.
organisation and its activities, please visit our website at www.estiem.org.
75
180+
3,000
Local Groups in 27 countries make ESTIEM a large network.
events are organised by Local Groups every year.
travels are made yearly by 2,000 students.
6 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
8,000 members and a reach of 60,000 towards IEM students in Europe.
INTRODUCTION
OUR MISSION Connect and support the growth and sustainability of European associations of IEM students, to foster relations and to develop their IEM students, personally and professionall
OUR VISION Be the connector of IEM Students with an IEM Europe An IEM Europe is the ecosystem of companies, universities, organisations and other entities interested in the field of IEM. We are striving for each IEM Student to have a connection not only with other students all over Europe of the same field but also to other companies and universities, to ensure each student as a voice as well as the opportunity to make a difference, and to allow each outstanding innovative idea to become reality.
OUR FOUR CORE VALUES
Embracing diversity
Striving for development
We see multiculturalism as a strength of ESTIEM. We benefit from our cultural diversity by being able to approach chances and challenges with different insights. Respect is not just something we strive for, but part of the very basis of our network
We grow together by trying hard and learning from mistakes, we are eager to go through a learning process and see accessibility and freedom as highest goals. ESTIEMers gain practical experience and important soft-skills needed in today’s world.
Encouraging participation
Aiming high
ESTIEM being a democratic organisation with a flat hierarchy encourages the participation of all its members. We inspire each other to partake in ESTIEM’s activities and develop new ideas.
We are not afraid of stepping out of our comfort zone. ESTIEM’s members are proactive students that always give 100%. We encourage an entrepreneurial spirit among students and other stakeholders by gathering and exchanging experiences and best practices. ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 7
INTRODUCTION
STUDENTS INVOLVE THEMSELVES IN VARIOUS INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS AND COMMITEES... ESTIEM is also a playground for great ideas developed by highly motivated students. If a student manages to convince ESTIEM’s Council of their idea, they can start their own International Project. taking an active impact on educational change, by
ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
providing opportunities to discuss education and contributing to academic development in Europe.
Provide
non-formal
complimentary
IEM
content based on students’ needs and current
Inchainge Global Student Challenge
developments in IEM, through advanced courses delivered by professionals, and support the
Support and develop the knowledge gain of Supply
research & development in the IEM field by actively
Chain Management within IEM students through
taking part in discussions and activities.
partnerships for competing activities.
Lean Six Sigma
INTERCULTURAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Our mission is to spread the knowledge of advanced methodology which is Lean Six Sigma
Intercultural Development department promotes
by providing worldwide recognised - Green
understanding
Belt Certificate. The Green Belt is not only
ESTIEMers to build intercultural competencies
revolutionasing and integreting all IEM students,
within our multicultural network.
among
cultures
and
helps
additionally it gives them a straight direction into finding first jobs in any industry.
Europe3D
Academic Days
Europe3D aims to gather students from all over the world with different backgrounds in a country
The goal of Academic Days is to share ESTIEM
to experience it in 3 dimensions – politics, economy
universities
knowledge
network.
and culture – while raising the intercultural
It
the
professional
awareness and spreading open-minded ESTIEM
supports
with
personal
the
and
development of students across Europe willing to
spirit.
complete their curriculum. In order to achieve this, each Academic Days event provides participants
Language Programme
deep insights into a specific topic in which the organising Local Group’s university has a high
Language Programme aims to foster language
expertise.
learning within ESTIEM, providing ESTIEMers with the opportunity to learn new Languages or
Vision
improve the ones already known.
“The aim of Vision is to give IEM students
Exchanges
practical insights in current and future topics and trends from areas between Economy, Society
Local Group Exchanges aims to connecting Local
and Technology while bridging the gap between
Groups by visits of LGs to another LGs with a
academic and corporate environment.
following return visit which facilitates them to share their cultures, knowledge, experiences and
IEM Connection
strengths between each other while having fun in a sincere environment.
To be the facilitator of the voice of IEM students and
connect
them
with
professors
and
professionals, in order to increase the awareness of IEMers on IEM Education in Europe as well as
8 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
INTRODUCTION Activity Weeks
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Activity Week aims to gather students from all around the Europe in one city where the
Provide soft skills development opportunities on
participants have the chance to experience the
a constant basis, while defining and enforcing
hosting country by exploring their culture, food
standards for the soft skill learning experience,
and hospitality. These days fulfilled with various
based on the adequate use of trainers and event
activity events such as local festivals and concerts.
structures.
During the event dates a friendly atmosphere reigns due to which ESTIEMers easily can feel the ESTIEM
Braintrainer
spirit. Braintrainer is a training-based project that aims to provide high quality, interactive and
CAREER DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
multicultural learning experiences. While working on soft and business skills such as communication,
Offer opportunities such as events, competitions
presentation, negotiation and team-management,
and programmes focused on preparing students
participants are also able to enjoy the experience-
for a specific career field, by developing a related
sharing, fun, and team spirit inherent to every
set of skills that will get them a competitive
ESTIEM project.
advantage. Summer Academy TIMES The goal of Summer Academy is to potentiate the TIMES provides IEM students all across Europe
development of leadership skills, foster the sharing
the
while
of insights and knowledge within the Industrial
developing their professional skill set in a
opportunity
to
grow
personally
Engineering field and to create a unique and strong
competition-based context.
relationship between all the participants.
Be X in X Days
COMMITTEES
Be X for X Days aims to provide ESTIEMers and IEM students with the best opportunities
Human Resources Committee (HRC)
of getting real-life experiences, useful knowledge and insights about what is needed to be a
Support all central ESTIEM entities in recruiting,
professional in a specific field.
onboarding, managing and developing their team members by facilitating recruitment processes,
businessbooster
assessing stability and providing opportunities for development.
Businessbooster is an ESTIEM entity that aims to connect the different IEM student associations
Members Committee (MC)
with entrepreneurial interest. By facilitating the education of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge,
Take care of the Local Groups of ESTIEM and their
Businessbooster
entrepreneurial
activeness level, tries to expand ESTIEM network
mind-set while creating and maintaining a safe
and helps student groups in their membership
environment for business ideas.
process.
Industry Hubs
Corporate Relations Committee (CRC)
Industry
Hubs
enables
brings
the
together
interested
The Corporate Relations Committee is responsible
ESTIEMers to showcase a traditional or growing
for
creating
and
developing
academic
and
industry within countries and regions.
corporate partnerships that will contribute with value and support to the network.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 9
INTRODUCTION Information Technology Committee (ITC)
ESTIEMers in their professional development.
We ensure that ESTIEM can fully serve its members
Knowledge Facitilation Committee (KFC)
in helping them be their truest and most amazing selves by providing them a modern, stable and
Curate the knowledge and ensure its usage by
easily maintainable and upgradeable portal that
facilitating knowledge sharing in ESTIEM.
works well on all platforms. Local Group Support System (LGSS) Public Relations Committee (PRC) Have a support system for Local Groups’ The Public Relations Committee aims to maintain
development, with a customized, project-based
the ESTIEM brand by creating and publicizing
approach, focusing on Local Groups willing to be
the necessary brand materials for this purpose
rescued from a bad state.
and to support entities and local groups in order to increase the recognition of ESTIEM to its
Legal Officers
stakeholders. To strengthen ESTIEM’s regulatory structure, while Trainers’ Community Core Team
increasing and maintaining the legal knowledge in ESTIEM.
To maintain and develop the pool of trainers while
enabling
partake through
in
the
the
whole
community
decision-making
transparency
and
to
Ambassadors
processes
inclusiveness.
The Ambassador is responsible for establishing and fostering relations between ESTIEM and
Trainers’ community
other associations, while facilitating existing collaborations. The Ambassador should increase
As Trainers Community we provide training
awareness and recognition of ESTIEM towards IEM
sessions to ESTIEMers to help their personal and
Europe and bring value to its Members.
professional development while supporting the future growth of the community.
ESTIEM Magazine
Analysis Committee (AC)
The ESTIEM Magazine aims to provide an insight in the world of IEM from an academic and
Our mission is to support ESTIEM to make the
professional point of view and engage ESTIEMers
decision-making more fact-based in order to help
in the network.
the organisation move forward, while supporting
10 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
FOCUS TOPIC
ESTIEM 1990-2020 A FOUNDER’S AND PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE It is April 12th, Easter Sunday as I write this article.
and the blue flag with the yellow stars always has
We are in the midst of the coronacrisis and are
been a sign of hope for me.
all confined at home. Millions of people have been infected, hundreds of thousands have died,
In 1987, I moved from Venlo to Eindhoven to
schools and universities have closed, air traffic has
start my Industrial Engineering and Management
ceased. A deep recession is in the making, with
(IEM)
millions losing their jobs and complete industries
trip with a group of fellow IEM-students, in
forced to shut down (tourism, festivals, aviation to
Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France and Belgium,
name a few). The longer this crisis last, the clearer
visiting companies and universities in order to
it becomes the life post-coronavirus will never be
investigate how the unification of Europe planned
the same.
for 1992 would change their business. The first
studies. In 1989, I made a 3-week study
Astrid Sonneville-Dings Local Group Eindhoven
steps, back then, were the harmonisation of I have to explain to my children that this situation
product regulations and simplification of customs
is new to all of us, as we have never lived through
procedures, later extended in the treaty of
something similar in our lifetime. For the first time
Maastricht. That same year, I joined the committee
in our life we truly understand what liberty means.
that would become Interact.cie and after receiving
We will have to work hard to gain it back: our
a letter from VWI, inviting us to a European
liberty to move around, to attend school, to see
meeting in Graz in April 1990, I went there with
our friends and family without the risk of infection.
Marlies van Laarhoven and Stan Verouden. This
The liberty to be close to each other without fear.
first encounter with international students was a
The liberty to travel and get together for one of
life-changing event for me; something I know has
those incredible ESTIEM events with people from
happened to a lot of other ESTIEM-ers as well at
all over Europe. According to the latest prognosis,
their first international event.
full release of society allowing international travel and major gatherings will be 2021 at the earliest, as
The experience of meeting IEM-students from
it will require an effective vaccine to be available…
other countries was so powerful. We realised that
And I was looking forward to celebrate the 30
despite our differences in language and culture we
years anniversary this year, with 30 generations of
had so much in common: our studies, our appetite
ESTIEM-ers, so much!
to figure things out and make them work, our international curiosity and above all, our dreams
That realisation hurts, I have never missed one
and hopes for the future. The 48-hours spent
of the 5-yearly anniversaries: Foundation Berlin
together in Graz felt like a week and the experience
1990, Hamburg 1995, Cambridge 2000, Karlsruhe-
enabled us to progress further with giant steps.
Kaiserslautern 2005, Tahkovuori 2010 and Vienna 2015.
After Graz, we formed a committee between the groups geographically close (Eindhoven &
Truly, ESTIEM has been a very important in my life
Darmstadt) to prepare the foundation of Estiem. A
and personal development as you can tell from
lot of the strategic thinking put in back then, is still
the above. Having grown up in a small village close
visible in ESTIEM’s statute, student group-based
to Venlo, an area that has been Roman, Spanish,
structure, activities and its culture.
German and French, until it became part of the Netherlands in 1814, I have always considered
November 1990, we travelled to Berlin for the
myself a European from birth. In fact, my mother
foundation event. The atmosphere in the town
tongue is a dialect closer to German than to Dutch.
was magic, with the wall having come down a
Being connected to Europe was obvious for me
year earlier and the city full of hope related to the
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 11
FOCUS TOPIC reunification of East and West-Germany.
the company. Two years later both Marlies and I started our careers with P&G.
We had our first official Council Meeting, voted the statutes, worked through the night with Christoph
In 1991, I was organiser of the Eindhoven Council
Hagedorn and John from Galway (the only native
Meeting, a complex task, given the high numbers
English speaker at the time) and I got elected into
of participants (200) and the double hats as a
the first board with Christoph, Stefan and Elena. I
board member as well as lead-organiser of the
was appointed Vice President for Public Relations
CM. We combined this with a case-study weekend
and Finance (to note: initially we kept no finances
(organised by Joost Fontein & Ton Kooi), where
on a central level to avoid disputes about money).
I met a Philips officer that later helped me get internships in Sweden and Spain in 1992. As you
In 1991, with the help of a fantastic editorial staff
can see ESTIEM provided a perfect playground
in Eindhoven, I founded the ESTIEM magazine I
and offered plenty of opportunities to learn for
am writing this article for. Internet hardly existed
(working) life!
at the time, and to provide a professional image of ESTIEM and prove our seriousness to sponsors
In 1993, I graduated and got my first assignment
we needed a printed magazine. It was for this
at P&G in the Netherlands (marketing and later
magazine that Marlies and I interviewed a Procter
supply chain). My eternal wish to live in other
& Gamble manager, which raised my interest in
European countries was fulfilled in 1999 when
The iconic Matterhorn is illuminated by Swiss light artist Gerry Hofstetter sending a message of hope to the world
12 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
FOCUS TOPIC I left for Amiens, France to run the planning
the best reward for me. This year I had a ‘déjà vu’
department in a mega factory, only to work later
experience of founding ESTIEM: I was a co-founder
at the headquarters in Paris. As customer logistics
of a local ‘green’ political party called ‘Demain
head, part of Sales, I learned to negotiate with
Confignon’ and we went through the same
the notoriously difficult French customers, skills I
creative milestones as in 1990: a name, a logo,
benefit from to this date. My ESTIEM experience
statutes, objectives and strategies, a newsletter
on cultural differences and strategic thinking
and recruiting candidates. The party won a
helped me tremendously back then to work with
landslide victory at the election on March 15th,
people so different to me and achieve goals I had
2020. You can imagine how weird our celebration
previously thought impossible.
party was, all standing 2 meters apart, because of social distancing rules…
In 2002, our son was born and the family decided to move to a greener environment. I got an
This brings us back to the coronacrisis: the silver
opportunity to move to Geneva, Switzerland to
lining is that Mother Nature is teaching us, in an
the headquarters for the EMEA region, where
accelerated time lapse, what we risk to lose if we
consecutively I ran the supply chain for pet food,
continue treating her as we have been doing: our
managed the portfolio of product launches for the
health, our way of living, our ecosystems and even
hair care division and lead global multi-million-
longer term our sources of food and livelihood.
dollar costs savings programs. Our 2 daughters were born in this period, in 2005 and 2008.
It is in abnormal times that we learn most about ourselves and others. I hope this life-changing
In 2012, I left P&G as I felt it was time to move
experience in 2020, motivates today’s ESTIEM-ers
horizons. The movie ‘An inconvenient truth’ by Al
as we were motivated back then in 1990 to build
Gore was my wake-up call and after doing some
a better future together for Europe: a unique and
work within the company on sustainability, I
diverse continent with open borders, where we
decided my role would be outside of it, as I really
can meet and learn from each other, where we
wanted to accelerate the transition to a sustainable
use the technological advances to improve the
world. Leaving a comfortable, well paid job at
lives for everyone. A Europe where we promote
a great company was far from easy. One thing I
peace by listening and truly trying to understand
realised though, is that I do not need much money
each other.
to live the life I aspire to, as one can do a lot even with little money, as long as you are creative and
According to ancient myth, the one divine
have time. Time in fact, is the only limited resource
gift vouchsafed to humans — after all its evil
in life and therefore requires serious decision
companions escaped from Pandora’s box — was
making on how you want to spend it.
Hope.
It has been 8 years now that I work from home,
My hope for our joint future is that we listen to
as an investor and activist for the sustainable
these stark warnings, use the window of change
transition. I have learned many new skills (like how
and the trillions of recovery funds, to rebuild the
to renovate your house to use renewable energy
economy in a way that is just for the climate,
only, and how sustainable finance can accelerate
builds solidarity and reduces inequality. A plan
the transition to sustainable economy - see the
which promotes international collaboration in
article on this in the Spring 2019 edition of the
many fields and connects people to each other
ESTIEM magazine).
and to Europe, the very aims ESTIEM was created for and which it has successfully delivered for 30
I spend time educating my children who, especially
years now.
in their teenage years, need the guidance of their parents. I regularly teach and coach others, all pro-
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/astrid-sonneville-dings-
bono as the satisfaction of seeing people grow is
640a8_estiem-magazine-spring-2019-international-activity6539160712827162625-cpB6
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 13
FOCUS TOPIC
30 YEARS OF ESTIEM - DARMSTADT, BACK TO THE ROOTS
Jana Eisenbarth Local Group Darmstadt
Michelle Sefers Local Group Darmstadt
Some of you might know that we, as Local Group
ments, these high aiming students co founded a
Darmstadt, have the honor to organise the “30 Ye-
society in 1988, named “konaktiva”, intended to
ars of Awesomeness – ESTIEM Anniversary” this
organise an annual company fair, with the first
year. Why though, will this happen in Darmstadt,
taking place in the following year. What started
a city you have hardly heard about outside of ES-
as a modest company fair, has grown to an event
TIEM? That is what we aim to explain to you in this
with more than 250 companies and 10,000 visitors
article by leading you through our Local Group’s
to date.
history, in hope you will have a better understanding of why this event is so special to us.
Continuing in the same “aim high” style, in 1989 Arnold Petzold, the leader of VWI Darmstadt at
1978
that time, came to an unprecedented idea : What if they organised an event for students across Euro-
It is the year 1978. Some industrial engineers at
pe? An event that brought together industrial engi-
Technical University of Darmstadt make the move
neers from different European cities and cultures
to found VWI Darmstadt as a student society – the
that he himself met during his previous years of
first student society in the VWI organisation (ES-
studies? Such an idea came to fruition in Arnold’s
TIEM’s German counterpart). Up to this point, the
mind, yet he would not be the one to make it a
VWI was a German organisation purely for profes-
reality, as he was coming to an end of his studies.
sionals, aimed at fostering connections between German industrial engineers. Darmstadt led the
It was the effort of four highly motivated students
way for the VWI to also become a powerful stu-
that made Arnold’s idea possible. The project team
dent organisation. Over the years the nationwi-
consisted of Ulrich Nack, Martin Schimpke, Stefan
de VWI student network grew to 6,000 members
Schneider and Christoph Hagedorn. Together,
spread over 40 university groups in 2020.
they developed their concept of an international engineering and management student seminar in
VWI Darmstadt grew significantly during its first
Darmstadt. This concept will be presented at a VWI
years. Each year, the team would organise a bro-
Congress from the 14th to the 15th of October in
ad range of events for students in cooperation
Berlin – shortly after the Berlin Wall would come
with all sorts of businesses. Still, the students from
down. With the fall of the Berlin Wall, the students
VWI Darmstadt were not satisfied and they strived
of Darmstadt were set on connecting Europe on
for more.
a student level.
1988 & 1989
After the very positive feedback they received at
Jumping into the future, we are now in the year
versity of Linköping in Sweden and Helsinki Uni-
1988. Due to their insatiable hunger for achieve-
versity of Technology (later on merged together
14 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
the congress, the team wrote postcards to the Uni-
FOCUS TOPIC with 2 more universities to Aalto University) in Helsinki, using Arnold’s contacts, inviting the students
1993
to attend their upcoming seminar. After several years, in 1993, Darmstadt’s students
1990
were reflecting on previous excursions and events they had the chance to organise over the years
One week prior to the seminar the team prompted
and envisioned implementing something similar
several students from German universities and
in the still young ESTIEM network. The vision was to
two students from Graz, Austria, to participate.
provide the students with an opportunity to travel,
There had still been no response to the postcards
demonstrate their skills and develop themselves
they had sent to Sweden and Finland though. Af-
both academically and culturally. The result was
ter what felt like an eternity to the organisers, Mika
a 3-week excursion for more than 30 participants
Gerlander from Helsinki University of Technology
from the early ESTIEM network to Japan and the
called the team with much excitement – he and a
USA, loaded with company visits and workshops.
friend of his wanted to participate in the interna-
It was a truly mind-boggling event to organise back
tional seminar and had plans to stay in Darmstadt.
then when so many technologies and methods
The international student seminar took place in
that we use today, were under development or
Darmstadt, but it is the Friday evening of this event
non existent. This event would serve as an inspira-
that will have a significant impact on industrial
tion for future endeavors of the local group.
engineer and management students all across Europe. On Friday, January 26th 1990, the students
The event series that was born out of this excur-
from Darmstadt, Helsinki and Graz were sitting in
sion is what we today know as Vision. Vision events
a Pub called “Riwwelmaddes” fantasizing about a
initially covered one visionary topic in depth in di-
European network that would enable more events
fferent Local Groups throughout the year, after
like the one they were currently in, to happen. This
which a final conference was held where what has
gathering in a pub in Darmstadt led to the founda-
been learned from each Local Group’s Vision event
tion of ESTIEM.
was presented. 25 years later, the VWI|ESTIEM Local Group Darmstadt organised the 25th anniver-
In November of the same year, ESTIEM was offi-
sary of the Vision series in 2018. The organisers of
cially founded in Berlin. Christoph Hagedorn, a
the first Vision conference joined this special edi-
member of the project team that brought about
tion at the Gala Dinner to witness the development
Arnold’s vision of a connected Europe, became the
of their idea. The following year, the new elected
first president of ESTIEM. Darmstadt is one of the
Vision leader proposed a different concept for the
co-founders of ESTIEM, and to this day we still take
event series: One Local Group would cover the en-
pride in the work of our predecessors.
tire topic on its own and each Local Group organising a Vision would have another topic, as the last years experience showed that students were not able to visit the Vision events of all different Local Groups that covered one topic.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 15
FOCUS TOPIC
End of 90s and early 00s
des, the bar where the discussions that led to ESTIEM being born took place, emerged. In 2014 this plaque was put on a wall in Riwwelmaddes, with
Our Local Group kept growing, so that at the end
many members of Local Group Darmstadt and ES-
of the decade, we finally got our own room as a
TIEM Boardies of 2014 being present, during the
student society at our university, where we could
Student Guide Coordination Meeting taking place
conduct business. At some point, near the start of
at the same time.
the decade, members of the VWI|ESTIEM Darmstadt started to organise an annual skiing trip, cal-
In 2015, Darmstadt organised their – until this year
led Orga-Boarder.
– biggest event: the TIMES Final.
Some years later, Darmstadt’s members had the idea of inviting other ESTIEMers to their yearly skii-
2018
ng event, which gave birth to the now somewhat famous Skiing Activity Week (SAW) in 2009. SAW
As VWI|ESTIEM Darmstadt was founded in 1978 ,
is an event where ESTIEMers from all over Euro-
2018 was the year we joyfully celebrated its 40th
pe together with Darmstadt’s members can ski or
anniversary with over 100 active members and
snowboard for one week in the Austrian Alps. In
alumnis attending the festivities. All those years
2018 we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the
of hard work and dedication made it possible for
SAW with a big birthday cake and many ESTIEMers.
Darmstadt to become a valuable and well-orga-
Since then we did not have a year without our Skii-
nised local group. Many ESTIEM, VWI, university
ng Activity Week, with the 12th edition being the
and team events take place in Darmstadt, in va-
last one organised earlier this year . For the first
rious event formats. Our Local Group is organising
time we gathered 50 ESTIEMers in a cabin in the
over 20 external events for students of Technical
Alps.
University Darmstadt each year such as one-week excursions to European cities to gather cultural
2011 - 2017
and business insights, weeklong Start-up-focused excursions, company visits, workshops and panel discussions, to name a few. In addition to that we
In 2011 Local Group Darmstadt achieved the mi-
normally organise national VWI and European ES-
lestone by having 50 active members, the highest
TIEM events in a rotating two-year cycle.
count since its founding. Some years later, the idea of putting a plaque inside of Riwwelmad-
16 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
FOCUS TOPIC
2020
to see him if you come to visit Darmstadt! This year, we, as a local group, have the honor to
Now, 30 years, 60 Council Meetings and over 3000
organise the 30th anniversary of our beloved ES-
ESTIEM events later, we reached the year 2020 and
TIEM network. At this point you should understand
are looking back on our Local Group’s history as a
why this article is called “back to the roots”.
founder of the ESTIEM network. Our Local Group usually has 40-60 members, where the active team
During the 30th anniversary, all of us will travel
is around 30 people as the rest of the members
back through 30 years of ESTIEM history. As part of
are occupied with semesters abroad or inter-
an amazing pub crawl, you will visit the famous bar
nships. We have four board members with the
Riwwelmaddes, where you can take a picture with
following responsibilities: Finance, Human Resour-
the ESTIEM plaque previously mentioned. In order
ces, Networks (VWI + ESTIEM) and Public Relations/
to embrace the ESTIEM idea of always discovering
Corporate Relations. We still have our own Local
new cultures and places, we will also give you a
Group room - which is like a second home to some
chance to experience German culture in various
of our members – where various pictures and arti-
ways. During workshops and speeches given by
facts, gives an insight into our history. Twice a year
our alumni, you will learn about the history of ES-
we have a strategic weekend with around 30 mem-
TIEM and its many traditions. The Gala Dinner will
bers to plan the future of VWI|ESTIEM Darmstadt.
then take place in the location “Altes Schalthaus”, where the celebration of the 40th anniversary of
Two special facts that every ESTIEMer should know
our Local Group took place. For the past year we
about Local Group Darmstadt are:
have worked very hard to make this event unfor-
1. Party hats: “Is it your birthday today?” usually
gettable and we are looking forward to welcoming
is the first sentence that people will ask us all
you to Darmstadt in June 2020.
over Europe when we are traveling around with our party hats. But we can assure you,
Thank you to everyone who believed in the vision
most of the time the answer is NO! Those hats
of ESTIEMs founders. Thank you to everyone who
are a symbol of our Local Group. Whenever
made it possible to build and develop such a ne-
you see participants from Darmstadt on ES-
twork. Thank you to all the members and alumni
TIEM or VWI events, you can recognize them
of Local Group Darmstadt for the great memories
by the party hats on their heads. You can even
that we made throughout the years. Thank you to
find it on most of our merchandise. If you are
all members and alumni of ESTIEM who made it
curious about the history of these mysterious
possible for us to organise such a great event here
party hats, you should come to Darmstadt and
in Darmstadt.
find out. 2. Apart from the hats, we also have our mas-
In High ESTIEM,
cot, the gorilla, as a well-known symbol of our
Michelle Sefers, Jana Eisenbarth, 30th anniversary
Local Group. You can find him on our mer-
team and the entire LG Darmstadt
chandise as well and you might even be able
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 17
FOCUS TOPIC
THE STORY OF LSS IN ESTIEM: HOW IT STARTED AND HOW THE JOURNEY CONTINUES TODAY! The Lean Six Sigma (LSS) project is one of the youngest entities and still a baby compared to the long history of ESTIEM. We, as the leaders from different years of the Lean Six Sigma team, want to look back on the history of the Lean Six Sigma course and share with you how it has developed over time.
Jukka-Matti Turtiainen Local Group Lappeenranta and Helsinki Co-creator of Lean Six Signa Course It is amazing that people have put thousands of hours to make what the Lean Six Sigma Project is today. In the beginning, the motivation was to equip students with practical problem-solving skills that they can apply straight away and additionally provide them with opportunities which would be hard to get otherwise. The idea to develop the course sparked in the “Summer Academy” of 2014 and 2015, where Professor Gregory H. Watson was teaching about:
Izabela Preś Local Group Warsaw and Eindhoven Lean Six Sigma Project Leader 2017/18
“Intellectual roots of Industrial Engineering and my resume”. By the end of that event, depending
Meeting other students interested so much in the
on who is telling the story, it was either Jukkis’ or
Lean Six Sigma project back in 2016, during the
Greg’s idea to start developing the course for ES-
event in Romania, was a great moment for me to
TIEM.
realize how much we can achieve together once we have a similar passion. Meeting Greg there be-
There are probably several reasons for people’s
came a great inspiration and motivation to work
high involvement, one being that they have got so
on the LSS course in ESTIEM.
much added value out of the course and want to share it with others. Another one is that you learn
I joined the journey when there were 4 team mem-
a lot on the way. In some universities, students te-
bers but when I finished my mandate, there were
aching the course actually get paid for doing that
12 central team members, over 25 Lean Six Sigma
and some people just love ESTIEM.
Instructors, more than 200 ESTIEMers trained and
18 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
FOCUS TOPIC 16 ESTIEMers certified. We participated in conferences in Europe, wrote publications for scientific magazines and had fun during team meetings.
Panu Laukkanen Local Group Lappeenranta Lean Six Sigma Project Leader 2019/20
One of my favourite moments was a meeting in Helsinki in 2017 with a few team members when we literally started a concept of ESTIEM Lean Six
I first joined the team as Instructors Responsible
Sigma instructors. We brainstormed about how to
during Izabela’s mandate and got to experience
make sure that the concept will become sustaina-
the formalization of work processes and the rapid
ble in ESTIEM. We came up with a name, mapped
growth of the course. My involvement within the
three levels of expertise, prerequisites etc. Now,
team, from the instructing experience and other
seeing ESTIEMers placing that role in their resume
opportunities that came along, have shaped my
or LinkedIn profiles makes it a rewarding feeling
academic and work-life for the better, in previously
for us. Moreover, setting strategies, defining roles
unimaginable ways.
for team members, mapping our team working processes made us a Lean Six Sigma family that
During my mandate, the creators of the course
kept in touch all the time.
gave us an opportunity to broaden our offering to the ESTIEM Alumni Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
Paul Lyko Local Group Dortmund and Dresden Lean Six Sigma Project Leader 2018/19
course, as well as the Improvement Specialist Development Program (ISDP). The aim of the course has been to spread the knowledge provided to us. To this aim, we are publishing the theory materials of the course publicly in the hopes of giving this opportunity for learning and growth not only to
Since the course reached so many people inside
ESTIEMers. This also drives us to improve our cur-
ESTIEM in its first years and also raised awareness
rent course, opening up to new possibilities. By the
outside the network, we realized that it was time to
start of 2020 we trained 700 ESTIEMers.
take the next step. We wanted to make the course sustainable for the following years. Therefore, we needed to implement and strengthen the concept of ESTIEM Lean Six Sigma Instructors. It meant involving former participants as instructors and encouraging them to not only teach once but to also pass their experiences and knowledge on to the next instructors. A lot of Instructors stepped up to the challenge and did more than we could have asked for. Additionally, we wanted to encourage Local Groups to organize local courses regularly,
Summary: One of the keys to success and growth
to make it a solid part of their academic calendar.
of the course has been and continues to be: com-
Especially in Finland and Portugal, it worked really
mitted ESTIEMers who are willing to spend their
well.
time on facilitating the course to students while deepening their own knowledge. We are grateful
Due to the young age of the project, we focused
to all instructors, Lean Six Sigma team members,
mainly on the creation of the course and its own
local organizers and ESTIEM as a whole.
definition. After that, we felt the responsibility to integrate the project more in the ESTIEM network.
Looking forward to the next 30 years of ESTIEM
We wanted to share our own experience and to re-
and the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt course!
ach the full potential of the project together with the help of the other entities of ESTIEM.
Jukkis, Iza, Paul and Panu
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 19
SCENE
HOW THE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY HAS CHANGED IN THE PAST 30 YEARS
Raúl Sotillo Guzmán Local Group Seville
Since their inception, aviation materials have
and tolerance problems that affect the assembly
changed as their properties were studied in flight
process and becomes even more noticeable in
conditions such as extreme temperatures, high
angled parts. This drawback forces the industry to
stresses, and large variable loads. At first, aircraft
force these parts from aircraft structures during
structures were built entirely of steel and alumi-
assembly to fit, increasing residual stresses in the
nium, later on of alloys and new metals such as
material and reducing their life span; very high
titanium. Thanks to advances in science, it was
stresses can lead to material failure which, under
discovered that two very different materials could
flight conditions, can be dangerous. When the
interact with each other as one material and, by
parts are studied, scaled prototypes are used. The
varying their parameters, incredible properties
deviations detected in the scaled prototypes that
could be achieved. Composite materials came into
appear small, are much bigger in the actual non
the picture.
scaled structural parts. But don’t worry. Today we live with these tolerance failures on a daily basis.
Composite material structures have been integra-
Thanks to the current knowledge in mechanical
ted for 30 years; most of them are carbon fibre.
engineering and material science it is possible to
In today’s commercial aircraft, this material repre-
predict and control these problems.
sents more than half of its weight, as the search is for lightweight and resistant materials that can
The idea presented in this work was to be able to
reduce the power required or introduce electric
return a piece of composite material to the desi-
motors and, with it, reduce their carbon footprint.
red angle; that is, to the design angle. After a long and detailed study, it was proved that it is possib-
In all materials, the manufacturing process pro-
le, thanks to controlled processes of temperatu-
duces unwanted defects. In the case of composite
re, pressure and loading, to do so in the future in
materials, the deformations produced during ma-
the same furnace where the composite material
nufacture induce residual stresses in the part, whi-
is consolidated. In this way, the angular variation
ch is known as spring-back, causing deformations
produced would be eliminated, and it would not
20 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
SCENE
be necessary to force the pieces to fit together.
or tension. These kind of materials are very useful
This would definitely make any means of transport
for the main structure of an aeroplane: the wings
made of composite material safer and more effi-
could vary slightly depending on the flight condi-
cient.
tions and the structure could vary to dissipate the vibrations produced at different speeds.
What’s next? Materials with shape memory are currently being studied. They have the capacity
Who knows how the ESTIEMers will be travelling
to transform themselves over time: they vary in a
by air in 30 years?
controlled way depending on the stimulus they experience, whether it is temperature, voltage, light
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 21
SCENE
THE IMPORTANCE OF AWARENESS: ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY Dead and fish-empty oceans, drowning islands,
gases than the whole transport sector globally due
low-lying cities and countries, ice-free pole caps,
to clearing landscapes, fertilizing, beef digestion
exploding temperatures and the 6th mass extinction. That is how our current future looks like, and Mathias Beilmann Local Group Kaiserslautern
some of those threats can already be felt. It is obvious that we have to shift to renewable energy sources and there is no way around it. It is though, not the only lever we are holding in our hands. Several ecosystems in a healthy and stable condition are our livelihood and build the backbone of our planet. If we as humans always claim to be the most intelligent species, how is it that we act as if we have another planet to live on after this one is depleted, and ignore the science? One important ecosystem are trees and forests. Additionally, the United Nations (UN) urge a global shift towards a plant-based diet. How are those two things connected? Since the summer of 2019 it is no secret anymore
etc. Many of these problems were published in the
that every second the size of the Brazilian rainfo-
UN report “Livestock’s Long Shadow”.
rest decreases by large numbers because huge areas are cleared and burned in order to make
In 2006 already, one-third of the earth’s land mass
space for animal agriculture. Europeans import
was covered by animal agriculture. You do not
only a tiny percentage of Brazilian meat but the
have to be a scientist to realize that with a growing
livestock all over Europe is fed with Brazilian soy.
population and a growing demand for meat, this
Animal agriculture accounts for more greenhouse
trend will not work in the future.
22 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
SCENE Producing just a single kilogram of beef requires 15,000 liters of fresh water while for example the average German consumes about 123 liters annu-
So how can we contribute?
ally. Taking shorter showers will not solve water scarcity. According to the European Commission, every re-
I am not forcing anyone to stop eating meat, nor
gion and country will suffer from climate change.
am I pointing a damning finger at you. I just want
From the very North down to the Mediterranean.
to show another way. You do not have to go com-
From melting permafrost to flash flooding in mou-
pletely plant-based, but reducing your meat con-
ntain areas, more severe droughts and less access
sumption is the single biggest way to reduce your
to fresh water. One tremendous result is the incre-
personal carbon footprint. You can help nature by
asing damage by floods along coastlines. Places
simply eating less meat.
like the Netherlands and Venice already fight this problem for years and are threatened to disappear completely. Even though South America is far away, we still affect Amazonia and its valuable resources which affect in turn our global climate. These problems are only a small part of the issues with animal agriculture and forests are only one out of several ecosystems that suffer from it.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 23
SCENE
WHY YOU ARE ARGUING WRONG, NO MATTER IF YOU ARE RIGHT
4 Reasons why you keep getting into pointless and frustrating arguments & 7 Tips how to get out of them Imagine that you and a friend want to travel to an
group of people is being taken as the deciding fac-
ESTIEM event together, but you disagree on the
tor over the preference of the individuals actually
best mode of transportation to get there. Getting
involved in the choice.
to a decision should be easy, but after hours of Robin Dietrich Local Group Berlin
heated discussion, you find yourself closer to can-
4) You see your conversation partner as an oppo-
celling your event application than to agreeing on
nent
a way of getting there. How did it get to this point? All too often an argument turns into a destructive 1) You argue without having a point
fight, where the intention of communicating with a person makes way for the desire to dominate
Have you ever found yourself in the process of a
or even to hurt one’s conversation partner. If you
seemingly endless discussion, only to wish that
notice the tone of the conversation shifting to ag-
you had never even brought the topic up? This
gressive or insulting, you must do whatever you
happens especially more often if you start an ar-
can to bring it back to the point. so 1) apologize
gument out of impulse, without thinking through
sincerely for any incorrect behaviour on your side,
where you want to get. Next time: before you de-
without ruining the apology by adding a “but” in
cide to enter an argument, take a deep breath and
the end 2) forgive your partner for behaving incor-
think about whether you can imagine a positive
rectly 3) take a break from the discussion if spirits
outcome of the conversation.
are too heated.
2) You start a new argument in the middle of your current argument You are in disagreement about whether you should travel by train or by bus, and suddenly they remark that the coffee that is served at gas stations can indeed be called coffee, a statement you disagree with. Even though your burning hatred for gas station coffee makes you want to stab the partner you are arguing into submission, remember that the outcome of this discussion has little to no influence on the decision that needs to be taken. Ask yourself “is this relevant to the point we are discussing?” 3) You confuse facts and feelings Fact: “trains are faster than buses, therefore taking the train is the right option” in this case, feelings and preferences are disregarded. Opinion: “buses are the most uncomfortable mode of transportation: this study says so” In this case, the opinion of someone else is being taken as a fact. In this specific case, the preference of a
24 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
SCENE
Tips
that the other one is merely playing or trying to manipulate the other, by either lying or not really
1) Rephrase your partner‘s statements
speaking their mind, the discussion is pointless.
Before you answer your partner’s argument, take
The following two statements should be conside-
the time to rephrase or repeat what they said in
red true by both parties. Otherwise, the discussion
your own words and ask them to confirm that your
might as well be abandoned:
interpretation is correct. Ask “Are you saying that <statement in my own words>?” or “What is the difference between what you said and <statement in my own words>?”
“I assume that you truly believe what you are saying.”
2) Ask, don’t tell: If you find that your partner’s argument has certain implications, ask them if they agree with that. Instead of saying “What you said means XYZ”, say “Doesn’t that mean XYZ?”
“I assume that you consider me capable of understanding your reasoning.”
3) Find a common ground: Start by agreeing what your common values are.
5) Cut to the chase
Define critical concepts that you need to agree on:
When you get the feeling that your conversation
ask yourself “What are the fundamental assump-
is not going anywhere, ask your partner a simple
tions we are both making in this matter” and wri-
question like “What is your main point?” or “What
te them down. After clarifying the assumptions,
do you want out of this conversation?”.
agree on definitions of terms that are central to those assumptions and check for what statements
6) Reflection question
you both hold to be true. Starting with finding the
Ask “How do you interpret what I am saying?”. Hear
base facts that you share is a great way to anchor
out their point, correct any misunderstanding. If
your discussion in facts anytime it threatens to gli-
they misunderstood you, ask what made them un-
de out of control.
derstand it that way.
4) Assume best intentions
7) Stop! paper time!
Establish points that you expect from each other.
Stop for a moment to properly formulate your
For a discussion to be fruitful, some base condi-
main points on a paper (especially good if you have
tions need to be met. If one or both of you assume
a whiteboard available).
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 25
SCENE
HOW TAKING INITIATIVE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Milena Zoraja Local Group Belgrade
Every day you have a choice â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you either do the
you think, the way you see yourself and the things
regular routine or you take a turn and see whe-
you wish for is an indicator of growth. The bigger
re it takes you. Understandably, you cannot just
the progress, the more accomplished you feel and
live from one plot twist to another (or you can, in
that exact feeling of accomplishment is a power
which case, maybe you should see a professional)
which can move mountains. When you learn to
simply because having a routine, being disciplined
channel that energy into something meaningful,
and future oriented is a way to go if you want to ac-
you are setting yourself on a road to greatness!
complish great things. There comes a time though, when your routine becomes your comfort zone, a state you are never 100% willing to give up, and if you decide to stay, it could stop you from reaching your full potential. If reaching full potential is not a goal for you, great! Keep up the good work! However if it is, you might want to snap out of it and take that other turn. Taking initiative can have multiple incentives and they are usually based on your personality, but one thing all life changing turns have in common is passion. Your motive has to get you going. When you know the WHY, the HOW is easier to determine. When joining ESTIEM, I could not have possibly been aware of how big of a plot twist it would be. Suddenly you have all these meetings to go to, reports to finish, people to contact, team buildings to attend and the next thing you know, you are the person with ideas, doing one thing after another while having a blast. It was not until I saw people my age having trouble communicating, coming up with ideas or having nobody to ask for help, that I have realized just how much ESTIEM has given me. Now, if you thought this is an ode to ESTIEM, I assure you, it is not. However, this is an ode to curiosity, to taking risks and doing things which set your heart on fire. You know how, when we were kids, we did all these things which, looking back at them, had no sense and now make you feel embarrassed? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just take the root of that feeling into consideration. Looking back and seeing the difference in the way
26 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
SCENE Quite recently, I have decided to risk my grades, social life and cut my free time in order to do a project. I had to learn about the topic, about time management and how to keep people motivated when simply giving them a salary is not an option. Late nights, missed dates with friends, and a lot of reading material. I know what you are thinking â&#x20AC;&#x201C; she did it all and felt like Wonder woman. The end. Well, yes and no. I was sleep deprived, had a lot of explaining to do to my non-ESTIEM friends and was far from a good motivator. One thing that did exceed my expectations was how my thoughts were organized in this new little mindset which felt fresh and exciting. I have stepped out of the land of comfort and it was like breathing fresh air on a sunny morning. Being more aware of the possibilities before me, I have noticed how some skills like problem solving or setting goals and measuring them have become easier and more natural and that is exactly all it takes to keep me going. It is never easy but when you know how meaningful pushing your own limits could be in the long run, no trouble is ever so unbearable. Finally letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acknowledge that taking initiative is not always so easy. More often than not, there are obstacles like time, money, people, etc. That is exactly why finding a motive and having a vision is so important. It could be personal growth, gaining experience, or changing the world but be aware that your goals will determine the road your life journey is going to so choose them wisely and never let fear limit your curiosity.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 27
SCENE
HOW TO LIVE LAGOM Not too little, not too much – lagom
Not too little, not too much – lagom, represents a Swedish philosophy of balanced life and mindfulness.
Sonja Borota Local Group Novi Sad
Probably, you are asking yourself now, how a girl from Serbia can talk about a Swedish philosophy? Or, maybe even, why. My goal is to inspire people to think green and live lagom, as much as Linnea Dunne inspired me with her book. I firmly believe that one bold person is enough to change the world, and imagine what would happen if I could empower at least five other ESTIEMers all around Europe to do the same. So, this article is gonna be for all the ESTIEMers, from Serbia with (green) love! In elementary school, our teacher was telling us about the ozone layer and UV rays, how ice caps
the habits and systems that have helped Swedish
on the North Pole are melting and polar bears are
people ease into the change. Some of them might
about to go extinct faster than we think. They told
inspire you to try connecting with the environment
us the main cause for all of that are aerosol cans
that would be more lagom and enable you a big-
(believe it or not). So, suddenly, many girls stopped
ger symbiosis.
using hair spray – because who would like to be responsible for the death of polar bears? Becoming an eco-warrior is not easy, but it is not
Our little eco glossary consists of: KÖPSTOPP
impossible! If it is only you, maybe you will feel helpless. Especially if you are living somewhere whe-
If you have decided to go for köpstopp, you have
re recycling is not a standard, or if going to a clo-
chosen not to buy anything for a certain period of
sest local shop with organic products is possible
time. When decide on that, you are admitting to
only by the ATV (all-terrain-vehicle). The first step
yourself that you have been buying stuff that you
towards a change though, is hidden in changing
do not actually need. Some of us succeeded not to
the attitude, and you can change the attitude only
buy anything, except food, for the whole month.
if you are open to accept new ideas. Talking to
It is not impossible. On one hand, it is good for
other people about your decisions, why you use
your wallet, and on the other, you are taking care
a bike instead of a car or why you turned into ve-
of the environment and enjoying more freedom,
ganism etc.
breaking free from the consumer society. Do not forget, a sustainable approach and awareness
To find a balance in consumer habits, first of all,
towards ourselves and the world around us will
it is important to change the mindset. The next
definitely help us improve our mental wellbeing,
few terms might help you to understand better
leading to a state of mindfulness.
28 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
SCENE PLASTBANTA
*DID YOU KNOW?
In 2014, the Institute of Language and Folklore put
Turning your thermostat down by just one degree
the word “plastbanta”on the list of new Swedish
might reduce your heating bills by about 10%.
words which can be literally translated as ’’plastic detox’’. Before you buy something, do you ever ask
Also, LED bulbs do not just use 90% less energy
yourself: “Is there a non plastic alternative to the
than the average bulb, but they last 20 times lon-
product I picked?”. Many plastic products today
ger.
contain harmful chemicals and toxins (for example children toys). It is one more reason why we should opt for more sustainable materials such as wood, bamboo, glass, etc. For instance, IKEA has stopped selling single-use plastic straws, and it has displayed a so-called Last Straw exhibition at London’s Design Museum. As an alternative, IKEA in Canada has presented new, more sustainable biodegradable paper straws, in both its product range and restaurants. OUMPH! Oumph! is one of the extremely popular vegetarian and vegan alternatives to meat products. It appeared in Sweden a few years ago, and now 10% of people in Sweden are vegetarian, and one third wants to reduce meat products consumption in the future. One of Stockholm’s trendy bars, Södra Teatern, has also recently introduced to its guests a vegetarian menu, where instead of avoiding vegetables, guests have to choose a vegetable PANT
dish from the menu if they want to get meat on the plate. In other words, the menu has a focus on ’aware’ comfort food, according to them. Most of
If you ever had the chance to stay in a Swedish city
the dishes are meat and fish free. However, you
for a few days, you have probably noticed the lo-
have an option to add a supplement of 100 grams
cals standing in rows with their bags, towing the
of meat or fish to any dish.
empty boxes of cans and bottles, ready for recycling. Pant is a legislated deposit in a form of a
As the amount of eco-warriors increases every-
small amount of money paid as a part of the pro-
day, the awareness towards the dangers in our
duct part price and returned upon recycling of the
“normal” eating habits arise. The meat industry for
can or the bottle.
example, is part of the biggest dangers in today’s world. It leads to many harmful defects such as
In case you cannot recycle for a variety of reasons,
deforestation, floods, climate changes, extinction
upcycling might be more interesting for you.
of many plants and animal species, etc. So, maybe you should try to convert your ’’no meat Friday’’,
Upcycling is described as reusing some product/
into a ’’meat Friday’’, but to make the rest of your
object without degrading its material or compo-
week meat free.
sition. It is more like taking something that is not in use anymore and giving it a second life and a new purpose. The importance of upcycling reflects
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 29
SCENE in reducing waste we are producing on a daily ba-
So, tell a fellow ESTIEMer about your efforts and
sis and it reduces a need for new virgin materials,
see if you can learn some new tricks from each
such as metals (less mountains mined), paper
other!
(fewer trees felled). This might be the first step to reduce energy consumption. All we need is a bit of paint, new hardware, maybe an old chair and a touch of imagination and creativity. For instance, taking the legs of a broken chair and joining them to other wood pieces to make a coffee table. *Some Swedish eco facts: •
Only 1% of the household waste in Sweden
’’For what it is worth: It is never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you are proud of, and if you find that you are not, I hope you have the strength to start over’’. F. Scott Fitzgerald
ends up in the landfill – the rest is recycled or used to produce other kinds of energy; •
52% of the energy production are renewable energy sources, and almost 95% comes from hydropower;
•
Stockholm was the European Union’s first Green Capital.
This article does not aim to be an instruction manual. It is here to help and give some suggestions on how to make some subtle changes. Enjoying your life, grasping for something positive each day, while making this world better with minimum effort in it. Living ‘lagom’ can be an inexhaustible source of many topics related to sustainable living, and sharing various tips and tricks with you friends.
30 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
Source: ’Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living’, Linnea Dunne
SCENE
A JOURNEY FROM AN OUTSIDER TO A THRIVING TEAMMATE The opening line for this article could have been
to be, that that particular event became a turning
the deepest quote from a famous writer, or a
point in my university life. As many of us has ex-
scientific definition of team spirit, but it would have
perienced once you get in touch with ESTIEM, you
been too predictable. How do we understand the
feel like you belong there forever, which was also
meaning of a team? What does that word mean to
the case for me.
us? Why do you not come with me and discover the answer through my story? Let’s begin with first
It was a three-day event and each of participants
step!
had our own team. I was about to collaborate with
Isidora Strugar Local Group Belgrade
people that I have not met before which pushed
I Step
me to slowly free myself from the fear of interactions with unfamiliar people. Otherwise I would
In our time before ESTIEM, most of us were notas
not have been able to be part of the organisation
open and communicative as we are now. For the
team. In a blink of an eye, I started talking. I might
most part of my nonESTIEM period at university,
have talked too much, mostly because I was too
my biggest goal was just to finish my studies. The
nervous, but it worked. It was a strange feeling –
only focus was on passing all my exams, which, I
becoming a piece of a puzzle and being accepted
believe, was a goal for most of you as well. My cir-
completely. It felt like going with the ESTIEM flow,
cle of friends was small and tight. Two years into
falling in love with the organisation and its people.
my studies, I realised that I was constantly having
The first step on our journey together is – being
issues with giving presentations and talking to
open for communication with others no matter
other people. It was almost like a phobia. Still, I
the fear.
knew that I had to change my mindset and improve my skill set in order to be more prepared for the
II Step
future challenges that might lay ahead later in life. Almost immediately after this experience, I knew One of my closest friends suggested me to parti-
I had to apply to join ESTIEM. My wish to have an
cipate in an event she was also a part of, and to
incredible and big family such as ESTIEM was enor-
try and see if i will be able to improve and get over
mous. Having informed myself about the selection
my phobia. Through her encouragement I joined
process, I started preparing for it. The selection
the organisation of an ESTIEM event. It turned out
consisted of a few parts, but one of them was
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 31
SCENE the most terrifying to me: working with a team of
III Step
again not familiar to me on solving a case study. Luckily, the passion for joining the organisation was stronger than fear.
After being accepted to ESTIEM, there were many things to explore. Hearing many positive things
I broke the ice at the previous event and I knew I
about organising an event made me motivated to
would have what it takes to do it again. We worked
try it myself. I decided to apply for organising an
so hard on the case study. It was like magic – a
international event „Be a Project Manager For 5
group of people with the same goals, thoughts
Days“. The next 4 months of my life were dedica-
and drive. Once again, I found my place in the
ted to the team and preparation of an event for
team and it was so much easier to work in an en-
other ESTIEMers.
vironment like that. The interesting thing is that I did not manage that on my own, but side by side
I was so afraid of the fact that my fear could win.
with my teammates. Having faith in our team was
I was wondering what participants would be like.
the key for them to accept me. I have met some
Would they accept me? Will I be able to talk with
people that I might never have met otherwise, yet
them? Those questions circled my mind.
they became my friends. Finding people that share similar ideas, views and emotions towards the
Once the planning phase of the event had begun,
same goals is a recipe for success.Only then, the
I did not have a chance to think about any of this. I
team can become one and you can discover the
put it aside and focused on a single goal – working
second step - trusting the teammates along with
with my team. We wanted to prepare an unforget-
working together no matter how the situation is
table experience for the participants. While doing
- good or bad.
this, 5 of us, practically strangers, became a team. Every team member has a special kind of knowledge that you can learn from. Each of them are needed and it is how you can improve yourself as
32 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
SCENE
a teammate. Maybe the most valuable step in your
There is no such thing as an unappreciated idea.
path is the third one: believing in yourself and lis-
Remember to always express your opinion and to
tening to the feedback from your team.
listen to others as well. Once the team is focused on the same aim and motivated, then success is all
IV Final Step - JUST BE YOURSELF!
you can look for.
How to do this while you are working in a team? Well, we are all individuals and this step is different for each of us. The only things we have in common are ideas and the drive. That is something we all share in ESTIEM. We all want to accomplish something more while we are studying. We all want to leave our mark before we finish university. You will never lose yourself in a team when you all are on the same level of ideas, thoughts and passion.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 33
SCENE
BENEFITS OF KNOWLEDGE SHARING Knowledge sharing is recognised as one of the bi-
employees are able to keep track of what’s happe-
ggest success factors for digital organisations. A
ning in the field (STEEP) and are inspired to think
quick glance at the big 5; Google, Apple, Facebook,
bigger through stimulated learning.
Amazon and Microsoft, is enough to convince us Elium
that knowledge sharing is here, and it is happening
3. Collective collaboration
now.
Your teams are able to distribute their shared workloads more efficiently, whilst redefining prio-
We are entering a new era of knowledge, with
rities based on updated insights and data.
collaborative platforms promoting social and circular business knowledge, where all employees are
4. Speedy delivery times
able to participate and comment on the practices
Easing workplace communication means that cus-
and ideas of their colleagues. These platforms con-
tomers’ delivery times are shortened, and any im-
tain not only scientific, technical and operational
provements can be integrated seamlessly.
knowledge, but also include ideas, opinions and feedback directly from employees and even custo-
5. Clear constraints
mers. This means that tacit knowledge is strongly
By calling upon everyone’s previous experiences
reduced in favour of explicit, written knowledge,
and expertise, it is easier to understand any blo-
which can be accessed at any time, and by anyone.
ckages or constraints which might affect future projects, whether they are internal or external.
We have listed below the benefits we have seen first-hand over the last ten years. These have
6. Direct feedback
allowed us at Elium to prioritise agility in this ever-
Using dedicated technology enabling feedback,
-changing digital climate and given us a double or-
the organisation can be easily informed which pro-
ganisational dynamic; supporting both design agi-
ducts and services are viable and better serve the
lity and customer satisfaction. This dynamic has
customer’s needs.
helped us design better performing products and services. Dynamic 1:
7. Involved employees Knowledge sharing empowers employees, as they
Agility and exploration
know that their voice and expertise is valued. This can inspire them to define new business models
Knowledge sharing improves strategic design agili-
and infrastructures, helping to evolve corporate
ty, as it is much easier to anticipate and respond to
culture and customer experience.
customer requests and manage expectations. It paves the way to new products and services
8. A hierarchy-free digital workplace
through:
Flattening organisational ties means that everyone can participate freely and recognise contributions
1. Quick thinking
of each throughout the platform. Dynamic 2:
A diverse range of opinions can be considered, identifying the future thought-leaders amongst
Performance and operations
you and allowing for objective decisions to be taken quickly.
Knowledge sharing improves strategic planning, making top management more efficient and trans-
2. Innovation & development
parent. It optimises the performance of products
You are able to create a culture in which innova-
and services through:
tion and development are strongly integrated, so
34 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
SCENE 9. Getting it right
remain within the organisation, accessible by their
Errors are much less likely to be repeated, as all
colleagues.
colleagues share their experiences, both in what worked and what did not. This allows new em-
14. Internal improvements
ployees to learn from the mistakes of others.
Employees have all the information they need to optimise methods, tools and techniques, as well
10. Speedy communication
as the freedom to question and improve their
Important information can be communicated wi-
use.
dely, and quickly, while also offering relevant information and resources alongside it for context.
15. Creating experts Expertise can be shared widely, meaning the ex-
11. Pro-active pioneers
pert is no longer needed. All employees are able
Knowledge sharing inspires proactive, self-led ex-
to build on their skills and gain confidence, redu-
ploration of content, enabling employees to sear-
cing the skills gap and widening the talent pool.
ch for relevant shared documents, presentations and videos without restriction.
Knowledge sharing is quickly becoming the journey that any business must embark on in the di-
12. Practices & procedures
gital era, in order to build an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;ambidextrousâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; orga-
Encouraging good practice from everyone means
nisation; one that simultaneously explores new
that procedures and processes can become stan-
thinking and yet exploits its current knowledge,
dardised, and employees feel comfortable and se-
allowing for creativity alongside adaptability. More
cure using them.
established organisations can take advantage of their experience and expertise by simply sharing
13. Reassured employees
it widely, giving them an edge over smaller, or less
Newcomers feel welcome and have quick access
agile competition.
to the information they need. Departing team members can rest assured their knowledge will
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 35
SCENE
DATA VISUALIZATION IN COMPANIES
Elif Nur AkyÄąldÄąrÄąm Local Group Istanbul ITU
In this information age that we live in, data is
environment. It allows for the simplification of the
one of the most important factors that have the
process of understanding business insights, as well
potential to redefine businesses and ensure their
as aiding in finding new business opportunities by
growth. Big Data is emerging as the next frontier
accessing, evaluating and interpreting big data.
for business development. Tools are required to collect the data from customers and interpret
Business organisations are able to improve their
it effectively. Big Data and related technologies,
sales and garner more revenue by adopting data
such as data warehousing, analytics and business
visualization software. Many companies have
intelligence are transforming the business world.
been using data visualization applications and dashboards in order to understand their business
Data visualization and communicating with data
insights, thus
in general, sit at the intersection of science and
efficiency. It allows for an easy check of the process
boosting their productivity and
art. There is certainly scientific aspect to it; best
that requires attention and improvement. The
practices and guidelines to follow, but also an
charts and graphs provided make understanding
artistic component is present. In addition, this
the business faster and easier than reports.
reason makes this area so amusing, it is inherently diverse. Different people will approach things in
For instance, data visualization, a tool utilized by
varying ways and come up with distinct solutions
large-scale companies such as Nike and Amazon,
to the same data visualization challenge. There is
is emerging as a critical asset that has the power
no doubt about the usefulness of it for interpreting
to transform the way data is accessed, presented,
the data, allowing correct business decisions
and used.
to be made, in accordance with the business
36 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
SCENE
To embark on this journey, it is necessary to
Tableau enables multiple views and pleasant-
make use of data visualization tools in order to
looking graphs to be made quickly from the data.
understand the business better. There are many
In other words, it suits our needs and provides
data visualization tools available today, without
us with an area where we can make our business
considering the size of an organisation. However, it
magic much easier and with higher quality.
is by using the best available tools that the correct understanding and interpretation of business insights is ensured.Some of the best tools available on the web are Plotly, DataHero, Chart.js, Tableau, Raw, Dygraphs, ZingChart, InstantAtlas, Timeline, and Exhibit. In ESTIEM, we are using Tableau as our data visualization tool. We aim to make decision-making more fact-based in order to help the organisation
“There is magic in graphs. The profile of a curve reveals in a flash a whole situation — the life history of an epidemic, a panic, or an era of prosperity. The curve informs the mind, awakens the imagination, convinces.”
move forward, which is exactly the mission of the Analysis Committee.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 37
CAREER
ALUMNI INTERVIEW ...Sofia Ohnell and Elias Faethe about their personal ESTIEM stories. sentations, and stakeholder management to Your name:
keep partners happy and interested in continuing
Sofia Ohnell
working together towards a joint project application for e.g. Swedish national research funding or
Your Local Group: Magazine Team
EC funding such as Horizon 2020.
Gothenburg What are your plans for the future? Year of graduation: 1998
To continue working for a more sustainable future through enabling and stimulating innovation in
Your current job:
the automotive and transport industry.
Senior researcher - digital innovation Which impact did ESTIEM have on your career? Your current living place: Gothenburg
It made me even more interested in working internationally, having a job with regular international
Who do you choose as the next ESTIEM Alumnus
contacts.
to be interviewed? Tell us your most memorable ESTIEM story. Torben Schumacher. My most fond memory of ESTIEM are the bilateral Tell us about your career until now:
exchanges with Local Group Hamburg in mid-90s. We visited them and I got to discover that Ham-
So far, my career has been much more mixed than
burg has sand beaches along the Elbe, and one of
I thought it would be. I have never aimed for a ma-
our hosts dropped their glasses in one of the Als-
nager’s career, rather focusing on what I found in-
tern lakes while boating. When they visited us we
teresting and driven by a desire to shape my path
took them to Vrångö in the Southern Gothenburg
myself rather than having someone else doing it
archipelago on a cold May day that was nowhere
for me.
near warm enough for a swim in the sea...
That desire has led me to a ‘halfway’ PhD degree,
What are, in your opinion, the biggest changes
a year on a local contract for WWL in Oslo - with
that ESTIEM has faced in the past 30 years?
very valuable lessons in terms of cultural differences and understanding of other cultures - 11+ ye-
The increase in IEM programmes on both Bache-
ars in the Volvo Group - because I had to see for
lor and Master levels, showing the need for peo-
myself what it really was like working for ‘the Go-
ple with generalist competence, communication
thenburg flagship’ - and then a year ago daring to
skills and an understanding for the engineering,
imagine another future and stepping outside that
production, marketing and sales divisions in large
wonderful, competent and comfortable communi-
corporates.
ty into the unknown of RISE - Research Institutes of Sweden to continue working for a better world
What is your advice to current ESTIEMers?
through innovation in the automotive and transportation industry.
Do not worry too much if things do not go as planned - often they will turn out just fine and open up
What does your average working day look like? It is a mix between work meetings, project pre-
38 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
new opportunities.
CAREER prospective students they are in contact with per Your name:
applicant and check all those conversion numbers
Elias Faethe
to figure out if we need to adjust our campaigns on Google or Facebook.
Your Local Group: Bremen, Eindhoven,
In the meantime the client has come up with thou-
Budapest and Hamburg
sand ideas on how to create more beautiful looking campaigns, which means I have to find a way to tell
Year of graduation:
nicely that beautiful is interesting, but I care mainly
2008
about results. In the end the client wins the argument (thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what clients usually do) and I set up
Your current job:
another campaign for this university - sometimes
Entrepreneur
to stop it after two weeks , because the results are not good, and sometimes to get surprised myself
Your current living place:
on how great this idea actually was.
Bremen Then I often have a call with Simona or Bojana Who do you choose as the next ESTIEM Alumnus
(both Alumni and my freelance support) to discuss
to be interviewed?
campaigns or share feedback from the client, before the day ends.
Balazs Bitay. What are your plans for the future? Tell us about your career until now: I still have a part-time job at the university, which My career started bumpy. I got an interesting of-
I will quit in the summer to focus on my own com-
fer for a startup in water disinfection, where I was
pany and start a new branch of it, where the mis-
supposed to head the production planning. Unfor-
sion is to support student organisations through
tunately, it took me only two weeks to figure out
better contacts with companies, while working in
that the capital they got for their company was ba-
an ESTIEM-like atmosphere. I have way too many
sed on a fake patent, which made my boss furious,
ideas in my head (some of them will fail though) to
who was responsible for the patent, and I figured
be working for someone else. My time in ESTIEM,
out I should better leave the company - unfortuna-
at StudyPortals and now 6 years on my own really
tely at the height of the financial crisis.
drive me to try out things instead of shelving them.
I made a much better decisions two years later,
Which impact did ESTIEM have on your career?
when my ESTIEM friends were looking for a sales person with German skills and I joined one of the
It was the eye-opener of opportunities. The atmos-
fastest growing companies in Europe: StudyPor-
phere of everything is possible, which ESTIEM has,
tals, at that time with less than 10 employees. I left
allowed me to try out my ideas, implement ideas
it four years later, when it had grown to over 100,
of others and let me experience the joy of seeing
full of confidence to be able to work on my own.
those ideas positively changing the live of others.
Now, six years later I have my own small business in a very small niche: digital marketing for univer-
Unfortunately this has the downside that I am
sities with one current ESTIEMer employed part-ti-
always looking for a similar atmosphere, while it
me and two ESTIEM Alumni as freelance support.
also has the upside that I know what I want.
What does your average working day look like?
Oh, and on a very practical side: At international conferences I feel like home and can easily connect
My digital marketing niche is a lot based on num-
with others, which helps tremendously in building
bers crunching, so I look at such sexy questions
relationships with others, which in turn is a key
like how many Euros did it cost to recruit one stu-
success factor in my work life.
dent for one of my clients. This means I analyse the costs per applicant they have received, how many
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 39
CAREER
Tell us your most memorable ESTIEM story.
What are, in your opinion, the biggest changes that ESTIEM has faced in the past 30 years?
One of my favourite stories happened at my second Council Meeting. I had met so many great pe-
ESTIEM was an enabler for international exchan-
ople that I wanted to say goodbye to all of them.
ges - if you wanted to have any contacts abroad,
Unfortunately, my last evening did not end before
ESTIEM was almost the only way. Nowadays stu-
breakfast, so when it was time to say farewell af-
dents might already have plenty of contacts in
terwards, I was so tired I fell asleep in the lobby.
different countries - even before they start their studies. Therefore, if you are an open-minded per-
Luckily almost everyone, who was about to leave,
son you might not automatically end up in ESTIEM
woke me up and took farewell pictures with me.
anymore, which makes it harder these days to get
So I could say goodbye to almost everyone. It wa-
the right students into ESTIEM.
snâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t until the afternoon though, before I realised the reason for all the pictures and farewells. Appa-
What is your advice to current ESTIEMers?
rently while I had passed out in the lobby, someone (the culprit still owes me a beer) painted my
Try things out. Make your ideas happen. No-one
face.
will lose a job and you have the time for it. Gather enthusiasts like you and create your project, ini-
Looking at it now I still think it is an achievement
tiative or whatever idea you have. This will be one
to party until breakfast - especially for someone
of the most rewarding experiences - also for your
my age, but since then I have always managed to
personal growth.
avoid falling asleep in the lobby.
40 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
CAREER
THE HARDSHIP OF JOB SEARCH ESTIEM is fun and absolutely the best time of
Sebastian
Hummel,
our lives. However, we all have to graduate at
Alumni, said:
Local
Group
Eindhoven
some point and then we are dropped into a sea of uncertainty - the job search. Just over 3 months
“I do not personally enjoy the process
ago, I moved to a new country and got my first real
of interviews, so the hardest for me
job at Arekibo – Ireland’s largest digital agency as
was to find the energy to actually be
a Marketing Innovation Analyst. I finally landed a
proactive during a time when it was
perfect job and I consider myself very happy now.
easy to be lazy. You must realise that
Although, the path to finding it was not easy. It took
while being unemployed, your day job is searching,
me 3 months of applying for different positions
applying and preparing for interviews. When
(200+ in total) while doing several personality and
this message got through to me, I finally started
skills-based assessments and 7+ steps interviews.
making progress in setting up interviews.”
Alina Sidbrant Local Group St. Petersburg
No one, trust me, not anyone, told me it would be this hard. University officials have never missed
2. Keep an open mind
an opportunity to show us the flashy statistics of graduates’ employment rates, looking as high as Burj Khalifa. I had two degrees from top-rated
It is important to target positions and jobs that
universities in my pocket, multilingual abilities
you are passionate about but try to keep an open
and a little bit of real-world experience. I was sure
mind.
finding a job would be a piece of cake. My parents never had a problem finding a job – why would I?
“While waiting for more industry-specific
I was wrong.
vacancies to show up, I also applied for other fields that I have an interest in,
Later I discovered that I was not the only one among
even if I did not think I would take the job
ESTIEM Alumni who had a similar experience.
if offered. I did this for two main reasons;
ESTIEM is about learning, sharing and growing
firstly to get experience and confidence in an
together. We have gathered our 5 best tips in this
interview situation. Secondly, who knows maybe
article to help every ESTIEMer prepare for their job
you can find a dream job that you did not expect.
search and to make that journey into the unknown
Besides, I had nothing to lose because I had loads
easier and hopefully more fulfilling. I engaged the
of free time,” according to Sebastian.
COO at my company, Luke Tritschler, to share his insight too, being on the other side of the hiring
3. Improve your CV through the use of
process.
active words, free CV feedback services 1. Job search is a job of its own
The hardest thing about the job search is the pressure and emotional burden.
Job search and job applications take a lot of time
“When you are applying for jobs you will
and preparation. Ultimately, it is a numbers game –
most likely deal with rejections. This
the more applications you send out, the more likely
requires a lot of dedication, especially
you are to get invited for an interview. Based on
in the times when you need to write
our experience, we suggest allocating 35% of your
your thesis. Sometimes you need to
time for preparing your application documents
rewrite a part of your thesis or deal with
and searching for opportunities, and 65% for
rejection for a job that you would have loved to
applying for jobs. It is also important to have a daily
learn more of. This needs a good deal of motivation
or weekly goal for the number of applications sent
to go through,” Stephanie Riffo Rodriguez, Local
and keep track of it all somewhere, even in Excel.
Group Eindhoven Alumni.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 41
CAREER The second hardest thing though, is to get the CV
5. Be creative in tailoring your messaging
past the screening stage and get the long-awaited
depending on the job specification
invitation for an interview. “The hardest part was actually getting an interview invitation. I got rejected for most of the jobs I applied for without even getting a chance to speak to a real person. Once I got past this, the process afterwards was way simpler, as it is always easier to show your skills and talents in a conversation than in an application letter,” according to Mark Smoliar, Local Group Aachen Alumni. Therefore, it is extremely important to get your CV right. One of the things that helped me improve mine was sending it to a free CV feedback service such as www.topcv.com. No doubt they want to sell their CV writing services,
Luke Tritschler, the COO of Arekibo, has been
but the free feedback I received was nonetheless
recruiting and interviewing candidates for more
useful. The second thing that increased my CV
than 9 years. Luke said one of the worst things a job
search
on LinkedIn by 200% was rephrasing
applicant can do is to not read the job specification.
my experiences using active verbs. Having never
Ignoring the requirements mentioned in the job
heard this term before, I Googled “active words
description will be easily spotted in both the CV
for cv” and found a list of synonyms that made
and cover letter. This does not mean you have
the experiences in my CV more appealing to the
to have 100 versions of the CV and cover letter if
recruiters. Once your CV is updated – update your
you apply to 100 jobs. Instead, you need to make
LinkedIn profile accordingly.
sure, all the experiences listed are relevant to the job you are applying for. In addition, it is not only
4. Search outside of LinkedIn too
about the experiences, because maybe you are a new graduate and do not have work experience yet.
LinkedIn is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about a job search. However, even
It is even more important to find that connection
LinkedIn states in their annual hiring report that
that describes how you can apply the things that
channels people you the most are: online job
you have learnt before to the role that you are
boards (60%), social professional networks (56%),
applying for. Therefore, pick the most relevant
and word of mouth (50%).
experience for your CV and then use a cover letter to connect the dots for the recruiter and help
Research what are the best recruitment platforms
them understand how this experience is relevant
in your country of interest and make sure to set
to the role. Another thing Luke highlighted was
up a professional profile that reflects your most
the hobbies and interests section of your CV.
up-to-date CV. Once registered, don’t forget
Recruiters want to know that the person they are
to regularly check them in and answer all the
about to hire has interests and activities outside of
messages recruiters might have sent you. This
work, so give them a flavour of who you are.
sounds like a lot of work, that is because it is! In addition, you should think about how else you can diversify your job search strategies. An idea I came up with was to check the meetup community and Eventbrite for upcoming local recruitment events, which I then attended.
42 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
CAREER
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 43
CAREER
WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE A NONPROFIT CAREER For any college graduate looking for an “in” into
world we would have to let go off our idealism, but
their desired field, it might seem impossible to get
that is not necessarily the case.
a foot in the door of landing a paid job. Nonpro-
Sara Živanov Local Group Novi Sad
fit organisations are an amazing starting point for
Having a genuine job purpose and knowing that
this process, since it is incredibly easy to get your
you are doing something that matters is a truly
foot in the door.
fulfilling emotion. Working in a nonprofit organisation may allow you to make a change for a cause
Generally understaffed, nonprofits are alwa-
that you care about. Fulfill your aspiration to be a
ys looking for new energy that recent graduates
socially conscious human being by basically doing
bring. If you have recently graduated, with no ex-
your job.
perience, there is one thing you can do: Volunteering - that is how you make your way in. Apart
Learn how to fake people skills, while networking
from the approachability, easy access and the fact
at the same time
that you probably already have the skills needed
For any introverts out there, casual chatting is a
to start in an organization, there are a few other
nightmare.
perks of working for a nonprofit you should consider.
With this job, you will learn that the science behind dealing with people, especially difficult ones, can
Try different hats
be brought down to patterns. Also, since nonpro-
Nonprofits work in teams and there is more room
fits are often a tight-knit community, you will get to
for you to work outside of your specific job des-
meet numerous people from different backgrou-
cription. As someone whose studies are closely
nds in a very short time. You will also get introdu-
related to project management and grant writing,
ced to influential executives, government officials,
grants were one of my first tasks when I first star-
social activists, and company representatives. Me-
ted working in this sector. During those few years,
aning you will get to make a name for yourself very
I have been involved in marketing, event planning,
early on, which cannot be bad for your career.
human resource planning, coordinating volunteers, company relations and a lot of administrative
If you can adapt to a fast-paced beat, tight dea-
tasks.
dlines, and last-minute additional tasks, which are the core of nonprofit work, you will not stay a vo-
It is an amazing opportunity to widen your skillset
lunteer for long. The chance of getting a paying job
and learn how to work out of your comfort zone,
and advancing up the ladder is even higher than in
all while contributing to your organization’s cause.
a for-profit organisation. A cross-sectional approach to work will help you discover what you are
Work for the cause that matters to you
good at and small teams will ensure your contribu-
We all assume that by going into the business
tion does not go unnoticed.
44 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
CAREER
THE EVOLUTION OF JOBS
The professional world is changing in terms of culture, organisation, skills required and education. What does it imply?
Cyber-Physical Systems , Cloud Computing Sys-
Even though these jobs are already known , some-
tems, Internet of Things and other new technolo-
times the competences that these professionals
gies heavily affect our work environment.
have are not enough to fulfil company needs, moreover, sometimes not even companies are aware
Such technologies have a huge impact on our li-
of what they actually need.
ves, for example, many manual jobs become automated and this entails the arising of new jobs and
Skills development
new competencies required. Many universities are not able to promptly follow Implications
Mario D’Ambrosio Local Group Calabria
the trend of skills needing changes, therefore, students who just graduated hold knowledge that is
Industry 4.0 and digitalisation impact the labour
already outdated.
market [1]. Learning factories or training programs help comAutomation allows the volumes of production to
panies to fill this gap [3]. In this way, employees
increase using less workforce which causes the
are trained to adapt their competencies and know-
loss of some jobs that get replaced by robots or
ledge with the company needs. These program-
computers that cost less of human work and are
mes start with managers, who have to be the first
more effective. Nevertheless, for jobs that disa-
to embrace the culture of changing and transfer it,
ppear, there are new ones that are emerging.
to all employees.
These emerging professionals may be classified
Trainers play a crucial role in this revolution.
as Process Engineers, Data Analysts and Program-
They can also be considered a new emerging job,
mers [2].
anyway, they have to be very skilled. They might do either psychological training (e.g. motivation,
Process Engineers; they can design new proces-
personal development, team working etc.), or te-
ses or modify the current ones to gain efficiency
chnical ones ( e.g. programming, working methods
and effectiveness in every management area (e.g.
etc.). Also, this training requires skills that change
production, operations, etc.).
over time, therefore even trainers have to change their methods and contents according to the up-
Data Analysts deal with so-called big data. Their
coming needs.
job is not always linked to marketing, data analysis applications are much wider. For example, Enter-
In conclusion, the world changes rapidly and conti-
prise Resource Planning systems allow us to col-
nuously which means that we, as persons first and
lect and analyse data from every company depart-
professionals second, should learn how to find the
ment and to get useful information to all company
right path we belong to. If some jobs disappear,, it
areas. The capability to collect and interpret those
means that our past job is evolving in something
data represents a 360 degrees competitive advan-
new, therefore, we have the duty of not being like
tage nowadays.
salmons that follow the wave, but being the wave.
Programmers are those that can develop every kind of software to support Business Intelligence, programme robots and develop Artificial Intelligence. [1] Beatrix Fregan, István Kocsis, Zoltán Rajnai. (2018). Risks of Industry 4.0 and Digitalization. Muszaki Tudomanyos Kozlemények. Vol.9. 87-90. [2] Andrea Benešová, Jiří Tupa. (2017). Requirements for Education and Qualification of People in Industry 4.0. Procedia Manufacturing 11. 2195-2202.
[3] Melissa Reuter, Henning Oberc, Manfred Wannöffel, Dieter Kreimeier, Jürgen Klippert, Peter Pawlicki, Bernd Kuhlenkötter. (2017). Learning Factories “trainings as an enabler of proactive workers” participation regarding Industrie 4.0. Procedia Manufacturing 9. 354-360.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 45
INSIDE ESTIEM
INCHAINGE GLOBAL STUDENT CHALLENGE
Global Student Challenge
The Global Student Challenge is so much more
In December 2017 we were contacted by the
than just an international student competition. It
Board of ESTIEM in response to a newsletter they
offers you the chance to gain valuable knowledge
had received from us. Even though previously not
and further develop the skills you learned during
aware of our brand, they realised that we shared
your curriculum course. By participating in
a common branch: Supply Chain. One of the main
the Challenge, you will experience the life of a
specializations of ESTIEM students is logistics and
Corporate Executive and run your own virtual
supply chain, thus ESTIEM aims to complement
company, this is as close as you can get to reality!
their education and their knowledge in that field. They had asked us whether we were interested
The Challenge, now in its 6th edition, pits teams
in starting a cooperation with them, as that was
from top business schools and universities from
exactly the case, we said ‘’Yes!’’.
across the globe against each other in a search for the world’s Top Talent. Every year more than
To get a better understanding of the concept, two
20,000 students, from over 600 schools, all over
delegates from ESTIEM joined our Global Final
the world experience our simulations and are
Week in April 2018.
eligible for participation in the Challenge. Only the top 30 teams will qualify for the Global Final and
For the first time a Global Village was created on
spend one action-packed week in The Netherlands
a campus in order to house all 27 teams attending
battling for EUR 20,000 in cash prizes and the
the Global Final. The Global Village setup was
championship title!
a decisive element in creating even more opportunities to make friends, socialize, and build an international network. The enthusiasm was very high on both sides after this event, we were definitely convinced that ESTIEM and GSC could have a beneficial partnership. Inchainge, the organiser of the Challenge
and
developer
of
the
business
simulations, was invited to provide a workshop on
The
Fresh
Connection
at
the
ESTIEM
conference in Warsaw in November 2018. About 40 representatives joined this workshop and were inspired by the value the business simulation in combination with the Challenge could offer to their local group members.
46 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
INSIDE ESTIEM
The first Regional Final for ESTIEM was organized in 2019 and won by team “We’re doing this for the planet” from EPFL Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne. They got to represent ESTIEM in the Global Final Week of 2019 and were accompanied by the President of the ESTIEM Board Jorik Meijers who also participated in the Inchainge Connect educator conference. The Global Final week made it possible for students and teachers from 15 countries, and 24 nationalities to interact with each other, share their culture and take back to their countries unforgettable experiences that will last a lifetime. Student networking activities, company visits to KPMG, Henkel, ASML, Heineken, an excursion to the highly advanced harbor of Rotterdam, and much more was part of the program.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 47
INSIDE ESTIEM
THE REBIRTH OF ACADEMIC DAYS What is Academic Days?
New Hot Topics
The goal of Academic Days is to share the
Maria Serodio Local Group Porto
Mariana Vieira Local Group Aveiro
knowledge of the universities inside the ESTIEM
Knowledge is the keyword in these events. What
network.
type of knowledge though? We want to provide students with topics that they are not provided in
It
supports
the
personal
and
professional
their faculties but that are extremely valuable for
development of students across Europe willing
Industrial Engineering and Management students.
to further compliment their curriculum. To
From strategy to innovation, the next Academic
achieve this, each Academic Days event provides
Days events will bring a new perspective in many
participants with deep insights into a specific topic
areas connected to the world of engineering and
in which the organizing Local Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s university
management, like marketing, strategic human
has high expertise, and shows the participant how
resources, finances, strategic management and
life is in a different faculty.
much more.
What changed?
Booklet of Knowledge
Since the ultimate goal of every service is to
The booklet of knowledge is composed of small
provide the best possible to ESTIEMers, we have
reports written by the participants of the events
been restructuring for the last few months the
and contains in a clear and graphical way what
concept and central team of Academic Days.
they learned there. This was created to provide a handout to all the participants but also to share it
We
have
various
teams
working
on
the
coordination and construction of the events with the Local Groups, on the collection and assembling of reports written by participants for the booklet of knowledge and on knowledge management and composition of support documents.
48 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
with the entire network.
INSIDE ESTIEM
The first “sail” with “Strategic Marketing - an efficient match to peak success” Where did the idea come from?
The Academic Days Experience
The idea was born out of our curiosity about what
“[...]I have had a chance to hear great examples of
is behind all the communications and relationships
using Marketing in business. Lecturers were often
between companies and customers. Therefore, we
using their own experience to help us understand
combined strategy and marketing, which gave us
better, which was very interesting and a great way
Strategic Marketing.
for us to learn. [...]”
Since the topic was more academic and the Local
Sanja Vujic, LG Belgrade
Group has very close contact with the professors specialized in the area, we believed that the format
“During the Academic Days event, [...] we aimed
of Academic Days could provide ESTIEMers with a
to share knowledge of real-life examples, in order
deep knowledge of the matter.
to enrich the curricula and skill-set of participants. Participants who should, at the very least, know
Breaking down Strategic Marketing
what they will have to do when they make the transition to senior leadership and, eventually, in
Marketing is defined as the effort to promote and
some cases, to Chief Executive Officers (CEOs).”
advertise a product or item to be sold, considering
(Oliveira, 2019)
the market knowledge and different advertising techniques, while Strategic Marketing is built on
Manuel Oliveira, Mentor
the market and customer knowledge to create plans to promote the company and its products. In
the
technological
era,
there
are
some
developments to keep an eye on, like artificial intelligence and the capability to support the client without human interaction. Other examples are social media and emotional marketing, where the presence of companies and their brands are equally important as the quality of the product sold. Therefore, it is crucial for the organization to look at marketing on a strategic level and from different perspectives. Why is this important for IEM? “The engineer who becomes a manager, or a strategist, with a solid base in mathematics, will be able to make informed decisions and after doing important calculations about the gains to be had. Engineering is actually a very good base from which to, in the future, make important strategy decisions, as quantifying comes naturally to engineers.” (Oliveira, 2019)
Mentor Biography Manuel Oliveira is an Assistant Professor at the University of Aveiro, where he lectures on Marketing and Strategy. He studied at the University of Porto (PhD in IEM), at Cardiff Business School (MBA in Management) and at Universidade
For more insights into this article, check all about it in
Portucalense (undergraduate degree in Computer Science).
the booklet of the Academic Days in Aveiro.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 49
INSIDE ESTIEM
THE 5 BENEFITS OF PARTICIPATING IN STUDENT COMPETITIONS Competitions among students have become more and more popular every year. Students from all over the world are motivated to take part in contests for many reasons. At the moment ESTIEM provides opportunities to compete in business Anastasiya Slipenko Local Group Kyiv
case studies (TIMES) and supply chain management (Global Student Challenge - GSC). Tournament In Management & Engineering Skills (TIMES) is the biggest Industrial Engineer and Management (IEM) case study competition in Europe and Global Student Challenge (GSC) is a competition where
2. Improvement of soft skills
participants simulate the daily management decisions of a supply chain company.
One more benefit is the development of your soft skills which has become increasingly important.
Take a look at the benefits you can get from par-
Many companies value soft skills even more than
ticipating in student competitions:
hard skills and knowledge when they are looking for an employee. During student competitions
1. New knowledge and practical skills
you can practice communication, public speaking, team working, time management, multitasking and other skills. For example, many competitions
Every competition aims to improve your knowled-
like TIMES involve the presentation of your solu-
ge and skills in a specific topic. You can get practi-
tion.
cal experience, learn new techniques and find new ideas during the preparation. As an IEM student, you can find many competitions which are aimed
3. Making new friends
at your studies and interests. In this way, you will work with real cases from your future industry.
Networking is also one of the most important parts of student tournaments, but it is not only about business contacts and meeting new companies. During the competition you might make friends with other participants. Many contests provide not just the working part but entertainment as well. For instance, after the working sessions of a TIMES event, participants usually have city tours, gatherings and other activities where they get to know each other, just like in the GSC Global Final.
4. CV and new career opportunities Your achievements in student competitions will enrich your CV. They can be your competitive advantages on the job market or during the search for an internship. You can also get into the talent database of the sponsor companies. Being a participant of GSC, you will have a profile in The Talent Connection, a talent programm. Big international companies work closely with The Talent Connection, so it can provide great career opportunities.
50 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
INSIDE ESTIEM
5. Financial benefits Very often tournaments offer financial rewards for the winners. Of course, it needs hard work from you but the results are worth it. A good amount of money can help in the implementation of your ideas or business plans. For example, in GSC the top 3 teams of the Global Final win a total of 20,000 â&#x201A;Ź in cash prizes.
If you still have doubts about participating in a student competition, think about what will happen if you never try it in your student life. You can miss the great opportunity of challenging yourself.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 51
INSIDE ESTIEM
HOW TO WRITE AN ESTIEM MAGAZINE ARTICLE? What I love the most about ESTIEM is that it gathers students who are open-minded, interested in
Q2: Will I talk from a personal angle?
self-development and are willing to share their knowledge and skills to improve each other as well
The answer to this and the previous question
as their surroundings. The Magazine is an extra
depends on you and the topic of the article. I am
Aleksandra
opportunity we have to share our experiences.
now writing about some things I had to go through
Ćirković
To motivate you to develop the writer within
to write an article in the past, so I believe it is good
Local Group
you and encourage you to share your voice, this
to write it from a personal angle, and that is good
Belgrade
article is going to cover some issues that authors
to address you directly. I usually like reading
face through the whole process of writing, from
articles that are not subjective and are very fact
choosing the topic to structuring your text in the
oriented, but not every topic can be written in that
best possible way.
manner.
No 1. problem – “What should I write about?”
Q3: How should I start?
Of course, every issue of the magazine has its focus topic, for example “30th Anniversary of
“How should I start?” - That seems to be one of
ESTIEM”.Beside it, there is always space where
the biggest problems when you are trying to write
you can write about anything you want, as long
something important.A literature professor once
as it is related to topics of industrial engineering
told us to skip the introduction if we do not know
and management or the network itself. Ideas can
how to write it. Just start writing a part that you
come from anywhere. That means that if you
already know how to develop and structure, and
do not know what to write about, then change
get back to the introduction later. The same goes
your environment, apply for the conference of
for the conclusionl. You can also write smaller
something that you are interested in, listen to
pieces that sound good to you and then slowly
some new podcasts, or read a textbook that is
figure out the way to fit them together.
not about one of the classes you are currently taking. It is never really too early to start thinking about the subject of your next article. Sometimes
Q4: What if my level of English is not perfect?
the inspiration is harder to find, or it requires a thorough research that takes a lot of time. As soon
Write the article anyway. After you have finished
as the inspiration kicks in – write it down before
your article, make sure you read it once or twice
the idea vanishes.
and see if you are covering all the points you wanted in the beginning. There are tools online
Now, when you have the idea, the hard work
that can also help you have the correct structure
begins – “How do I write an article?”.
and avoid grammatical mistakes. Furthermore, there is a proofreading task group in the ESTIEM
This is a process where you have to ask yourself
Magazine team that will help you later on to make
some questions.
an outstanding article.
Q1: Will I address the reader directly or will I use passive voice?
Some basic tips are to avoid writing the article in the last minute. Give your article to a friend to read it that will see it from a different angle, and be accepting to feedback. Practise your writing
e.g. “You should write that idea down” vs “That
skills with every given opportunity. Finally, we are
idea should be written down”)?
all engineers and writing is a skill that is required in our field, whether it is a project or a scientific paper. So do not be afraid of writing. Share your voice and change your community for the better.
52 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
EXPLORE
ON THE ROCKY ROAD TO SERBIAN LAKES ...four ESTIEMers discovering unknown places The idea came randomly from one of us, after
In the end, with zero organization and preparation,
spending quite some time in our hometowns,
we managed to visit a few places:
unable to meet since we are all kilometers away
•
The horse stable “Ljubičevo”
from each other. Four ESTIEMers, four different
•
Artificial lakes near the city of Požarevac
cities in Serbia - some might say impossible, we
•
The city and lake “Vlaški Do”
say - challenge accepted!
•
Few villages near Morava river
•
And all the random ghost places we discovered
The outline of the trip was quite draft. We just
during the trip.
Trajko Krstić Local Group Belgrade
opened Google Maps, drew a circle around our cities and picked the lakes which are located in the
In total, for 3 days of travelling, we cycled between
center of the circle and we thought our job here is
180 and 200 kilometers (individually).
done. A free tip for anyone thinking about doing something similar - it is okay to trust Google Maps,
It was a really good boost of our motivation and
but if you want a real adventure, then pick a road
amazing experience, and definitely the best thing
with your instinct and group’s wishes!
that happen so far in 2020! With the experience and motivation we gained during this trip, we decided to take it to the next level! If everything goes well, the plan is to go on a bike trip from Belgrade to Sofia in July this year, which is about 420 kilometers away. We are not sure how that will end, but we have just one thing on our mind - we will have an amazing time and we will come back with a bunch of stories to tell! Hope you will read more about it in the next issue! Wish us luck, we really need it!
On a trip like this, only one thing is certain - you will discover the most beautiful and unknown places ever! We had a chance to cross the most unstable bridge ever made, spend some time with beautiful horses, meet some people and hear their funny stories.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 53
EXPLORE
REGIONAL COORDINATORS MEETING, BERLIN As an informal way of keep on enriching the Regions, debate current problems and talk about
2. Regional Monitoring Tool
some new projects that could add more value to
Luis Viudez Local Group Seville
the network from the regional side, the Regional
On the following working day, the majority of our
Coordinators from Alpine, North East, North
time was dedicated on deciding and designing the
West and South West met in Berlin from the 24th
first draft of the Regional Monitoring Tool, which
to the 27th of January.
we want to standardise in order to have a more efficient collection of data from all the Local Groups
After a couple of days together we found it very
in the network. The goal was to achieve a final re-
strange that this kind of meetings are not a com-
sult that could perfectly balance qualitative and
mon practice, since we all saw it as something that
quantitative data and also have some background
should at least happen twice a year. Of course it is
history. This is certainly something that we want to
not always easy to travel and schedule something
finish so it can be tried out by the following gene-
in order to have all eight Regional Coordinators
ration of Regional Coordinators.
attending, but we definitely recommend it for the following generations of Regional Coordinators
3. Definition of the Regional Coordinator
and it will be included in our handover.
position In the third and last day, our main focus was to work upon the Regional Coordinator position since we think there are plenty of possibilities to be explored and a lot of things that are not still well defined. It was also a day for us to establish the bases of the collaborations with both Members Committee and Ambassadors.
The outcomes of these very productive days can be divided into three main topics: 1. Tools On the first day, we focused our attention on the tools we are providing to the Local Groups and how useful are they for their development. The main goal was to discuss and improve the Regional concept. We worked upon many different ideas: chats, calendars, working groups etc. However, the best outcome was the creation of a Regional Drive and the content we want to include in it. This first regional knowledge management tool should include a strong component of Best Practice Document, structure of the Local Groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, minutes from regional chats, Public Relations material and more.
54 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
EXPLORE
After all we still cannot find the words to describe those days together. A balanced combination between productive work days used to solve common problems, the development of new projects and team building, while having the opportunity to explore the city of Berlin. Mixing those ingredients together, it will result into a big boost of ESTIEM spirit.
ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 55
EXPLORE
5 QUESTIONS TO 5 ENTREPRENEURS FROM ALL AROUND EUROPE Have you ever wondered, what is this ultimate power that is enforcing all entrepreneurs to move further, to wake up every morning and strive towards fulfilling their dreams, to try changing the world again and again? What do entrepreneurs dream about and what personal qualities have helped them on their way? We have traveled Europe for you to meet 5 inspiring young entrepreneurs from very different areas, including social entrepreneurship, art, business analytics, the finance sector and entertainment. Here is what they had to Alina Sidbrant Local Group St. Petersburg
say: Laine Sildere, Liepaja, Latvia
after learning basic economy principles: the S
CEO at “Laine Sildere”: beekeeping
curve, the supply-demand principle, I have to price
and honey production
the honey to be compatible on the market and even though it feels a bit unfair, I understand that
1. What is your dream?
this is the way to go. Understanding the economy
My dream as a beekeeper is to be able to work
and business is very important, besides the
purely as a beekeeper, having enough money to
commonly known entrepreneurial characteristics.
live, travel and educate myself without having to
Unfortunately, this is also why I have to keep
take on a side job.
beekeeping as a hobby at the moment.
2. What is the most important quality of an
5. Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
entrepreneur?
Definitely! For me to be an entrepreneur is to be
I would say it is seeing the bigger picture,
able to work hard and give away what you have
understanding how the season went by the
produced to the people for good cause and I
previous year and how it has affected this year,
honestly believe everyone can do that if he/she
how the labor invested at the beginning of the
wants to. However, you should definitely learn
season will result at the end of it. It is finding
many things before becoming one.
connections between past experiences and the future outcomes of your business. Knowing and
Florian Alwast, Berlin, Germany
understanding business models and different
Founder and CEO of “ESTIEM board
company development scenarios and applying
game
them in reality.
creation of board games for student
development
team”:
the
networks 3. Where do you take your inspiration or motivation from?
1. What is your dream?
For me, it is the process of seeing the bees on a
My dream is to make sure that water volleyball
weekly basis and seeing how they grow. Every time
gets to the Olympic Games!
I go there – I see the change. When making the honey, marketing and other commerce-related
2. What is the most important quality of an
topics do not inspire me at all. I believe in the
entrepreneur?
good purpose of little bees, I see them changing
I have learned that sales skills are the most
the world, and helping these tiny hard working
important because even if you have an amazing
creatures is in itself what inspires me.
product or business idea, you need to sell it to investors/friends/business partners/clients to get
4. What did you realize was important for an
the profit.
entrepreneur that you didn’t know before you started your business? What did you learn?
3. Where do you get your inspiration or
I understood a bit more about the financial part. For
motivation from?
example, all the work I have to do and invest in my
I love traveling, meeting new people, cultures,
business could have affected the increased price
experiences. I try to stay open-minded, to absorb
of the final product – the honey itself. However,
as many new traditions and commodities as I can,
56 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
EXPLORE to be able to understand the world we all live in
Later on, they started exploiting my goodwill and
better.
dedication to work by motivating me with threats. I don’t respond well to threats, so I started thinking
4. What did you realize was important for an
what it would be like to be my own boss, how
entrepreneur that you didn’t know before you
would I do if all of the pressure was on me, would
started your business? What did you learn?
I behave the same? I started with small steps like
I have learned that, in fact, failure is just a learning
making a student club that went from zero to hero
point, which you should not be afraid of, as it leads
in 5 months with the help of my friends. Soon
to something better – to success. I have learned
after starting my own company, it became clear to
that if you fail, you should not be sad, you should
me: the inspiration lays within the people I work
just try again and again and again instead.
with and within the fact that every day I am able to make a little step towards my dream of making
5. Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
this world a better place. Sometimes it is harder,
Yes and no. Everyone can be one, but not everyone
sometimes easier, but it never upsets me, because
can be a successful entrepreneur as humans have
I love my life the way it is and no sacrifice is too big
different skills, experiences, and mindsets.
to be able to wake up every morning with a smile.
Branimir Suk, Zagreb, Croatia
4. What did you realize was important for an
Founder and CEO of “Ocean Znanja”:
entrepreneur that you didn’t know before you
organization of youth exchange
started your business? What did you learn?
and personal development training
Two of the most important things that I have
events in Europe
learned
related
to
my
entrepreneurial
life
happened in the extracurricular activities. First was 1. What is your dream?
in a theatre group where I played the role of a sloth,
My dream is to change the world to be a better
one of the 7 deadly sins. The role had me verbally
place by giving opportunities and training/
attacking the main actor, that he was as lazy as
education to young people from the age of 14-25
90% of the population. These people are thinking
who did not have the possibility to learn or were
about all of these grand ideas while sitting on their
never compelled to learn by their environment,
sofas and watching TV but never getting up to start
to go pursue their dreams. I want to help them
making them happen. During the early stages of
discover how great and fun learning can be,
shaping the company, I learned how important is
and what it means to be surrounded by people
to have a team, how to make a good team, as well
who strive to improve themselves and enjoy life
as what kind of people to surround yourself with.
because they are doing what they love, in order to
Try to find like-minded people to pursue the same
encourage them to pursue their dreams.
dream, because then you will reach it much faster.
2. What is the most important quality of an
5. Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
entrepreneur?
I truly believe that everyone can be an entrepreneur.
There are two qualities that have proven to be
It depends on 2 things: how much you love
the most important ones: the power to never give
freedom and responsibility and how much you are
up and the freedom to fail and take the learning
willing to work for your dream. Everyone has ideas,
points from the experience in order to make your
it just depends on your decision if this idea will
product/job/idea better and more sustainable.
become something inspiring or it will end up in the
My personal favorite is to believe in yourself and
graveyard of ideas. Since 2016, I do not even know
in your idea. Then you will find a solution for any
how I have made a group of friends who are all
obstacle.
entrepreneurs. We talk about people who started their companies, brands, and alternative sources
3. Where do you take your inspiration or
of earning money. This has inspired me to go
motivation from?
further and to develop even more than I thought
I started searching for my purpose when I was 16.
I was ever capable of. The lesson I learned here
While searching for what I want to do in my life and
is that your environment really matters and this is
where all my talents can be utilized, I have been
why I can so clearly explain what is my dream is
through so many jealous and incompetent bosses
and why everyone can be an entrepreneur.
and co-workers who were making my life hard. ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM 57
EXPLORE 1. What is your dream? Olli Remes, Oulu, Finland
I wish for more art to be created in the world by
Co-founder and CEO of “Quiet On”:
the most talented of us and that art is not only
an ear plug-in to absorb the outer
mass-spread in the big cities and city centers, but
noises
also in the suburb and rural areas.
1. What is your dream?
2. What is the most important quality of an
I do not have a single great dream over others.
entrepreneur?
Instead, I have plenty of smaller dreams, which are
I think it is the ability to foresee possible problems
easier to grasp and which I use in order to have
and risks and to be able to avoid them using a very
the motivation to do my best every day.
well thought through business strategy. Secondly, the passion and motivation to work as hard as
2. What is the most important quality of an
possible in order to reach the goal you have set.
entrepreneur?
Last but not least, a good entrepreneur should be
Perseverance. Always believe in your vision, but
as brave as to admit the reality, in which he/she is
still have the courage to adjust your plans should
operating.
changes in your environment require that. 3. Where do you take your inspiration or 3. Where do you take your inspiration or
motivation from?
motivation from?
I take my inspiration from meditation and self-
Working with exciting, competent people around
debrief. I often find myself asking millions of
me. Startup crew is my second family, and enjoying
“Whys?” and by that, I get to the real meaning
your family members’ company always makes life
of things, their importance to me and my real
easier.
aspirations. When I know what it is I really want, I can reach it easier and become happy sooner. This
4. What did you realize was important for an
inspires me.
entrepreneur that you didn’t know before you started your business? What did you learn?
4. What did you realize was important for an
I was raised by an entrepreneur so I cannot really
entrepreneur that you didn’t know before you
say there was something that really surprised me.
started your business? What did you learn? Connections and having an open mind are very
5. Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
important. The more you know, the more you
Entrepreneurship can occur in many different
will learn and gain. It includes the people who
forms, you can do it as a side-job when it doesn’t
will help you on the way with advice or financing,
require too much of your time i.e. to earn a side
the knowledge you obtain to help solve occurring
income or to do social work in your community.
problems fast, and all the experiences that would
You can also be an entrepreneur as a member of
help you connect with the like-minded people
a larger organization by starting different internal
from around the world easier.
initiatives. The threshold to enter either of these two forms of entrepreneurship, in my opinion,
5. Can anyone be an entrepreneur?
is fairly low and can be recommended to most
I honestly believe everyone was born as an
people. Full-time entrepreneurship, on the other
entrepreneur or a businessman in the first place
hand, is not for everyone as one has to be able to
but has, however, forgotten it along growing up.
deal with a high level of uncertainty and also to be
As soon as you start working on an idea though,
able to accept potential failure.
which is not about money, but about a good cause and making this world a better place, your heart
Stanislav Malyshev, St. Petersburg,
will remind you of the entrepreneurial nature
Russia
of human beings and show you the right way of
Founder and CEO of “Mne nravjatsja
creating a sustainable and profitable venture.
denjgi” («Мне нравятся деньги»): fast and easy short-term loans to private and business customers
58 ESTIEM Magazine | 58th issue - 30th Anniversary of ESTIEM
DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS
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