ESTIEM Magazine | Spring 2019 | International Business & Globalization

56th Issue MARITIME TRANSPORTATION ..and its international trade routes

PAGE 10

SUSTAINABLE FINANCE

..how it can accelerate the transition to a sustainable economy

PAGE 15

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS & GLOBALIZATION European Students of Industrial Engineering and Management Issue 56 2019/1 | ISSN 0874-5242 | Price €0.- | www.estiem.org

Pursue your Master’s program in the Netherlands?

What about the masters in Industrial Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology?

www.tue.nl/masterprograms/oml www.tue.nl/masterprograms/im www.tue.nl/masterprograms/mse

Where innovation starts

INTRODUCTION

Table of contents INTRODUCTION 4 Project Leader’s Speech 5 President’s Speech 6 Introduction to ESTIEM

FOCUS TOPIC

8 Enhace your Business with Process Mining 10 Maritine Transportation 12 Impacts of Globalization - How ESTIEMer can fight Climate Change

20

15 Sustainable Finance 20 The unexpected Weapon to fight Poverty 22 Introduction of a Partially Digitalized Concept for Industrial Customer Service

SCENE 26 The Traits of a Successful Team According to Google 28 Data Science - Its Contribution to Ecology

22

30

30 Meditation and Mindfulness

CAREER 31 Alumnus interview 32 Are you a Leader?

34 Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship 36 What Alpacas taught me about Leadership

28

INSIDE ESTIEM

38 Welcome LG Lausanne 39 Industry Hubs - from an initiative to a project 40 ELIUM - ESTIEM Digital Headquarter 41 International Projects and Commitees 46 Board Article - time for a beer!

EXPLORE

32

39

49 Erasmus experience by Nevena

49 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 3

INTRODUCTION Project Leader Sjors van Weert

PROJECT LEADER’S SPEECH

Design Oliver Dittrich Anna Kornilovich Dear reader, Margarita Kozhevnikova Anne Untermann Article Acquisition Jovana Tišma Anna Kornilovich Agnieszka Remi Proofreaders Hanan Ismail Lea Lemberg Annarita De Maio Evdoxia Pantazi Mark van Uden Sebastian Hummel With special thanks to Ana Rita Mendes Fanni Sevecsek Contact leader.magazine@ estiem.org

Business

can

best

be

described

as

doing

something that’s adding value to our society.

When you go to Google for the definition of the word “globalization”, you get the following result: “Globalization is the process by which the world is becoming increasingly interconnected as a result of massively increased trade and cultural exchange.

Globalization has increased the production of goods and services”. Given this second definition, it is almost impossible to do business without making the business international business.

In front of you is the 56th issue of the ESTIEM Magazine. This magazine will take you from an Erasmus experience to information about

ESTIEM Permanent Office Paviljoen B-6 P.O.Box 513 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands Fax: 0031-(0)40 2473871 info@estiem.org www.estiem.org

ESTIEM to articles about sustainable finance. With

Disclaimer

Writing about ESTIEM, we are striving for

the Magazine team—hope to challenge you to be

The contents may not always reflect the opinion of the publisher.

Any reproduction or copy is permitted only with the permission of the editors.

continueous growth and improvement of our

the best you can be, to learn, improve yourself and

network. The Inside ESTIEM section will give you

thrive in a field you chose. Professors, companies,

insights on topics related to ESTIEM. Anđela will

ESTIEMers, enjoy reading!

Our Partners Continental Eindhoven University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology Tampere University of Technology Eurosender elium UNIT4 in business for people Tableau BEST EESTEC VWI

the Focus Topic of this issue, you will find out

In doubt of going on an Erasmus Exchange?

everything interesting about globalization and

Read about a beautiful Erasmus experience in

what it means for doing business. Did you already

the “Discover Europe”-section and get convinced

realise that ESTIEM is actually a perfect playground

of this international aspects that our studies

for us to get used to all the international aspects of

nowadays have.

our future life and career?

With the 56th issue of the ESTIEM Magazine, we—

tell you about the brand new Career Division and Dominik tells his story about how ESTIEM helped

In high ESTIEM,

Sjors van Weert,

ESTIEM Magazine Project Leader 2019

him to his Master’s thesis. You can read about our new knowledge sharing platform, Elium. The 29th Board will tell you something about their journey so far.

In this edition we don’t only focus on international business and globalization. Read about, among others, the climate changes and leadership in the other sections!

4 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

INTRODUCTION

PRESIDENT’S SPEECH

Dear Reader, ESTIEM has been there for almost 30 years, which is a good moment to celebrate, but also to reflect upon what happened in those last 30 years.

Thinking back on the time ESTIEM was just created and thinking on how the founders of ESTIEM had to work back then to make ESTIEM run, makes you realize how fast things have been developing. Back then, it was impossible to write some a WhatsApp text or to have a Skype call, it was even impossible to send someone an email. The best communication channel you had, was a written letter. For instance, at the first Council Meeting, they wrote a letter to a lot of students without having any clue who would show up. Luckily, ESTIEM was not very big back then, so it was all manageable.

I can still remember a story from one Alumnus who was there at the very beginning. He said that

fer. If will show you how the world is changing into

back then, they were very happy since all the LG’s

a global civilization. All of this information is par-

got a fax machine to communicate. One day, they

ticularly interesting for ESTIEMers, who know the

got a fax from an LG in Sweden. They starting spe-

opportunities of globalization. It allows you to tra-

aking about a new communication tool, which was

vel to other countries much easier than before and

very handy in use. he started wondering, what was

to learn more about different cultures. It enables

that thing called “e-mail”? Why should we change

you to learn more about inventions made, even if

to e-mail, when we all got a fax machine? I think

they are made in another country across the globe.

everyone knows what happened next to both the

With the globalization, it is easier to keep track of

fax machine and e-mail.

what is happening in the rest of the world. The globe does not get any smaller, but the boundaries of

This story is for me one of those examples to hi-

exploring it are.

ghlight the changes the world goes through, while time is passing by. Nowadays, the e-mail and even

That being said, it is my pleasure to let you dive

the internet, in general, are things we cannot ima-

into this new edition of the magazine. A lot of ener-

gine ourselves without. It has developed our way

gy has been put into it and I am sure you will learn

of working completely. Nowadays, it does not mat-

a lot about International business and globaliza-

ter whether you want to work together with the

tion and enjoy while learning.

person next to you or someone across the globe.

In high ESTIEM,

All these changes make it possible to work on a

Jorik Meijers,

global level. That is what makes this 56th edition

ESTIEM President

Using all the tools the internet is giving us, the only barrier is the time difference and the culture difference. Luckily, those barriers are easier to overcome than to travel around all the time.

of the Magazine so interesting. It will take us on a tour what the modern way of working has to ofESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 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 26 years, it has grown into an organisation

The decision-making body of ESTIEM is the Council,

bringing together over 60,000 students from 79

which meets twice a year, in autumn and in spring.

universities in 31 European countries, and it is

Each university, represented by its so-called “Local

still growing. All these universities offer courses in

Group�, sends two student representatives. The

IEM. Based on this structure, ESTIEM forms links

six members of the Board of ESTIEM are elected

between students, academia and companies in

during the spring Council Meeting. The Board is

order to create an Europe-wide, multi-level IEM

responsible for the management, coordination

network. ESTIEM has continuously increased the

and administration of the association.

number of its activities, thus being able to offer a great variety of events to IEM students and an

Besides taking leadership positions in the Board

opportunity to experience different cultures, take

and as Project or Committee Leaders, ESTIEM

part in international projects and become friends

members can also take up responsibilities by

with other ESTIEMers from all over Europe.

working in one of the Projects, Committees or Initiatives. With lots of teams and tasks to choose

Naturally, the backbone of ESTIEM is the European

from, there is a place for everyone.

IEM student. The students involved in ESTIEM incorporate both the skills required for modern

For

more

detailed

business and an open-minded approach towards

organisation and its activities, please visit our

other people and cultural issues.

website at www.estiem.org.

79

180+

3,000

Local Groups in 31 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 | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

information

about

8,000 members and a reach of 60,000 towards IEM students in Europe.

our

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 professionally.

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 softskills 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 | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 7

FOCUS TOPIC

Enhance your Business with Process Mining \\ A student’s experience with Process Mining at the University of Calabria

Mario D’ Amrosio Local Group Calabria

What is Process Mining?

lonis [4], Disco [5] - through a project based on Bu-

Process Mining [1] is a new area within Business

siness Process Intelligence (BPI). People that parti-

Intelligence, which aims to simulate business pro-

cipate in the yearly BPI challenge have to analyze

cesses through the use of models, uncover their

data of a real-life event, log and provide a solution.

inefficiencies and take corrective actions. Process

This year the log provided was about the applica-

Mining can be divided into three main phases:

tion management of direct payments (2015-2017) from the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund

•

Discovery: data analysis through data mining

to German farmers. We did not participate in the

techniques in order to create a simulation mo-

challenge, but we used the datasets for our project

del (e.g. Petri Net [2]) of the overall process

purpose. The aim of the project was to find an ide-

from an event log (data set). The event log is

al model of the real process and identify the core

pre-processed in order to retain just the main

causes of inefficiencies (i.e. bottlenecks or unex-

steps of the process without undesired acti-

pected activities).

vities. Finally, a model will describe how the

Giovanni Congi Local Group Calabria

•

•

process should be;

Using Process Mining tools

Conformance: comparing the model with the

Celonis allows you to detect the bottlenecks and

real process in order to detect causes of ine-

their causes as soon as you upload the event log

fficiencies, undesired activities and/or wastes

(data set). In the process at hand, we found out

of time/resources;

that there were two activities that caused many

Enhancement: getting an improved simula-

delays in the payment procedure. According to

tion model.

Celonis and Disco, these two activities were named “Initialize” and “Insert Document”. We suppo-

Our Experience at the University of Calabria

sed that the bottleneck related to the “Initialize”

At the University of Calabria, the Process Mining

activity was due to some inefficiencies in the two

course is part of the curriculum of the “Technolo-

previous activities - “Mail Valid” and “Mail Income”:

gies for Enterprises Innovation” IEM Master’s Pro-

these two names made us think that the inefficien-

gram. The course concerns the study of the main

cies were due to the procedure of mail application

techniques and methodologies to describe and

receiving. Instead, the bottleneck on the “Insert

analyze the behavior of an organizational process.

Document” activity was due to some reviewing of

The aim of this course is to make students familiar

the application after the activity “Begin Payment”.

with useful Process Mining tools - e.g. ProM [3], Ce-

All these bottlenecks caused big delays in the payment procedures.

Using Celonis, Disco and ProM, we were able to analyze the procedure’s deviation off target for each year and for each department in charge (there were four regional departments in total and each department was in charge of the whole procedure for applications in its region). We found out that each department showed some improvement in managing delays and bottlenecks from year to year. To better understand how these improvements were possible and the root causes of delays that were still relevant, we decided to do a resources analysis. The log contained the name of each resource that physically carried out each activity.

8 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

FOCUS TOPIC

With Celonis and ProM, it was possible to analy-

process mining activities in complex business pro-

ze such resources, discover the executed activities

cesses such as Public Administration, industry and

and determine the throughput time. The “Initialize”

so on. By combining a process mining tool with an

activity was managed by the “Document Processing

ERP system in industrial production, it is possible

Automaton” resource for all years, whereas the “In-

to detect and manage all inefficiencies in real-time

sert Document” activity in 2015 was managed by

with process mining tools, to redefine the process

several resources (these resources were named

with the ERP, and to check the results obtained in

with some alphanumeric codes, which we suppo-

real-time. For this reason, implementing process

sed were the ID numbers of employees, but we did

mining can be a competitive advantage for compa-

not have any certain information about that).

nies in the 21st century: process mining consulting

From 2016 these resources were substituted by

companies are indeed emerging. Among them is

the “Notification Automaton”. In the end, we con-

Celonis, a German startup, that developed the na-

cluded that it would be advisable to increase the

mesake software in order to offer new digital solu-

resources or improve actual “Initialize”. For “Insert

tions for everyday business processes.

Document”, we suggested redefining its role in the process because the analysis showed that this acti-

Also, other digital providers are trying to imple-

vity was made several times per each instance, and

ment process mining tools in their products or

thus its position in the process flow was not clear.

through partnerships with process mining tools developers: a good example is the partnership be-

Implementing Process Mining in every Busi-

tween Celonis and SAP, which jointly developed a

ness Processes

new tool called SAP-Celonis [7], which combines

The outcomes of our experience and the overall

the SAP ERP environments with Celonis process

project made us wonder about the real power of

mining functions.

NOTES: [1] www.win.tue.nl/ieeetfpm/downloads/Process%20Mining%20Manifesto.pdf [2] Carl Adam Petri (1926-2010) German mathematician and computer scientist [3] www.processmining.org [4] www.celonis.com [5] www.fluixcon.com [6] www.win.tue.nl/bpi/doku.php?id=2018:challenge [7] www.sap.com/products/process-mining.html#product-overview

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 9

FOCUS TOPIC

MARITIME TRANSPORTATION AND ITS INTERNATIONAL TRADE ROUTES

Christian Glies Local Group Bremen

Looking at our daily life we notice that many of the

the most important port in the world, because it

products we are using every day are not made in

is a perfect opportunity for transshipment and in

our home countries. Our phones, TVs, and Lap-

fact the most important transshipment port worl-

tops are usually produced in Asia. But how do the-

dwide. We can, therefore, compare Singapore to

se products make their way here?

a Central Station, where we regularly change our bus line.

The answer is quite simple: most of these goods come here by ship. They come in huge containers

The European Side

shipped in container-ships that can nowadays

Now when these containers arrive in Europe,

carry up to 22.000 TEU [1]. Millions of containers

they often arrive in the ports of the so-called Nor-

are shipped each year. Looking at figure 1 we can

thrange. These are for example the ARA [2] ports

see that international sea trade is mostly working

or Hamburg and Bremerhaven. From here those

on an East-West Route, rather than a North-Sou-

containers meant for transshipment will again

th route. Many products come from somewhere around South-East Asia.

But how does this system work?

How does my TV made in South Korea make its way to my home?

be picked up by smaller vessels and be transported to Scandinavia or Russia for example, while those meant for the Hinterland are transported by truck or railway or sometimes even by inland waterways. Now,

The port of Singapore

one could ask why those

The most important port

ports in northern Europe

in these matters is the

are picked when we could

Port of Singapore, whe-

save so much time by not

re almost 37 million TEU

going through Gibraltar

were handled in 2018. To understand why, we need to understand the way the maritime transport system works.

and going around Western Europe instead and just unloading the containers in Italy or southern France for example.

Usually, goods are not directly transferred from A

In fact, that does happen sometimes. Most con-

to B, like in a Taxi, even though this kind of trans-

tainers are yet still transported to Northern Eu-

portation does exist for some products like oil or

rope, because of so-called Port Success Factors

coal. But container-shipping works more like a bus

(PSF). These PSF basically decide if a port is being

principle. That means that a container is being loa-

chosen or not. Typical PSF are for example the in-

ded on a ship in Shanghai then sent to Singapore,

frastructure, not only within the port itself but also

where it goes to a so-called transshipment area.

within the whole country. Also, skilled labor and

Another ship comes along and picks it up to bring

Value Added Services (VAS) are typical PSFs that

it to its next destination, for example, through the

are decisive for a port to be successful. In the Port

Suez-Channel to the Mediterranean Sea and to the

of Bremerhaven, for example, various VAS are of-

Port of Piraeus. From there another ship will take

fered for the automotive industry.

the container with my TV inside to a port in northern Europe.

Also, the existence of dedicated terminals can be an important factor. Dedicated terminals are con-

So due to its location along one of the most

tainer terminals dedicated to a specific shipping

valuable trade routes on the globe, Singapore is

line that benefits from no-waiting time and is

10 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

FOCUS TOPIC

Figure 1 Density of maritime trade routes

ting opportunities, for both ports as well as container-ships. For the first time, there are emerging

paying for this specific service. Therefore, a win-

ideas and progress towards smart ports and smart

-win situation is created.

containers. In fact, in the Chinese city of Qingdao,

Still, it would be much faster to only ship to sou-

a first ghost port is already operational. Many vehi-

thern Europe. In fact, developments are being

cles and terminals are fully-automated and self-

made in that direction. Ports in Triest, Italy, or

-driving. This growing trend could continue to grow

Koper, Slovenia, could provide a huge benefit for

and change the maritime industry once again.

shipping companies, as the automotive industry located in southern Germany, but also other re-

One interesting point about maritime transporta-

gions like the Czech Republic, could be reached

tion is that over thousands of years it didn’t really

easily.

change, but it always managed to adjust to the new reality. Trade was always a key element in

Future challenges

the creation of growth and wealth. What did chan-

Right now, as stated above, the port of Singapore

ge, however, were the markets where trade flou-

is a key element in maritime transport due to its

rished. More and more markets were approached,

location at one of the most important international

and the means of transportation changed from

trade routes. In the future, this might change. Due

wooden boats and single goods to huge container-

to melting polar ice caps, it is very likely that the

ships with standardized containers.

northern sea route around Russia, also referred to as the Ice Silk Road, becomes operational for

Therefore, we can predict that future challenges

container shipping lines and that part of the worl-

will also be taken well and maritime transportation

dwide trade starts being transferred via South Ko-

will continue to be the most important means of

rea, Vladivostok, and Iceland to Europe. This would

transportation worldwide.

provide an opportunity for Iceland to become somewhat of a new Singapore. Still, many Ocean Liners would continue to use “the old� route through the Suez-Channel, so the position of Singapore should not be endangered.

Surely, there is another factor resulting in huge changes in maritime transportation. The ongoing digitalization of industries provides a lot of interes-

Notes: TEU stands for Twenty foot Equivalent Unit and represents a standard container 1

The ARA ports describe the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerpen 2

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 11

FOCUS TOPIC

IMPACTS OF GLOBALIZATION - HOW ESTIEMERS CAN FLIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE Have you noticed the recent campaign against single-use plastics and, in particular, plastic straws?

Yet, soon it was revealed that with the new no-straw lids, its consumption of plastic would only increase.

Such marketing strategies, also called “Greenwashing”, are commonly used by companies wishing to appeal to eco-conscious consumers. Their claims are often obscure, unproven or purely misleading. In this article, we aim to expose some of the most common misconceptions and show you how personal choices matter.

Eleonora Nazander Alumna Local Group Saint Petersburg

Climate change and its effects is a global issue of

1.

increasing concern. The Paris Conference (COP21)

with rules and regulations incompatible with

Industrialized

in 2015 was a milestone towards a strong-willed

consumer needs.

climate change mitigation strategy. At the COP21,

Many well-intended restrictions have unwanted

the world community decided to set the goal of

consequences

significantly reducing the worldwide greenhouse

Examples range from a ban on handy and practical

gas (GHG) emissions by 2050, in order to limit

plastic bags to not being able to buy a car of desire.

global warming to max 2ºC. Today, there is a

In a free market (and a free world), those non-

widespread consensus that humankind must limit

green yet practical or enjoyable products often find

the amount of carbon extracted from the Earth´s

myriads of followers. Ideally, regulators should

fossil resources and released into the atmosphere.

focus their attention on fostering innovations

for

countries

people’s

come

everyday

up

lives.

and smart systemic solutions rather than simply CO2 accounts for about three quarters of the Annarita De Maio Alumnus Local Group Karlsruhe & Köln

banning certain products and technologies.

global GHG emissions mainly from fossil fuel combustion (coal, oil, and gas). Besides CO2,

2.

there is a number of other GHG’s: Methane

emissions, which are often obscure or shifted

Many products have high hidden

from animal manure, Nitrous Oxide (N2O) from

to other parts of the world.

fertilized agricultural soils (not to be confused

Many people love steaks, yet, such pleasures

with the irritant gas, NOx) and HFCs/PFCs used as

come at a high price: where do the soybeans we

refrigerants in air conditioners and aerosol sprays.

feed the cows come from? How was the land they

PFCs were successfully reduced in the 1990s due to

grow on been cleared? It could have been by fire

an effective worldwide policy to protect the ozone

perhaps and may have released a century-old

layer. This precedent shows that a global consent

carbon sink, but this emission would have been

towards environmental protection is possible.

unknown to you. Likewise, it is appealing to drive an electric car, but where does the electricity come

In spite of earlier success with aerosols, the

from? How much energy did it cost to produce

current approach to fight climate change has

the car’s battery? Where from and under what

been ineffective so far and the GHG emissions

social circumstances were its building materials

continue to rise. There is no clear worldwide

extracted?

strategy on how to change this and tackle all the other sustainability issues like bio-diversity,

3.

deforestation, and destruction of ecosystems.

to minimize their personal impact.

Individuals follow the wrong strategy

Fortunately, consumer awareness of the climate

“Fortunately, consumer awareness of the climate change has been rising.

change has been rising. However, we are often provided with misleading information on what it means to be eco-friendly (just recall Starbucks’ greenwashing campaign). If you are looking to make an impact, don’t blindly follow what marketers say.

Besides the commonly reported issues of path-

Instead, collect information, compare the choice

dependency, vested interests, and short-term

and make some focused personal decisions that

orientation, here are some of the occasionally

can actually move the needle in the fight against

overseen reasons why we are seeing such poor

climate change.

results when it comes to saving the climate:

12 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

FOCUS TOPIC •

Myth 4 - Behaving sustainably is easy: Unfortunately, it is not so easy. Reaching real sustainability (or, to consider just one of its aspects: avoiding GHG emissions) is extremely complex and many good decisions cause unwanted effects of higher order somewhere where they are not seen or taken care of.

We have mentioned the example of the electric car which might be running on coal power.

But there many more examples: eating apples from your country is a good idea – if it’s the right time of the season. In early summer, however, when the last harvest is months ago, you are

So, what can you as a person and a professional

in fact better off eating a (ship-transported)

do to reduce GHG? The graph will help to answer

apple from New Zealand – because it hasn’t

this question.

been stored in an air-conditioned warehouse for almost one year.

Let’s take a closer look at several common misconceptions about carbon footprint: •

“So take a little step, take a little responsibility, and convince others to do the same.”

Myth 1 - Unplug electronic devices: In reality, modern electronic devices have negligible standby power due to regulations introduced in most developed countries in 2010.

•

•

Myth 5- “I can’t change the world anyway”: Yes,

Myth 2 - Drive electric: As was discussed above,

you can! Your choices and your money decide

if you charge the car with electricity generated

what companies offer, which products get

with coal, it is no better than a modern diesel

developed and the direction the government

car. Full product life-cycle needs to be taken

pursues. So take a little step, take a little

into account to assess its footprint – especially

responsibility, and convince others to do

for the impacts which go beyond GHG.

the same. The key is, however, to convince

However, in some cases (short distances, small

modestly, not forcibly. The conviction can only

batteries, a country with green electricity)

come with one’s own free will. It is a good idea

electric cars are clearly superior.

to be a good behavioral model for others and understand the effects of particular actions.

•

Myth 3 - Biodegradable plastic: In reality, as

Giving yourself a “green” attitude and image

biodegradable plastic decomposes, it releases

alone does not suffice. For example, it helps

methane, which has a 28-36 time higher global

only a little to cycle to work and buy organic

warming impact than CO2.

food, if you fly overseas on holiday every year.

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 13

FOCUS TOPIC Our food and diet have been a highly debated

sell your products or services to a corporation

subject. While eating meat is deeply engraved

with dubious practices, or making the decisive call

in our culture and lifestyle, we must not shut

on whether a new factory in a remote developing

our eyes to the inconvenient truth that food is

country will be run on coal or renewable fuels.

responsible for 17-32% of all carbon emissions.

Eating

less

meat,

especially

less

beef,

can make a big contribution to your GHG balance.

Having said that, a balanced nutrient-rich diet is important for human health. From the figure here, we see how sugary snacks and fats are the cheapest

“Sustainability is already a source of competitive advantage. Soon, it will be the only feasible way to run.” businesses. ”

calories you could get, from an environmental point of view, yet their excessive consumption

Today,

would hardly benefit your long-term well-being.

sustainability as an expense or loss to their

many

companies

still

think

of

profits. When faced with the choices in the previous paragraph, they will go for more profitable and

‘greenwashing’ Don’t our

short-term

options

behind

unfounded

hide make

marketing this

globalized

mistake.

and

campaigns.

If

connected

anything, world

in

such

lies are revealed with the speed of light.

A global paper company might want to save money by burning coal in its Chinese factory, but one way or another, its European customer will find out the truth and this will cause irreversible damage to its reputation and a loss of sales. As consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about the environment, regulators Besides these lifestyle changes, each of you

are waking up as well. Sustainability is already

ESTIEMers will have a chance to make an even

a source of competitive advantage. Soon, it

bigger difference once you enter professional

will be the only feasible way to run businesses.

life.

The

decisions

you

will

make

during

your career, for example, as a manager in

As ESTIEMers, we are educated to understand the

a multinational company, can have a much

science of climate change and are able to make

bigger

decision.

connections to the business world. We believe in

You might be choosing between a cheaper or a

impact

than

any

personal

your ability to make the right personal choices

more sustainable supplier, deciding whether to

and to drive the change in your professional lives.

Sources: [1]

https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-

warming-potentials [2]

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7541

[3]

http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/food-carbon-footprint-diet

[4]

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es702969f

14 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

FOCUS TOPIC

Sustainable Finance how financial innovations can accelerate the transition to a sustainable and low-carbon economy Sustainable investing, also called impact investing or socially responsible investing is a rapidly growing field of Finance. Sustainable investing integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into business and investment decisions for the durable benefit of both clients and society. While traditionally the focus of sustainable investing has been on how to make a profit while investing with a green conscience (i.e. do no harm), the question is now often turning to how smart green investments lead to profit and benefits for society (i.e. maximize impact). With this article, we will explain what sustainable investing encompasses, why it is relevant, which instruments are used and which challenges are faced. Also, we will zoom in on some examples and provide you with resources for further study.

Why Sustainable Investing?

Who will benefit?

Society faces major global transformations like

Society will benefit, as capital will become available

climate change, digitalization and the growing

to deliver the SDG’s and develop the environmental

economic weight of millennials, which create

and socially sustainable economy, with a special

opportunities for innovation. New sources of

focus on the disadvantaged populations. Investors

risks arise, especially the consequences of climate

will benefit as well as sustainable investments will

change and the transition risks for existing

have a better resilience to climate risks and will

Astrid SonnevilleDings Local Group Eindhoven

industries (transport, utilities, and energy) to a low-

Cristina Hernandez be better geared up for the shift to low carbon

carbon economy. Banks and financial institutions

economy.

face new expectations to assess and mitigate these risks. Governments are tightening the

What is the size of the price?

regulations to both disclose climate related risks as

Globally in 2016, there were $23 trillion of assets

well as ensuring pension and sovereign funds are

being professionally managed under sustainable

divesting from industries driving climate change

investment strategies representing 26% of total

like fossil fuels. Ironically, the Norwegian sovereign

and 25% growth since 2014. In the US sustainable

fund, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund

investment grew by 38% from 2016 to 2018 to $12

which invests Norway’s oil & gas revenues, was one

trillion, with climate change the fastest growing

of the first to publish very stringent expectations in

issue addressed. NB these numbers need to be

this respect and has already started to divest from

taken with a pinch of salt, as they are dependent

coal.

on the criteria used (see also the section challenges

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)

at the end).

Local Group Madrid

provide both the necessity and a framework to include sustainability criteria in the financial

Taking another angle: in order to achieve the

sector. Wall Street is also waking up to this need.

SDG’s, a large-scale shift in investment and capital

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s biggest

allocation is required, estimated at USD 2.3 trillion

asset manager, is urging corporate leaders to take

per year. This is a massive amount but taking into

a long-term sustainable approach: “To prosper

account that the current global financial assets

over time, every company must not only deliver

are USD 290 trillion, of which USD 100 trillion in

financial performance but also show how it makes

investment/pension funds /insurance companies,

a positive contribution to society.”

this should be feasible.

“To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.” - Larry Fink

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 15

FOCUS TOPIC What are the financial instruments used?

The following list summarizes some of the most

sustainable mix funds, and green savings accounts,

developed financial instruments. Although there

they have not been addressed in this article for the

are many others, such as investment mandates,

sake of simplicity.

Type of instrument Lending: Green Bonds Lending: Crowdfunding Lending: Microfinance Thematic ‘ESG’ Funds & 2ºC

Description

Examples of leading institutions/case study

Financing of green and sustainable infrastructure and China sustainable development in general Participative financing of sustainable projects via pla- Oneplanetcrowd Bundles tforms like Lendosphere or Oneplanetcrowd Providing microcredit to people without banking/

M-PESA/M-KOPA

credit access, typically under 100 $ Funds with selected ESG criteria and/or specifically STOXX ESG 2ii.org aligned to Paris agreement

portfolios Divestment &

Divestments from certain industries, engagement via 350.org

Shareholder

resolutions at shareholder meetings or board

engagement/

discussions

Follow This, Climate 100

activism Impact &

Investments aimed at solving social/environmental Separate universe will be

Community

problems in traditionally underserved communities, covered in a future article

Investing

could be blended finance or foundations

Green Bonds

institutions to develop metrics that would ensure

Green Bonds (GB) offer fixed returns via bond

investment traceability, such as PCAF, the Equator

issuers who invest in green projects like renewable

Principles, TCFD or IIGCC (see links at the end of

energy, energy efficiency, low carbon transport

the article for more details).

or waste management. These bonds constitute a win-win situation for both the bond issuer

Sustainable Crowdfunding

and the investor: they showcase themselves as

Crowdfunding or participative financing of start-

a responsible and environmentally conscious

ups and social enterprises has seen strong growth

organization

a

since 2000. Since a few years, specific platforms

sustainable future. Since the first GB issued in

while

contributing

towards

are available to crowdfund sustainable start-ups.

2007 by the European Investment Bank, the

The Dutch Oneplanetcrowd (certified as a B-corp)

market has grown considerably reaching USD 389

is the biggest sustainable crowdfunding platform

billion in 2018, with transport and energy being

in Europe and has allowed 30.000 crowd funders

the major sectors and China at the forefront.

to fund 200+ projects worth €30 million. One of

(Source:). However, despite the notable progress

the companies funded is Bundles, a start-up by

made, challenges still remain in terms of what

Estiem-alumnus Marcel Peters. Bundles, along

do we consider a green project. Therefore,

with the lines of the circular economy, offers

establishing official guidelines is key to effectively

laundry-as-a-service, via placing Miele washers

evaluate, trace and certify green bonds and gain

and dryers in-home. In this way, they offer the

credibility among investors. There are already

most ecological machine in terms of energy and

some examples of partnerships among financial

water usage and ensure it will be refurbished and

16 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

FOCUS TOPIC recycled end of life. Bundles use smart plugs

Following his example, institutions such as

to monitor and reduce energy & water use.

Kiva have been founded to help disadvantaged

Interesting to know for Estiemers is that some of

communities prosper via crowdfunding. Starting

their clients are student shared housing facilities!

from $25 donations, anyone can help a borrower

Via Coffeebundles they are now extending the

start a business or enable access to clean energy

business model to coffee. Siemens provides

and water. So far, Kiva has raised over $1 billion,

durable coffee machines to replace machines

enabling more than 1.5 million people to fund 2

using single use cups. Moyee coffee provides

million borrowers worldwide.

FairChain coffee, grown and roasted in Ethiopia,

Another remarkable initiative is M-Pesa, which

maximizing local value.

allows Kenyan users to deposit, withdraw or transfer money and pay for services with a cell phone. This successful approach is being replicated in other countries (and even making the leap to India) and has contributed to increase the low access to banking rate of Africa, encouraging long-term savings and reducing the dependency on foreign borrowing. Adjusting the philosophy to the energy market, M-Kopa is selling solar home systems with led lighting (replacing toxic kerosene lamps). Customers pay a small deposit followed by daily payments and after a year they become owners of the system. Moreover, there are many

Microfinance

renewable energy projects being financed via

Microfinance is a type of banking service provided

prepaid systems, such as solar micro-grids in

to low-income individuals who otherwise would

rural communities. I (Cristina) had the pleasure of

have no access to financial services (i.e. loans,

working on a similar project in Argentina! These

bank accounts, insurance). The goal is to empower

projects deliver environmental benefits on top

people and give them the opportunity to become

as fossil fuels get replaced by renewables and

self-sufficient. One of the pioneers of microfinance,

electricity is brought to underserved communities.

the Nobel Peace Prize Mohammad Yunus, started an initiative to give small loans to women in Bangladesh making bamboo furniture. He realized that these loans could make a huge difference to women who would never be supported by traditional banks (due to the high perceived risks) and help them create a viable business model, boosting the local economy.

“These projects deliver environmental benefits on top as fossil fuels get replaced by renewables and electricity is brought to underserved communities.�

Solar & Energy storage project in Argentina Cristina worked on this year.

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 17

FOCUS TOPIC Environmental, Social and Governance Funds and 2º C portfolio’s

markets to drive decarbonization of the economy.The complement of

ESG criteria refer to three main factors investors

divesting is shareholder engagement

consider with regard to a firm’s ethical impact and

/activism to drive change. Follow

sustainable practices. Examples of ESG criteria

This is a group of over 4,500 green

include the company’s impact on climate change,

shareholders (including myself Astrid) with shares

water use or conservation efforts, anti-corruption

in Shell and other oil majors, whose mission it is

policies, board member diversity, human rights

to get oil and gas companies to truly commit to

efforts and community development. A specific

the Paris Climate Agreement and therefore put

form that is getting a lot of traction recently are 2º

their brains and billions behind renewable energy.

C portfolio’s i.e. aligned with the ‘Paris’ agreement.

Thanks to the growing support of large institutional

2ii.org developed a model that measures the

investors, the ‘Climate Resolutions’ they submitted

alignment of the portfolios’ current and future

compelled Shell to set a climate ambition and a

production capacity with 2°C temperature rise

climate target of 50% by 2050 including scope 3

scenarios.

(the emissions of the fossil fuels they produce).

In

2017,

a

pilot

study

was

conducted

in

Also, executive pay is now linked to emission

Switzerland with a representative set of pension

targets. The oil tanker has started to change

funds and insurers with CHF 297 billion in assets.

course, even if slow!

Key objectives were to find out if their financial

Starting in 2019, Follow This is extending its action

portfolios were consistent with the 2°C climate goal and what their transition risks to a lowcarbon economy were. The study found that collective investments are on a 6ºC pathway, especially because of high coal investments in developing countries and too slow transition curves to renewable energy and electric vehicles.

Since the study, insurers like Swiss Re have started to specifically measure climate impact and “decarbonize” their portfolios. An international standard (ISO-14097) is being developed to

to BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Equinor.

measure the climate impact of financial portfolios.

Point of the debate is if you have more influence via a divestment strategy or thru shareholder

Divestment

&

shareholder

engagement/

activism Divestment,

engagement. In our view, you have to pursue both at the same time to accelerate the transition.

screening,

Divesting will provide pressure for change, but

excludes assets deemed unethical or morally

also

called

negative

fossil fuel companies could also take advantage

ambiguous. An example would be a stock portfolio

of their technical expertise to develop renewable

that otherwise tracks a broad index, but excludes

energies, such as offshore wind. In this sense, two

the shares of tobacco companies or weapon

Scandinavian oil companies, the Danish Ørsted

industry. Fossil fuels companies, especially those

and the Norwegian Equinor (formerly Dong and

in coal are starting to get divested, not only

Statoil), have now become leading offshore wind

because their emissions causing climate change

farm developers.

but also linked to the risk of stranded assets.

According to the bank HSBC, nearly half of coal

Other companies, such as Shell or Total, have

and oil assets would become stranded (essentially

acquired stakes in solar and energy storage

worthless) in a rapid transition scenario to meet

and invested in biofuels. The general strategy of

climate goals. You will now better understand the

these giants is to become an electric utility, but

ferocity of the fossil fuels lobby against climate

analysts suggest that those companies with a solid

change related regulations! See also the work

foundation in renewable generation assets will

of 350.org, founded by environmentalist Bill Mc

have an indisputable long-term advantage over

Kibben and climateaction100.org a coalition of

those who remain in the traditional fossil-fuel

financial institutions to mobilize the financial

based economy.

18 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

FOCUS TOPIC Challenges for sustainable investing

•

The horizon for incentives, disclosures and mandates need to get longer in order

•

Lack of a robust template, and standard

to reflect climate and transition related

policies across the financial community:

risks: Or as the Task Force on Climate-related

we

simplify

Financial Disclosures (TCFD) led by Michael

sustainability reporting so statistical analysis

need

to

standardize

and

Bloomberg phrases it: “while the net present

and benchmarking are possible. Also, financial

value of stock and bond portfolios is primarily

regulations and investment principles need

based on long term cash flows, equity research and

to be aligned with sustainable development

credit rating analysts primarily focus on the risks

needs. The EU will propose a taxonomy for

that are likely to materialize in the next 3-5 years.”

sustainable investing, expected in May 2019 and the American SEC is working on disclosure

Conclusion

rules as well. More resources at the end of the article on this.

A rapid transition to a more sustainable and low carbon economy will be critical, especially to avoid

•

ESG

criteria

are

not

precise

enough

the devastating impact of global warming beyond

and provide the risk of ‘greenwashing’:

2ºC. We are already in the right pathway, but we

Being best in class may qualify a company

need to act much more urgently. Sustainable

for a certain fund, whereas the industry

Finance can really help to accelerate this transition.

as a whole may be problematic. Some

IEMers are the integrators that can oversee all the

funds just exclude weapons or tobacco

change aspects and with a total systems approach

but miss out on the other ESG aspects.

to find the best solutions. We hope that we have

Also, it is difficult to manage sustainable

built your knowledge in this area and inspired you

investment for broad funds or index trackers.

via our stories and involvement!

•

SOURCES: [1] https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2018/04/17/what-is-sustainable-finance [2] https://www.climatebonds.net/files/reports/cbi_sotm_2018_final_01k-web.pdf [3] https://www.fsb-tcfd.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/FINAL-2017-TCFD-Report-11052018.pdf.

[4] http://report.businesscommission.org [5] http://report.businesscommission.org/uploads/BetterBiz-BetterWorld_170215_012417.pdf [6] https://www.nbim.no/contentassets/e3f8e013de754cad905b686bdb50f76a/nbim_climatechange_2019_web.pdf [7] http://2degreesseparation.com [8] http://carbonaccountingfinancials.com/ [9] https://www.ussif.org/about [10] https://www.sustainablefinancealliance.org [11] http://www.sustainablefinance.ch/upload/cms/user/201712_Handbook_on_Sustainable_Investments_CFA.pdf [12] http://tragedyofthehorizon.com [12] https://cleantechnica.com/2019/03/08/norwegian-sovereign-wealth-fund-to-divest-from-oil-gas-exploration-stocks/

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 19

FOCUS TOPIC

THE UNEXPECTED WEAPON TO FIGHT POVERTY How each of us makes the world a better place....

Everyone already knows about the pros and cons

people living in extreme poor have changed over

of globalization. However, the 21 century is not

the last two decades?” Only five percent of people

the era of unsubstantiated words, and every sta-

in the US gave the correct answer “Halved”. Do you

tement should be proven by real data. Using the

belong to the 5%? If not, it might be the right time

example of declining poverty in the world, I would

to understand the real figures about at least one

like to introduce you to the power of Data analyAnna Kornilovich ses by presenting comprehensive information in

Local Group an understandable way.

Saint Petersburg

out of millions of problems of poverty.

There are multiple factors that need to be analyzed before working with that. Likely, “Our world

To begin we need to understand the situation of

in data” [2] gives us the most open and clear sta-

poverty in our world. Firstly, you may be interes-

tistics. When we look at the chart below, you can

ted in knowing your level of awareness? By goo-

clearly see that the level of poverty has increased

gling “Gapminder test 2018” [1], you could test

dramatically (both ration and the number of peo-

your knowledge. But don’t worry, I will present you

ple). Those people are moving to the middle class,

the most common results of this test, to make it

as you can see on the chart with the GDP per capi-

more efficient. The test itself is aimed to unders-

ta in different countries. [3]

tand the problem of misconception among people living in rich countries. Surprisingly (or maybe not),

We can see, that, compared to the past 20 years,

the average correct answers for humans is only

the level of poverty is significantly decreased.

2.2 out of 12. In comparison, a group of monkeys

What does it mean? It shows that people are able

also did the test answering randomly and got an

to go to schools, live a longer and happier life and

average score of 4 out of 12. The most incorrect

that all the money that was invested in improving

answer was given to the question “How the ratio of

the situation in poor countries, paid off.

20 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

FOCUS TOPIC

What is the main reason behind it? Globalization

Their plan for right now is to have influencers in

or to be more precise, commerce and e-commer-

every country. It totally will help countries with ex-

ce. This can be presented by using the example of

cellent products to step to the global market and

decreasing poverty in China.

improve their economic situation.

Commerce is the economic exchange where both

That being said, we can admit that the situation in

parties came out better off. That type of trade was

the world is improving every day, no matter what

one of the main reasons lately. However, in the 21

people think. Sometimes, small things can lead

century, e-commerce is gaining momentum and

to an unexpected result. Could you think that our

today e-commerce is a dominant force in retail,

ordinary everyday trade can make an impact on

which totally helps countries to fight poverty.

global poverty? And can you imagine what impact the years if using the global web can bring? All

Let’s consider the example of China and how

those questions are the new tasks and opportuni-

e-commerce helps farmers to shake off poverty[4].

ties for our future Data analysts.

The internet sensation “Mrs. Yeah” makes significant input into the development of people who lives in extreme poverty without access to an Internet connection. The aim of the program is to use the underestimated power of social media to help villagers to sell their products. They not only present the products of those people on the internet but also teach youngers how to promote themselves and their ideas on social media. A really good example of teaching people to fish and work by themselves.

[1] Gapminder Test 2018 [2] Our World in Data: Extreme Poverty: https://ourworldindata.org/extreme-poverty [3] Our World in Data: Economic Growth: https://ourworldindata.org/economic-growth [4] E-commerce helps farmers shake off poverty: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201812/14/ WS5c130caea310eff303290ff8.html

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 21

FOCUS TOPIC

Introduction of a Partially Digitalized Communication Concept for Industrial Customer Service ...the key to increase customer benefits

David Oblak Local Group Graz

Sigrid Weller Local Group Graz

Initial Situation

sible to calculate the failure probability of machi-

The topic of “digitalization” is currently exerting an

nes, which has electrical sensors and an internet

influence like nothing ever before on the corpo-

connection, to detect possible failures before they

rate environment and companies of all industries

occur.

through to the details of their organization. Within these companies customer service, from the clas-

The literature calls the possibility of predicting

sic call centre to after sales support, must face up

failures “predictive maintenance” [3]. If the develo-

to these developments and evolve into multichan-

pments in the area of predictive maintenance and

nel contact centres [1].

automatic communication are combined conceptually, the processes within the companies can be

Currently some companies offer consumers a

shortened and efficiency is thus increased.

wide range of communication channels. These start with a classic telephone service and progress

Problem Situation

to chat portals or messaging services. Consumers

Industrial companies are now faced with the ques-

are given the opportunity to submit their inquiries

tion of how they should develop their customer

to companies through the communication chan-

communication in order to best exploit the many

nel which they find ideal for their needs.

potentials of digitalisation. The aim is to both increase efficiency within the companies themselves and to bring substantial customer benefits. The

“The key to increasing customer benefits is to understand how customers communicate with companies and which communication channels are used and preferred. ”

key to increasing customer benefits is to understand how customers communicate with companies and which communication channels are used and preferred.

Companies are currently offering their customers more and more communication channels, and these can increase customer benefit substantially by allowing the customers to choose the channel that is experienced as the best for their needs. In

Many companies use “chat bots” [2] for fully auto-

the companies themselves, the choice of seve-

matic communication with consumers. In the area

ral communication channels must not necessa-

of after sales service, digitalization makes it pos-

rily lead to increased efficiency. This is the case

22 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

FOCUS TOPIC when additional communication channels are of-

via time-critical channels, customers expect imme-

fered, but the processes involved are not deve-

diate processing. In the case of inquiries via non

loped further in the background and adapted to

time-critical channels, the customer is expected to

the new circumstances. In the following, a commu-

process the order within a reasonable period of

nication concept is presented in which specific

time.

communication channels are selected according to the requirements and the underlying processes

These circumstances can be used to boost effi-

are modelled.

ciency. Employees primarily process inquiries via time-critical channels and when the number of

Applied Method

these urgent inquiries drops, the employees turn

In order to answer the question of how customer

to processing inquiries via non time-critical chan-

communication should be designed, a detailed

nels. This increases employee utilization, which in

study will be carried out with the cooperation of an

turn increases efficiency, because more inquiries

industrial partner. The study is based on Weske’s

can be processed in each working hour.It was fou-

“process design methodology” [4] and consists of

nd that in the case of processes from industrial

three phases.

partners no difference is made between time-critical and non-time-critical communication chan-

In phase one, the investigation of the initial situa-

nels through which the inquiry was made. This fact

tion is carried out. On the one hand, this involves

offers a major potential for increasing efficiency

determining how and with whom the communica-

when the process itself can differentiate whether

tion takes place. This means that a survey will be

a time-critical or non-time-critical inquiry is being

made about what customer types there are and

dealt with. Additionally, it also can be noted that it

what inquiry topics they have. A further issue that

would make sense to offer separate channels for

will be researched is that of the processing time

specific inquiry topics.

needed to answer an inquiry. Simultaneously the current working methods in use will be surveyed.

For example, it may be useful to implement a

In phase two, suitable communication channels

software solution for making appointments. This

will be defined and target processes modelled so

software independently arranges appointments

that customer enquiries can be processed effi-

with the customer, for example for maintenance

ciently through the new communication channels.

purposes. The employees only need to intervene

In phase three, a simulation of the modelled pro-

in the event of escalations and the work pressure

cesses will be created in order to investigate how

release this brings means other inquiries can be

the situation will develop after these processes

processed instead. This increases both customer

have been implemented.

benefit and operational efficiency.

Results

The table shows the already existing and the newly

This study in the given context demonstrates

developed communication channels for the indus-

that there are time-critical and non-time-critical

trial partner of this study.

communication channels. In the case of inquiries

“Existing” communication channels

“New” communication channels

Service hotline Email Remote maintenance channel

Software tool for appointment making Webshop for spare part orders Contact form on the webpage

Service Wiki (similar to Wikipedia)

Chat (in development stage incl. chat bot)

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 23

FOCUS TOPIC

In phase three, a simulation was carried out to vi-

Conclusion

sualise the effects of a possible implementation of

It can be said that the possibilities offered by di-

the concept. In order to be able to carry out the si-

gitisation in the area of customer communication

mulation, an assumption was made about to what

must be used sensibly in order to achieve an incre-

extent the new communication channels would be

ase in efficiency. Both time-critical and non-time-

used. In the example presented here, it is assu-

-critical communication channels must be offered

med that between 20% and 50% of customers use

to customers. It should also be borne in mind

one of the new communication channels, depen-

that specific

ding on the inquiry topic.

channels will need to be foreseen for specific inquiry topics.

Figure 1 shows the result of the simulation. It shows the number of employees needed in both

The concept presented includes, for example, a

the old and the new system and the workloads

web shop for ordering spare parts. This communi-

involved. It also shows the utilisation of the em-

cation channel is used only for these inquiry types,

ployees in the old and new system.

but with the efficiency plus that an automated or-

It is demonstrated that the number of employees

der processing in the web shop relieves the other

needed can be reduced and the same number of

communication channels.

inquiries can still be processed through the process-related differentiation between time-critical

Finally, it is important to mention that all commu-

and non-time-critical communication channels

nication channels must also be taken into account

coupled with the partial automation of customer

in the process modelling. When this is not done

communication. The employees required will be

it could lead to a situation in which too many

better utilized in the new system than in the old

communication channels are offered, and with

one. For the presented simulation, this means that

the result that an increase in efficiency cannot be

resource costs can be reduced by 33%.

achieved.

[1]

Herzog, A.: Call Center Analyse und Management (in

German), Wiesbaden 2017

[2]

Chebel-Morello, B.; Nicod, J. M.; Varnier, C.: From

Prognostic and Health Systems Management to

Predictive Maintenance 2: Knowledge, Traceability

and Decision, London 2017

[3]

Gentsch, P.: KĂźnstliche Intelligenz fĂźr Sales,

Marketing und Service (in German), Frankfurt 2018

[4]

Wseke, M.: Business Process Management –

Concepts, Languages, Architectures, Potsdam 2007

24 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

FOCUSUNIVERSITY TOPIC STUDY AN IEM MASTER’S AT TAMPERE

Industrial Engineering and Management, Business and Technology • 2 years full-time, 120 ECTS, language of education: English • Focus on business development in an international sales and sourcing environment.

• Broad range of teaching methods: lectures, class discussions, case studies, written assignments and company projects.

“The most exciting part of the programme for me was interaction with Finnish companies during courses and while writing our theses. This way of teaching gives more opportunities for a student in learning by doing.”

Maria Morenko - Ukraine

Finland is renowned for its high standard of education and technological know-how. Tampere is the 3rd largest city in Finland and centrally located in the country. Tampere University of Technology is an esteemed high quality university in research and education.

Being the industrial pioneer of Finland, Tampere is a hub for leadingedge technology, research, education, culture, sports and business. It is a lively city with a rich student culture.

More information on applying and the MSc programme from https://www.tuni.fi/en/study-with-us/industrialengineering-and-management-business-and-technologyand the Educational Coordinator Minna Baggström at interiem@tut.fi

Doing your IEM master’s degree at Tampere University? Yes, you should!

Tomash Groen, 1st year master’s degree student Business & Technology at Tampere University Tampere University’s international master’s degree program brings together a group of very promising students in Finland, and in two years equips them with the skills, knowledge and competencies needed to enter a successful career in Industrial Engineering and Management. The program ‘Business & Technology’ consists of the major ‘International Sales and Sourcing’ and the minor ‘Introduction to Management Studies’ catered to people with a technical background.

“I studied civil engineering in Russia. After the graduation I realized that I wanted to change my field in something more related to business. Thus, Master’s Degree Programme in Industrial Engineering and Management at TUT, with the special emphasis on international sales and sourcing, seemed like an excellent opportunity for me.” -Artur Nikitin, Russia And indeed, B&T is especially valuable to those have a background in any type of engineering and helps them to mould that technical expertise together with the management studies. You can’t acquire the technical mindset in a course, but at Tampere University they’ll make sure to get the best out of every individual when it comes to making them effective industrial engineers.

The program has been heavily optimised over the last decade. Consequentially, it proves for example very successful in helping foreigners to find employment in Finland and abroad.

“The degree is very practical; it pushes and challenges me, and this is what I wanted. Moreover, I have a clear idea of the work opportunities after graduation, which is very important.” -Józefina Karinen, Poland Students are working with real companies during the B&T program with very advantageous results. The average employment rate of foreigners in Finland upon graduating is 35%. With the B&T program this is Nordic record breaking with 80%, partially thanks to the company projects.

“During my studies I worked on different company projects. In those projects I learned that, in Finland, even a student can have an impact on a company. When there is real data to prove the arguments, companies listen to students and accept the solutions suggested by them.” -Ana Montenegro, Portugal Many of Tampere University’s European degree students first did an exchange in Tampere and decided to come back for their master’s degree once they saw the innovative learning environment, modern high-quality facilities and captivating student culture.

“I first came to study at TUT as an exchange student. […]. When I came back home after my TUT exchange, I understood how valuable it was and here I am again” -Kubilay Kağan Ozkan, Turkey It’s ultimately not just the end result of the Business & Technology program is renowned, it is also the road to getting there.

Tampere University offers a home to the curious and ambitious. A place where Finns, Europeans and people from all over the globe come together to spend the best years of their life. Interested in making Tampere your home-base for all your ESTIEM travels? Then check out the following links.

The university’s degree page: https://www.tuni.fi/en/study-with-us/industrial-engineering-and-management-business-and-technology The Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/tutiem/

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 25

SCENE

THE TRAITS OF A SUCCESSFUL TEAM ACCORDING TO GOOGLE ...Changing the Perspective on Team Compositions

Simon Dödtmann Local Group Bremen

Whether it be in ESTIEM or your studies, in sports

in 2017, the Boston Consulting Group has shown

activities or your job: You will always work in te-

that diversity in industry background, country of

ams. Collaboration, working together with other

origin, career path and gender are all positively

people, is becoming an increasingly important

correlated to innovation, measured by the share

factor for successful businesses or any successful

of revenue that was generated from enhanced or

activity.

entirely new products or services of that specific company. [2]

The reasons for the success and failure of teams has been the subject of research for many years.

So, does that mean a team’s success is fully de-

Dr. Meredith Belbin started his research on teams

pendent on the composition of the team? A recent

in the 1960s and analyzed these reasons for a

study by Google shows different results. In fact,

period of 10 years. In his well-known theory, Bel-

it suggests the complete opposite to be true. The

bin defines nine team roles: Resource Investiga-

results were published including the following sta-

tor, Teamworker, Co-ordinator, Plant, Monitor

tement: [3]

Evaluator, Specialist, Shaper, Implementer and Completer Finisher. He states that each team

The researchers found that what really matte-

needs access to each of the nine team roles, not

red was less about who is on the team and more

necessarily at the same time and not in the form of

about how the team worked together.

nine different persons. But each of the distinctive behaviors should be available. [1] However, diversity in the type of behavior, as suggested by Belbin, is not the only form of diversity that contributes to a successful team and ultimately leads to better results. In a study, published

26 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

“The researchers found that what really mattered was less about who is on the team, and more about how the team worked together.”

SCENE The five characteristics that were found to be

Feeling comfortable to engage in this behavior,

most significant for the effectiveness of teams are

without the fear of it negatively influencing the

shown in the picture below, in order of importance.

perception of others, is a key requirement to

To put it in a single word, what mattered most in the

harness the power of diverse ideas.

analyzed teams was TRUST. The most successful teams work in an environment where everyone

This enables an environment, where team mem-

feels safe to take risks, admit mistakes, ask ques-

bers can rely on each other and have a complete

tions and offer new ideas.

understanding of how their work contributes to the goal of the team and the organization and

“The most successful teams work in an environment where everyone feels safe to take risks, admit mistakes, ask questions and offer new ideas.�

thus can feel as though they serve a much greater purpose, which also helps to improve employee satisfaction.

The five traits presented in this study were the most impactful ones for teams working at Google.

Elsewhere, other factors like diversity, team size or experience of team member, might be just as important. It seems that creating the perfect, high-performing team is more complex and unpredic-

table than we may like it to be, but actively forcing these traits may increase the likelihood of creating your dream team.

While this study cannot capture the individual complexity of building excellent teams, it offers a new perspective on the research of successful or failing teams, apart from personalities and distinctive behaviors and eventually suggests Aristotle

might be right yet again.

“The whole is more than the sum of its part.� - Aristotle

[1]

R. M. Belbin, Management teams: Why they succeed or fail, London: Heinemann, 1987.

[2]

R. Lorenzo, N. Voigt, K. Schetelig, A. Zawadzki, I. Welpe und P. Brosi, „The Mix That Matters:

Innovation Through Diversity,“ Boston Consulting Group, 2017.

[3]

Google LLC, „re:Work - Guide: Understand team effectiveness,“ [Online]. Available: https://

rework.withgoogle.com/guides/understanding-team-effectiveness/steps/identifydynamics-

of-effective-teams/. [Accessed 2nd of March 2019].

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 27

SCENE

DATA SCIENCE AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO ECOLOGY ...how Data Scientists can help to safe the Earth How to find the solution to any problem?

the factors that influence animal behavior in the

Right, you need data. In most of the situations, it

blue ocean and to build the tools required to pro-

is highly important to have a variety of data from

tect their future.

both the past and the present and the right tools to analyze it in order to solve the problem. When Margarita Kozyreva Local Group Saint Petersburg

choosing which kind of chocolate to buy all you may need is the price, the taste and the opinion of your friends, but solving worldwide problems requires a huge amount of data and special tools to work with. When that’s the case, you start working with ‘big data’.

Today to predict or prevent environmental problems, scientists, companies, and governments turn to big data for help. If we gather the right information and use it wisely, it can help us save

Anna

the Earth from its threat of destruction. Some data

Kornilovich

scientists (real superheroes) are already imple-

Google Earth Engine

Local Group

menting incredible projects to do so. For example:

Google Earth Engine allows you to observe dynamic changes in agriculture, natural resources, and

Saint Petersburg

The Global Tagging of Pelagic Predators program

climate using geospatial data from the Landsat Sa-

The Global Tagging of Pelagic Predators program,

tellite Program, which passes over the same areas

is a project that will allow users to view and interact

on the Earth every sixteen days. The Google Earth

with animal tracking data. By combining the data

Engine provides a data catalog along with compu-

of highly migratory species, and overlaying it with

ters for analysis; this allows scientists to collabora-

oceanographic data, it is possible to gain a glimpse

te using data, algorithms, and visualizations. The

of the processes that influence how open ocean

platform uses Python and Javascript programming

ecosystems work. The objective is to understand

interfaces to make requests to the servers.

28 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

SCENE ment the knowledge gathered from these projects to solve environmental problems. In fact, there is still a lot of work to develop and improve.

Now, most of ecological data scientists are already working on creating perfect big data repositories in which information will be automatically systematized and presented in a common way. The perfect example is ourworldindata.org, where you can find not only environment-related information but also discover everything about the changes that have been happening with our planet.

Ecology is a complex science which in the last decade, has increasingly turned to big data for help.

Global Forest Power Global Forest Power (GFP) is an online platform that allows anyone to access near real-time information about where and how forests are changing around the world. GFP has far-reaching implications across numerous industries. Financial institutions can better evaluate whether or not the companies they’re investing in are adequately assessing forest-related risks. Buyers of major commodities such as palm oil, soy, timber, and beef can better monitor compliance with laws, sustainability commitments, and standards. And suppliers can credibly demonstrate that their products are

Now, ecologists are slowly becoming more and more computer-savvy. Increasing numbers of them are proficient in R, MySQL, or Python before graduate school and ArcGIS (a geographic information system for working with maps) has become a necessary tool for spatial ecologists. Over time, the data science and environmental science alliance will only strengthen, creating new spaces for human activity on the basis of deeper knowledge, not only with regards to the impact that a person has on the environment, but also on how each one of us can turn around today’s worsening situation for the better.

deforestation free and being produced legally.

We have listed only three projects but even though these brief descriptions, one can understand how important big data is in learning and understanding the different processes taking place on our planet. The most important thing here is to imple-

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 29

SCENE

MEDITATION AND MINDFULNESS: HOW TO INCREASE THE QUALITY OF LIFE We all live in an utterly busy world: the pace of life is

Now, what are we supposed to do? Here are a few

speeding up, days are rapidly changing, our minds

steps that helped me to become more mindful:

are always tense, whizzes like washing machines

Katerina Fedyuk Local Group Minsk

going through lots of confusing emotions and

10 Minutes of doing nothing

thoughts. When you find yourself feeling stuck

By nothing I literally mean nothing. Find a silent

and anxious, it’s time to take a pause: take a deep

spot, get a comfortable and steady position, turn

breath in and exhale slowly. Close your eyes, feel

off your phone, forget about your to-do list, deeply

the oxygen coming into your body and leaving

inhale and exhale. Close your eyes, dedicate this

it, release everything that no longer serves you.

moment of silence and peace to yourself.

That’s the first step of introducing mindfulness into your life.

Detox your mind Meditation is simply mental hygiene: clear out the junk, tune your talents, and get in touch with yourself. Think about it, you shower every day and clean your body, but have you ever showered your mind? As a consequence, you will feel more clear and see things with a wider perspective.

Let the thoughts flow Meditation is never about controlling thoughts or stopping them from coming, that would be Mindfulness is an act of familiarizing yourself with

unnatural for the human mind. Instead imagine

a present moment, focusing on it and fully living it.

them as clouds, going around your mind. Without

The mind works mostly like a pendulum: it swings

jumping into that cloud, simply let it go.

to the future, then to the past and is almost never in the present moment, unlike our body, hence the mindfulness meditation helps to align these

Cultivate gratitude

two in harmony.

Be grateful for this moment, accept it as an

Helpful meditation apps: 1. Headspace 2. Insight timer 3. Calm

unrepeatable miracle. This is the moment that truly exists. because the past is gone and the future is uncertain. Seize it and live it.

Take it everywhere you go Enjoy walking, eating, hugging or even drinking

Since I have made mindfulness meditation my

meditation :)

daily ritual in 2017, I can see drastic changes in life: my mind stays focused much longer, I almost

Wherever you are, be there totally.

never find myself procrastinating, calm is now my

Namaste.

superpower, my physical and emotional health have improved. Besides, there are tons of scientific reports and studies from how meditation practice boosts human health and immune system to how it increases the grey matter in the brain.

30 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

CAREER

Frank Heffter \\ ESTIEM ALUMNI INTERVIEW

Tell us about your career until now.

with my wife, die in peace and without any open

I have been working for 25 years now. The first

„bill“. Ah, yes, in between beeing the CFO of a stock

12 years I spend with Siemens after establishing

listed company for some years also, preferably

contact as a student) in various roles (plant

staying in Switzerland.

controller, sales controller, Head of FP&A, Head of Strategy, CFO of a US subsidiary, Investor Relations

What impact did ESTIEM have on your career?

[IR]) in 4 different locations. The last field of work

ESTIEM provided me with a priceless network of

also brought me to Switzerland, where I started

friends, and the ability to openly share views and

as Head of IR for Oerlikon, a global technology

opinions. Furthermore it gave me the stage to grow

company listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange. After

as a person, helped me develop my presentation

4 years I left and started as Head IR for Celesio, a

skills, project and people management etc. Even

German Healthcare Logistics MDAX Company. As

today, I have just returned from the 9th IEM Caring

the job did not work out as planned, I resigned after

convention in Skopje, and ESTIEM continues to

only 6 months and decided to take a sabbatical

allow me to learn about and discover Europe

for more than a year . Since September 2012 I am

in a way normal tourists will never experience

back at Oerlikon as Head of Controlling.

(big thanks to all LGs!). In addition, it frequently

Frank Heffter Local Group Berlin

pulls me out of my own routine and comfort What does your average working day look like?

zone and makes me think about others/a greater

First task of a day is to get your kids ready for

purpose. The bottom line is, ESTIEM had and still

School. Next is to have a first look into your

has a sizable impact on who I am and therefore

mailbox to see what has happened while you were

the career I was able to build. It even gets me

sleeping. Over a cup of coffee I note down the

questioning how to define one’s “career“ and how

priorities of the day, before heading to the office

important it actually is, but this is something each

at around 8am. This leaves me with about 1 hour

of you has to probably find out for yourselves...

to work, before I am having the second coffee with my team (informal exchange of what is on

Tell us your most memorable ESTIEM story.

our minds - currently Brexit, Champions League

The first ESTIEM flight in history: In the Board of

w/o Germany, Swiss Tax Reforms etc.). After that,

92/93 there were 3 Swedes, and one of them knew

usually meetings start, which keep me busy almost

a SAS pilot. When planning for the next board

the whole day (I hardly ever eat lunch, so that gives

meeting , with a very limited travel budget in mind,

me an extra hour to work). After 5pm things get

he asked his friend whether he could organize a

quieter and I can get some work done again, until I

small plane to get them to Berlin. Soon after, a

leave the office, which depends on what else is due

small Aircraft landed at the international airport

in the evening (drive kids around, bring them to

Berlin Tegel and 3 boardies disembarked....

bed, dinner appointments, recruitment interviews, business trips, sports - I try 1x per week). Now

What is your advice to current ESTIEMers?

you calculate yourselves, how many hours I really

Make use of this fantastic organization as much

„work“ in a week.

as you can: leverage its offerings on one hand while contributing on the other to make it even

What are your plans for the future?

stronger and more valuable. And never forget two

Continue to raise

my kids in a way that they

things: there is only ONE EUROPE and after your

become valuable contributors to a better and

graduation there is ESTIEM Alumni waiting for you!

more sustainable world, pay at least a portion back to ESTIEM of what they have provided me with, see

Next ESTIEM Alumnus to be interviewed:

as many UNESCO world Heritage Sites as possible,

Torben Schumacher

celebrate at least the 50th wedding anniversary ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 31

CAREER

ARE YOU A LEADER?

...What are the similarities to entrepreneurship and which are the key skills to have in order to be successful.

Are leaders born or made

describes the importance of first listening to the

What are the similarities between leadership and

opinion of others before making your own, ar-

entrepreneurship, and what are the key skills to

guing that the best leaders are the ones who learn

have in order to be successful?

to be the last to speak [2].

A highly debated question in startup circles is wheDenitsa Simeonova ther being an entrepreneur is a matter of nature Local Groups or nurture, and this same debate also arises when Sofia, Pader- it comes to leadership and leaders. In my opinion, born the two concepts are linked in numerous ways, therefore, I decided to look at the interrelations between the two and share my findings through my position as a former ESTIEM leader and the current executive director of the Association of the

“Listen to others’ opinions before making your own - the best leaders are the ones who learn to be the last to speak.”

Simon Sinek

Bulgarian Leaders and Entrepreneurs.

From my own experience, I have also realized how Characteristics needed for success

important it is for a leader to understand and em-

Individuals who are considered as leaders and/

power their team, to provide members with a safe

or entrepreneurs do share similar characteristics,

environment where everyone’s opinion is heard

that is the case at least when we talk about those

and taken into consideration. In addition to that,

who were successful. Being a natural leader or en-

a much-needed skill for the entrepreneur is that

trepreneur does not mean you would necessarily

they would bring vision and guidance to a strong

excel in the project you are undertaking. In order

team of sectoral experts, even when sometimes

to be successful, you need to develop certain skills:

he or she may not be fully aware of the sector or

leadership is a combination of them, not a trait it-

the technology behind the product being develo-

self. The same applies to being entrepreneurial.

ped. Being a good listener is also empowering the entrepreneur in their research on customers’ ne-

We can point out way many skills that would help

eds since only when they really know the desires

you be a good leader or entrepreneur, for exam-

of their potential clients, can they create a good

ple, creative thinking, responsibility, and commu-

product-market fit.

nication, but I would like to highlight one of them which may not come to your mind at first. I heard it in the speech of the famous Simon Sinek [1] who

32 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

CAREER Finally, investors always look firstly at the team rather than the business idea itself when investing, therefore if you would like to raise money for your venture you would need to build a strong team and prove yourself to be a good leader.

Practice makes perfect All that was discussed above is linked to experience since to be a successful leader, you need to have experience in leading. It is similar to the idea that in order to create a successful venture you are likely to have failed in a few others and learned crucial lessons from that.

A study from Stanford Graduate School of Business professor Kathryn Shaw in 2014 looked at data from 2.8 million small businesses to determine rates of success based on previous experience.

It does not come as a surprise that success rates were many times higher for entrepreneurs who had previous experience running a business.

Two generations of ESTIEM Grants Committee Leaders during a Committee Meeting in Enschede, the Netherlands It is not easy to derive neither the formula for leadership nor for entrepreneurship. It is also not

“To be a successful leader you need to have the experience in leading.�

easy to answer if leaders are born or self-made.

There are, as we have all seen, hundreds of articles on these topics. Therefore, I would like that the takeaway from this short piece I wrote be the following: view ESTIEM as a playground to practice leadership and create your own initiatives within

This may seem like an obvious observation, but it is important to consider in the discussion on whether entrepreneurs are born or made. The study leads us to conclude that regardless of your ten-

the network, listen to the fellow ESTIEMers with an open mind and do not be afraid to fail a few times before finally succeeding. This may take you a step closer to be among the leaders of tomorrow.

dency to start a business, the real determining factor for success is how much experience you get in an entrepreneurial role. Everyone can become a successful entrepreneur if they spend enough time developing certain skills, gaining entrepreneurial experience and committing themselves to self-improvement. I am sure that this applies to leaders as well.

[1] British-American author, motivational speaker and organizational consultant.

[2] In his talk Sinek is referring to the leadership lessons of the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist Nelson Mandela.

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 33

CAREER

Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship\\ Springboard for pursuing dreams Hi, we are 2 ESTIEMers, and second-year Master’s students at Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship (CSE). In this article, we will describe our journey within a very unique educational field, that also brings lots of good and unexpected opportunities. Hopefully, we will inspire others who dream about becoming entrepreneurs and driving changes in technology and society.

Alina Afanasjeva Local Group Saint Petersburg

Alina

Startup challenge

I was studying international law when I first joined

Basically, as soon as we started, we were thrown

ESTIEM in 2012. After 4 years of hanging out with

into the entrepreneurial spirit through a weeklong

engineers, I discovered that my true passion

assignment called The Startup Challenge. We

does not lie within solving legal dilemmas, but

were split into groups of 5 and challenged to

rather, in working together with solution-oriented

generate as much money as possible within a

people, the engineers, creating value for the

week. Anything is allowed as long as it’s legal, of

world. I wanted to become an agent of change, a

course. Before starting this educational program,

challenger, and work with entrepreneurship so I

I would have never believed that it was possible

applied for corporate entrepreneurship track at

to earn 6000 Euros in one week! My main learning

CSE.

outcome from that week was that we are capable of doing much more than we initially think and

Isaac Gonzalez Local Group Gothenburg

Isaac

that all you need to get started is a goal and an

For me, it was never clear that entrepreneurship

entrepreneurial mindset.

was the right choice. The only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to continue on my computer

Business Creation Lab

science track to become just another engineer

After the first few weeks, we were divided into

at some great company. Rather, I wanted the

teams which we would stick to for the rest of the

opposite, do something out of the ordinary, and

fall, and all courses were backed into one larger

work with a smaller team to achieve great things

case called the Business Creation Lab. In this

against the odds. This is why I felt that the startup

course, we were given a patented technology, and

life was well suited for me.

we were supposed to build a business case around it. Firstly, we needed to find a business application

“My main learning outcome

from that week was that we are capable of doing much more than we initially think and that all you need to get started is a goal and an entrepreneurial mindset.”

Business Creation Lab Team 6

34 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

where this technology could create value and also build a strategy on how to legally protect it within intellectual property rights. Our team consisted of people with diverse backgrounds; law, software engineering, mechanical engineering, business, and international law. I think this is one of the many reasons we complemented each other and worked well together. Besides, we also had two ESTIEMers onboard, Alina and myself.

CAREER

Isaac cutting Spanish Jamon somewhere in the Mediterranean, and Alina making new friends in Japan Cases - IRL

act as a newly hired team of business developers

The spring semester started with a course called

in a fictional company that is on the verge of

Idea Evaluation. Our class was split into 10 teams,

destruction, trying to get themselves back on

and each team received an idea of a potential

track. Each teacher takes on the role of a single

business case which was to be evaluated and,

stakeholder, and throughout the entirety of the

hopefully, turned into a new business venture. The

course, they act as the CEO, CTO, CFO, investors,

selection of the ideas was limitless! We could, for

neighbors, lawyers of the company. The “game” or

example, choose to work with automatic parking

study process becomes your life, as you are ought

ticketing image recognition technology, or a post-

to spend nights and days in the office, trying to not

traumatic horse gait treatment, or smart pillbox,

get sued by the industry giants, deciding on the go

or a dating app. The coolest part about the course

to market strategy, preventing employees from

though was that all these ideas were and are real.

quitting, and things just keep happening. A true

In practice this meant having breakfast with the

life-changing learning experience.

co-founders, learning their vision and discussing their challenges, then having lunch with teachers

Alina

who naturally became our business coaches, and

The past summer, I did an internship in Fukuoka,

spending the afternoon working with your team

Japan, where I worked as a business developer

and trying to find the most fitting solutions. The

for an Artificial Intelligence-image recognition

opportunity to create real value while learning

technology: a robot that helps food manufacturers

more about yourself is truly inspiring for me.

detect hair and dirt on the conveyor lanes. Right now, I am doing my entrepreneurial project at

What are your main tasks and activities on a

China Euro Vehicle Technology and helping the

normal work day?

firm become more agile via collaborating with

Highlights during the program also include

startups. My next challenge will be getting a job

the JMP meetings, which take place within the

at Ryanair, in order to contribute to their value

functional area, in an international setting, as

proposition with all my learnings and experiences,

well as interdisciplinarily. This is always a good

and to one day be able to achieve my vision to

opportunity for getting to know each other and for

connect, educate and inspire the world by making

networking. There are usually also management

traveling free for all.

representatives at the evening meetings who were present at the seminar/workshop during the day.

Isaac

So there’s always the opportunity to ask all sorts

Although the school offered many interesting

of questions and dive into interesting discussions.

internships abroad, I wanted something different.

Together with one of my best friend Oskar

Knowledge based Business Development and

Wahlbäck, who is also an ESTIEMer, we decided

Management - Learning through trauma

to go after our childhood dream: to sail from

Have you ever been woken up at midnight by a

Gothenburg to the Mediterranean. Without any

phone call from your teacher, acting as your boss,

sailing experience, we bought a sailboat, 27ft, took

shouting at you for a minor reason and demanding

a course in navigation, and then off we went. The

that you to run to the office NOW? Well, this

whole trip took 2.5 months, and it was one of the

happened to me this spring, when taking a course

best experiences I’ve ever had. And now I’m making

called Knowledge based Business Development

plans of chasing an even bigger childhood dream:

and Management. In this course, student teams

to circumnavigate the globe!

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 35

CAREER

WHAT ALPACAS TAUGHT ME ABOUT LEADERSHIP - A WALK WITH ALPACAS

Oliver Dittrich Local Group Bremen

After finishing to saddle the halter of our alpacas,

Much like humans, they also have different per-

my group and I started to prepare for our alpaca

sonalities, varying moods, and preferences. Some

adventure for the first time. Besides the owner of

are more dominant than others and act up if you

these amazing animals and our guide who tried to

force them to follow a certain direction. Others

not intervene during the day, no one of our group

are balky and will only move efficiently when pla-

ever attended a one-day trip like this. So, we could

ced next to their best buddy.

experience everything and solve difficult situa-

Similar to leading with a team with an aim towards

tions on our own.

a goal, we had to learn how the alpacas wanted to be managed. We had to figure out the herd’s

It was going to be a warm day and when I looked

dynamics, value their personal needs, and then

to the route ahead, it was clear the trip would

adjust our leading style to fulfill those needs.

offer something quite different and nothing we face on a regular day. We will walk many kilome-

This way, we quickly learned that a command

ters through nature, pass hills and rivers. We will

and control style would often backfire immedia-

learn new outdoor skills and how to care for our

tely, as it does in most modern organizations. If

environment. But, most important, we will learn to

you push them too hard, you just might get kicked

behave in ways that develop deep trust with our

as their reaction. Because alpacas do not spit,

alpaca.

this is the only way they can defend themselves.

Luckily, they don’t have any natural enemies.

A core part of the learning comes from the alpacas themselves. With big, dark eyes and framed

However, unless you speak alpaca language, it’s

by long eyelashes, this alpaca charm simply can-

rather hard to communicate a vision and then

not be denied and I’m not surprised that the frien-

force an alpaca to drive results. The alpaca needs

dly Andean farmers have created a good mood

a balanced approach to leadership, not only one

everywhere. Calm, gentle and inaudible, the al-

that takes into account the environmental pres-

paca walks beside you while you travel with him

sures being placed on us to achieve the goal, but

in nature which is balancing and relaxing, at least

also bring them into the decision-making process.

most of the time.

So, what can we learn from a herd of alpacas?

36 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

CAREER Know when to lead them, and when to give

Love your alpaca, and your alpaca will love you

them the lead

back

When guiding your alpaca, you hold it onto a lead,

Finally, the alpacas helped to name the importan-

which is attached to their halter and gives you

ce of being a serving leader. When you are deep

about 2 meters of rope to work with. Mastering

in the backcountry, you would quickly realize how

how much of that lead you hold in your hands is

important the alpacas really are. If one of you were

an art and it’s constantly changing. When passing

to get injured or developed a saddle sore, the team

tight areas, you might shorten it to just a few cen-

would have to carry additional weight. As our guide

timeters so you have strong control. When cros-

said. “First, take care of the horse, then the saddle,

sing a small, fastmoving river, you might release all

then the man.” This translated to first feeding and

of the lengths, giving your alpaca the freedom to

watering your alpaca, then setting up your group

cross the danger as he sees best.

and collective responsibilities, then caring about all your personal needs. Repeating this process every

The parallels to leading a direct report are clear.

day emphasized where a leader needs to be de-

Sometimes they don’t know what they don’t know,

dicating his valuable time. You simply won’t meet

and you need to provide strong direction and gui-

your goals without your follower’s dedication and

dance to help them best. Other times, reports need

team’s support. When your actions consistently

space to find their own solutions and strong gui-

demonstrate a willingness to put other’s needs

dance works against you. A great leader does not

above your own, you will earn respect, affection

adopt a single style of leadership, rather applies

and loyalty.

the right style based on the individual’s need and the current task.

I believe that you can learn much about leadership from an alpaca. In fact, the greatest lessons often

Sometimes they know best. Listen to them

came from allowing an alpaca to lead you. Like all

The terrain we passed was steep, rocky, risky in

successful relationships, it is a dance of giving and

particular situations and sometimes it was uncle-

taking. The alpacas would be lost without us, wa-

ar which way was the right one. At one point we

ndering aimlessly without purpose, and we would

attempted to lead our alpacas across a street. We

be lost without them. I recommend you to find tho-

knew it wasn’t a great route, but it looked doable

se alpacas in your life that need your leadership,

and apparently our only option. Then our leading

then practice working the lead, listening deeply

alpaca just stopped with me. “Not going that way”

when challenged, and help them every day. If you

he communicated by digging his heels in, sitting

do so, you will be able to climb some impressive

down and refusing to do any step. At first, I tried

mountains together and will achieve your goals.

pulling him harder, then I tried a gentle smack to his back. Usually, this would get him moving again but this time was different. He just sat there, looking at me like I was crazy. Then it occurred to another guy from our group, maybe he knows something we don’t and we started searching for an alternate route. Indeed, there was a much better way around the street! The alpacas then followed

“Sometimes as a leader, you must get out of your own way. There will be times when your followers know best”

us safely.

Sometimes as a leader, you must get out of your own way. There will be times when your followers know best. Perhaps it’s your coworker who knows your customer’s needs better than you do. Or maybe it’s the brilliant freshman who just needs space to voice that next best idea to the company.

The best managers know when to lead and when to follow.

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 37

INSIDE ESTIEM

WELCOME TO THE NEW MEMBER OF OUR NETWORK: LOCAL GROUP LAUSANNE!

“LG Lausanne is really happy and proud to have become an ESTIEM member after the Council Meeting (CM) Warsaw in 2018. What a great feeling it was to present our Local Group in front of the whole assembly and what an amazing surprise to be welcomed so warmly by a unanimous vote.”

Louis De Guyenro Local Group Lausanne

So, what’s Lausanne like, you may ask. The town

within our

is the second largest city in Lake Geneva behind …

students and we are proud to have seen 18% of

well, Geneva. It is built on three hills, surrounded

our members apply to an ESTIEM event in 2018.

by vineyard-covered slopes, with the Alps on the

A massive step for us was organizing a Lean Six

horizon and the lake at its feet. It really is a beau-

Sigma in October 2018. It was the first time we

tiful place to be around from February to October

organized such a big event in our ESTIEM history

(outside of this season, we recommend other des-

and definitely represented a big challenge for us.

tinations such as Brazil or Argentina). If you come

It was a fantastic success, in our eyes, and comfor-

to Lausanne, consider taking a loan to afford li-

ted our desire to join ESTIEM. Our ambition, with

ving here, as everything is expensive; for instan-

regards to our limitations, is to grow our image

ce, Switzerland is home of the most expensive Big

within the network by organizing at least one qua-

Mac in the world (5,75€). However, now being a

lity event per year.

part of the ESTIEM network means we’ll organize events for you, at an affordable price, for you to enjoy with us the view over the Geneva lake, a savoy fondue late at night and swiss chocolate treats during the coffee break.

Our story began in 2015 when our mother association, the Society of Managerial Engineering (SME) of École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) was created. That same year, Mikko Rajala, who was in ERASMUS at EPFL, advised us to apply for a guest status in

ESTIEM

Lean Six Sigma Event 2018 To conclude, we are truly delighted to have joined

whi-

the ESTIEM family. We hope it is the beginning of a

ch we did in CM

fruitful collaboration that will see many ESTIEMers

Vienna in 2015.

and Lausanne-ers travel, learn, sing, climb and

Six months later,

dance together.

Nico Hübner (LR) and Yves Robert-Tissot of

SME)

(President obtained

the observer status for LG Lausanne in CM Poznan in 2016. Since then, we slowly made our way towards becoming a full member, focusing our efforts on communication within our LG to build an active team.

Our Local Group being small and our program short (3 semesters), LG Lausanne will probably never reach high activity numbers, but motivation and commitment have grown for the past 3 years

38 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

“However, now being a part of the ESTIEM network means we’ll organize events for you, at an affordable price, for you to enjoy with us the view over the Geneva lake, a savoy fondue late at night and swiss chocolate treats during the coffee break.”

INSIDE ESTIEM

INDUSTRY HUBS - The development from an initiative to a project

“Industry Days started as an event idea and transforms into a project in our network, it starts getting accepted by LGs and being implemented in the structure of ESTIEM.” First Steps

Industry hubs are cities or regions where specific

Industry Days is an initiative we launched last year,

types of businesses are clustered. Whether the

where we held our first event in Hamburg. The

sector

city ranked within the top ten most livable cities

shipping, steel production or whatever your

worldwide, or like some people like to call it, the

region offers, new hubs are springing up ranging

Venezia or pearl of the north. In that same year,

from

Bremen, Braunschweig, and Dresden organized

nanotechnology firms. After the Council Meeting

Dittrich

the second edition of the initiative on the topic of

in Warsaw, the first project under this name

Local Group

automotive industries in Germany.

took place in Russia. Two Local Groups, Saint

Bremen

is

aerospace,

manufacturers

foodstuffs,

of

sporting

automotive,

goods

to

Oliver

Petersburg and Moscow, decided to help us in This event connected multiple Local Groups

shaping Industry Hubs.

and showcased a specific hub of industries from different perspectives and locations. Hamburg

3rd Edition of Industry Hubs

focused on the aviation industry within their city,

The two capitals — Moscow

whereas Bremen, Braunschweig, and Dresden

the

came up with a road trip through Germany to

Saint

introduce the automotive industry and give an

the

cultural

capital

insight into how famous car brands like BMW,

—

presented

their

Mercedes or Volkswagen work.

logistics In

official

capital

Petersburg

as

systems.

Moscow,

biggest

and

city

the in

Russia, participants learned

how

the

administration manages

traffic

of

million

twelve

inhabitants

and

four public airports for passengers.

Group photo from Automotive Industry Days 2018

LG Saint Petersburg showed participants not only the cultural side of this variegated

From Industry Days to Industry Hubs

country but also the seaport, the reason why this

Industry Days started as an event idea and

beloved city is known as the ‘Window to Europe’.

transforms into a project in our network, it starts

Not to mention the Trans-Siberian Railway, the

getting accepted by LGs and being implemented

longest railway line in the world, a must-visit in

in the structure of ESTIEM. During this process,

every ESTIEMer’s bucket list, which successfully

however, its definition changed. We decided to

completed the representation of the Russian

change the name in order to avoid confusion with

logistics hub.

other similarly named projects and we developed the current structure as you know it. But why Industry Hubs?

“Industry hubs are cities or regions where specific types of businesses are clustered.”

If you would like to share your country’s Industry Hub with our network, take a step forward and help shape this into a new project.

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 39

INSIDE ESTIEM

ELIUM - ESTIEM DIGITAL HEADQUARTERS

Giuseppe Perrone Local Group Calabria

To be transparent means to allow light to pass

So far, Elium has been used by ESTIEMers in many

through so that the objects behind can be seen.

different ways. The board is organizing meetings,

In any organization, there are walls that block li-

discussing the structure changes and asking for

ght, pieces of information and ideas from passing

inputs. Some people have prepared magazine arti-

through and reaching the place where they really

cles and other gathered input for the 30th ESTIEM

matter. In ESTIEM we have recently adopted Elium

birthday by getting ideas from the network also.

to make some of those walls more transparent.

When I proposed the idea of remote trainings it

Elium is an online platform that allows every enti-

was very basic and sketchy but thanks to contribu-

ty within our organization to cooperate and check

tions by curious people it’s now a growing concept

out what is going on in the other ones.

which is also branching into trainings and lessons (interactive and live or recorded sessions). I also

But what is the benefit

had the opportunity to contribute on many topi-

of giving everyone the

cs, from how to structure a speech to dealing with

possibility to see other

best practice documents in a new way. That is the

entities’ work? Simply,

essence of Elium, taking and giving, have your con-

the reader can get new

cept expanded and expand the others’, ebb and

ideas, he can check how

flow.

a problem common to both his entity and the one hosting the space has been solved and also parti-

By shedding light around us we better understand

cipate in the developing of ideas giving a new pers-

how ESTIEM works and also how we can participa-

pective or an unexpected point of view.

te in its development. Sir Ken Robinson once said that the role of a creative leader - or leadership in

How does that work? Thanks to Elium’s wide im-

this case - is not to have all the ideas, but to crea-

plementation of external services you can create

te a culture in which everyone can have ideas and

contents to share ideas or ask for feedback, and

feels valued.

you do so by posting a Story, where you can include text, images and previews. Stories are grouped

We share and grow in a network that values dif-

into spaces, containers that divide contents ba-

ferent opinions and ideas, and Elium gives us the

sed on their topic and each entity within ESTIEM

possibility to shape it, leading it toward addressing

have one. Here they share updates and ideas for

the ever-changing needs of its members. I perso-

their members while allowing other people to give

nally used it to develop some ideas that were just

valuable inputs.

there, lying around, and ended up being developed and accepted. And you? What is your story?

40 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

INSIDE ESTIEM

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.

COMMITTEES:

event will not only contain trainings, but also time

Analysis Committee:

appropriate tools will be used to get in touch with

Our mission is to support ESTIEM to make the

companies/universities to better bridge the gap

decision-making more fact-based in order to help

between ESTIEMers and partners. This all is based

the organization move forward while supporting

on the findings in the interactions with people and

ESTIEMers in their professional development. At

leaders from all the other entities in ESTIEM. Only

the time of the Council Meeting Tampere the leader

through interaction, it will be possible to show the

of the Committee has left the position, however,

potential benefits of ESTIEMers and the different

there were still a lot of achievements made by the

projects to potential partners.

members of the Committee. The main win was the

There is still a lot to do in the CR Committee and we

automated feedback system, outcomes of which

will be moving on in the next month to carry out all

are visualized in the NPS dashboard. AC is also

these parts, but I think we are on the right way to

the main player in implementing the Event Quality

make this part of CRC stable again and let ESTIEM

strategy by developing the Activity Ranking and

grow and gain recognition in the corporate world.

Event of the Year concept. Support to the board

Lastly, I would like to thank all the ESTIEM Alumni

was provided by creating the Event Application

who got in contact with us to help ESTIEM in this

Dashboard which allows the board to monitor

time and present ESTIEM as a valuable partner at

the application and participation at events. The

their company.

to put them directly into action. Thirdly, more

ESTIEM Hackathon is taking place at CM Tampere to improve data analysis skills of participants.

A lot of plans are ahead as we aim to further

Trainers Community:

develop the LG and feedback dashboards, recruit

As the Trainers Community, we aim to provide

and train new members and assist in the Event

ESTIEM

Quality Strategy.

by passing on knowledge skills and attitude in

personal

development

opportunities

our training sessions while supporting future development and the growth of our community.

Corporate Relations Committee:

For the past sixth months, we have been

The Corporate Relations (CR) Committee is

working towards this goal. After CM Warsaw, we

responsible for creating and developing academic

organized a Training New Trainers Event (TNT) in

and corporate partnerships that will contribute

Porto, Portugal. It was a successful event where

value and support our network CR wise. The

we welcomed 14 new Junior Trainers to our

function is to build up long-term partnerships

community. Trainers of TNT Porto are now working

with companies and also universities with a multi-

on a Handout Document which will be used as a

beneficial outcome for not only ESTIEM and the

follow-up for future TNTs. We are working closely

partner, but also the ESTIEMers.

with other NGOs in order to develop internal and

As the entity suffered a lot of problems the last

external training opportunities for our trainers and

year, we are now developing and regrouping. A

work on providing them new perspectives with

new team has been grouped together and after

upcoming collaborations.

a Coordination Meeting with the core team, a

With the mission of supporting the future

new structure has been given also. This means

development of our trainer’s pool and training

right now, with the new team, there are different

new trainers while building a training culture in

aspects to tackle. On the one hand, a Customer

ESTIEM, we will continue to ‘Learn, Share and

Relationship Management plan with a timeline has

Grow Together’.

been developed, which will be put into action. On the other hand, the skills of the team members will be improved, by means of a Bootcamp. This ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 41

INSIDE ESTIEM Human Resources Committee (HRC):

expect to have a stronger IT generation, capable of

The HRC is responsible for supporting ESTIEM

helping with issues of the present Portal and the

and all its entities in managing, maintaining and

new one.

developing their Human Resources to fulfill ESTIEM’s mission by ensuring the stability of the network and by creating a stimulating environment

Knowledge Management Committee:

for growth. We had our Coordination Meeting in

The Knowledge Management Committee (KMC) is

January in Kaiserslautern and had a great chance

responsible for storing, transferring and processing

to gather lots of input as well as completed some

relevant knowledge in ESTIEM; and supporting

unfinished work. Recruitment to Central ESTIEM

central and local entities regarding knowledge

carries on with the Open Positions Newsletter,

management in order for the knowledge in

‘Get Active! Survey’ and ‘Get Active! Chats’, we will be

ESTIEM to be stored safely and used efficiently

having another round of ‘Get Active! Chats’ right

in the future. Since CM Warsaw, there have been

after Council Meeting Tampere and we will also

some changes going on in the committee. The

start using a new template for the Newsletter

function of the quality monitoring of the events

in the following weeks. The latest edition of

has been transferred to AC’s responsibility since

ESTIEM 360 has been successfully organized by

2019. As KMC, we tried to cover the feedback for

LG Eindhoven in January. Moreover, a form for

all events which took place between CM Warsaw

tracking motivation within teams has been sent

and the end of 2018. We have also been working

out and now we are creating a report for each

on the knowledge stored in Drive, Elium and the

entity while trying to help Leaders to retain their

ESTIEM Portal. We transferred some relevant

members.

knowledge from the Portal and Drive to Elium and

Next, the Training System is still under development

have worked on creating a new structure for the

and we defined different types of training events

ESTIEM File Share in Drive. We have worked on the

we need in Central ESTIEM, for which we now will

current official BPDs and Templates and are still

focus on raising awareness and organizing them.

evaluating their usefulness, checking if they need

Lastly, skills that need to be included in the Talent

to be updated and evaluating the concept of the

Database have been clustered and we are working

BPDs since they are not visible and used often.

on their measurement as well as collecting the

Last but not least, since we transferred one

input and structuring the database.

important function which made up for nearly half of the workload in the KMC, we are also trying to determine how to proceed with the knowledge

Information Technology Committee:

management function in ESTIEM and how to

The

structure the committee.

Information

Technology

Committee’s

mission is to guarantee technological support to the whole network, maintain the Portal and develop ESTIEMers IT skills. Right now, and after

Members Committee:

an unsuccessful first edition of Ninja Academy, we

After restructuring the Membership Process to

are trying to restructure the team to define a plan

show and include Guest and Observer Groups in

B for the mentorship program in order to have a

ESTIEM, for the last few months, the Members

similar opportunity to learn and practice coding

Committee has been focusing on how to support

languages. We expect to focus on this until the

each Local Group. The strategy up to this point

CM and launch a different idea there to achieve

included three key aspects. Firstly, making the

our goal of sustainability. There are also two types

Local Group Support System a reality, for which we

of events we want to explore and structure to

have been discussing numerous possibilities and

organize in the future – one about web design

studying them further. Secondly, redefining the

and another one with a hackathon. Additionally,

concept of the LR Forum, focusing it on the needs

there are some little tasks we are taking care of like

that the participants have at the moment instead

updating the current portal, supporting ESTIEMers

of having a general concept for the event. Lastly,

and working on a plan for the help.it email list to

concluding the study of the Regional Coordinator

guarantee a quick and efficient response.

position (RC) – deciding on how to give them tools

To finish off, ITC has a close connection with the

or even a team to help Local Groups to the fullest

IT Project in order to provide all the support on

extent.

building and finishing our new Portal. This way, we

42 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

INSIDE ESTIEM A strategy for our approach has been developed to

upcoming years.

assure we are allocating our resources in the best

For the next steps, the action points for the second

possible way: in regions where we could use their

year of the Strategy need to be revised to ensure

support and mutually support new groups and at

the correct path, a critical analysis regarding the

the correct time for our network.

gaps to be filled by the external partners needs to be conducted and a discussion needs to be raised related to the Ambassador’s responsibilities.

Public Relations Committee: The Public Relations Committee (PRC) aims to ensure the visibility of ESTIEM, by communicating

PROJECTS:

the brand and identity of the network through the use of its communication channels. Since August,

IT Project:

our structure has adapted, due to the centralization

While the current main portal has a lot of good

of ESTIEM’s image. With this, in a strategic way,

functions, we have to face the fact that its days

we have created Branding Responsibles, who are

are counted: the website is antiquated (do kids

responsible for ensuring a coherent brand image

these days even know what a forum is?), virtually

for ESTIEM. In a more operational way, in order

unmodifiable (each time it crashes we must reboot

to communicate with our stakeholders, we have

the server and if that stops working, we’d be left

Social Media Managers that are accountable for

at a dead end) and is barely usable on mobile

managing Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn,

platforms. These problems make interactions

and PR Materials Managers who are responsible

with ESTIEM less enjoyable and impede from

for Central ESTIEM Printing Materials and External

implementing new and better features.

Materials. Also, Graphic Designers and Video Editors are here to make all of these plans become

Enter the IT Project:

a reality.

Our mission is to ensure that ESTIEM can serve its

Currently, we are focusing on the creation of

members fully by helping them be their truest and

an updated image of ESTIEM with new Logos

most amazing selves through building a modern,

and Templates for PR usage and to finalize the

stable, easily maintainable and upgradeable portal

centralization of all ESTIEM Facebook Pages. From

that works well on all platforms. For the last two

8-12th March PRC CoM happened with the aim to

years, the team has been working on creating a

fulfill all the goals established for the PRC year!

new platform that can fulfill our mission whilst ensuring a sustainable culture of IT expertise within the network.

Ambassador:

With the 7th ITP Coordination meeting just a few

External Relations in ESTIEM have been following

days away, we can proudly say that we are looking

the path that was strategically chosen for this

forward to declaring the impending completion of

year. The partnerships have been evolving either

the project with a strong new generation ready to

by strengthening the bonds with the existing ones,

carry on the flame of IT in ESTIEM for the years to

such as BEST, EESTEC, and VWI, but also by actively

come.

searching for those that would create a good fit with the network by adding value, such as IAESTE. Elium Project: The Ambassador has also been focusing on the

The Council Meeting Warsaw marked a milestone

fulfillment of the Strategy for the first year, by

for Elium: launching new digital headquarters

completing all the points that were expected.

of ESTIEM. By combining the four core values

At this moment, every external event was

of sharing knowledge, transparency, open

represented by an official representative of

interaction, and adaptability, it aims to raise

ESTIEM, thereby increasing ESTIEM’s presence

collaboration and communication between the

as the facilitator of IEM in Europe. Secondly,

entities and each ESTIEMer.

successful matches between entities in ESTIEM and

The next step was to move all the teams of central

their correspondents have been made, allowing us

entities to the platform. In order for us to be able to

to reduce weaknesses that may exist. Finally, the

achieve this whilst also discovering and improving

way of working has been standardized, allowing

the platform itself, we recognized the need to

for a more structured path to be followed for the

expand our team from being a three- to ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 43

INSIDE ESTIEM a six-person team. In the new formation, we

upcoming events.

managed to create accounts for all central

Our brand-new concept Europe4D, a product of

ESTIEMers which enabled us to guide them

our collaboration with Europe3D, is becoming

through their initial steps in the platform with new

popular within the network. The very first edition

tutorials and personal chats with the leaders.

was just implemented in Brussels, and we have

Another milestone was achieved by creating

already scheduled the summer edition which

resource spaces for all important documents and

is to be organized by Local Group Minho in July.

Until July our main focus is to gather input from participants of the first edition and ensure that our second edition is improved and further developed.

Next to these language-based events, ESTIEM also organized some Europe3D’s, activity weeks and exchanges.

information from the portal; this feat would not have been possible without the help of participants during the ESTIEM College in Ankara. Currently,

Career development department:

we’re working on projects such as establishing and improving the moderators (called “Innkeepers”) to

Businessbooster:

raise the participation on Elium.

Businessbooster (BB) is an ESTIEM Project that

If you are eager to contribute to the network and

promotes

be part of central ESTIEM, you can request an

among students. Since the Council Meeting in

account here:

Warsaw, BB changed and advanced in 3 fields:

and

stimulates

entrepreneurship

the first field is the Boost Events, a format which is open to valuable cooperation and innovative ESTIEM Magazine:

event ideas. The second field is one which aims to

The ESTIEM Magazine aims to present new trends

solve the challenges that each large organization is

in industrial engineering, as well as insights about

faced with: to be unified and to strive for a shared

ESTIEM to its readers. Notwithstanding our daily

vision. This takes the form of the Webinars and

tasks of article acquisition, proofreading, and

the Online Course with the aid of a new concept

designing the latest issues, ESTIEM has been

that connects the course to a boostevent. Last

successfully making new and motivated additions

but not least, the Entrepreneurs Community

to the ever-expanding team. The ESTIEM Magazine

(formerly

team hopes you will enjoy reading this issue, in the

have a strong focus of the BB workforce using a

meanwhile, we will be busy working on our 57th

stakeholder-based approach to facilitate more

issue!

streamlined connections with the externals and to

ESTIEMpreneurs

Community)

will

leverage value creation.

DEPARTMENTS:

In

Businessbooster,

we

believe

in

mutual

benefits for long term success: being part of BB means working hard and being committed

Intercultural development department:

to your responsibilities. As the most dynamic project in ESTIEM, we offer highways to personal

Language Programme:

development, personal innovation support, and

Language Programme is an entity that aims

entrepreneurial spirit.

to offer ESTIEMers several different ways to learn languages. In order to keep up with our students’, as well as LG’s, needs, we created a

TIMES:

language learning strategy that is currently being

In this edition of TIMES, Online Elimination

implemented. This strategy allows us to shape our

was organized for the first time. The Local

students’ language learning process and utilize

Qualifications, Semi-Finals and Online Eliminations

our offerings logically.

have already ended. By the time this magazine is

After a very productive Coordination Meeting,

published the Final will have been organized. We

Language Programme has decided to add a few

are also planning to finalize the implementation

requirements to our Language Course Events to

plan of the new structure until Council Meeting

ensure better quality as well as better detailing of

Tampere.

44 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

INSIDE ESTIEM As the TIMES team, we would like to the Local

you are interested in organizing an AD, please do

Groups that organized a Local Qualification,

approach us!

especially to the Semi-Final and Final organizing Local Groups: Porto, Famagusta, Lyon and Ilmenau Lean Six Sigma:

for contributing to the 25th edition of TIMES.

In the last few months since the former Council Meeting, we held several courses such as Training

Personal development department:

events and Local courses. Around 140 participants attended this time. We also rewrote the existing

Summer Academy:

local course contract and sent out a Local Course

The Winter Academy was organized in January,

survey to reach the full potential of the Local

and an amazing event was held by our local group

Courses.

Lappeenranta which was led by Paulo Xavier.

Aside from this, we have started to plan a Lean

During the event, the academic leader shared

Six Sigma Green Belt Course designed for Alumni

with the participants his own concept of the Inner

in the Summer. Also, together with the LSS

Warriors model and taught them the basics of

Instructors from Local Group Minho, we have

the theory. The ambassador programme was

begun to work on the Involvement of ESTIEM in the

redefined as a continuation of the event, which

Summer School on Quality in Minho. With the help

means that we are now capable of offering the

of Jukkis and Gregory Watson, we have continued

leadership of the programme to the existing

to collaborate with the International Trade Centre

academic leader and to offering the position of

in Africa where the content of the ESTIEM Lean Six

ambassador to the participants.

Sigma course is being taught to locals.

We have begun to look for rebranding ideas but have not yet thought up something good enough.

We are still searching for a new title for the event

Vision:

which is intended to clarify the difference between

It has now been one year since the new Vision

Winter and Summer Academy events and to

concept was introduced. The advent of Vision Data

explain our concept clearly to new recruits. Along

Science in Belgrade has marked a new era for the

with the summer academy events we have also

project: we now allow Local Groups to choose their

organized BrainTrainer events.

topics independently based on existing contacts, experiences and industries. Additionally, Vision events are from now on scheduled to take place

Academic development department:

across the whole year, not just in springtime. This year, Vision eDrive Munich will be held in May,

IEM Insights:

Vision European Logistics Dortmund in June, and

The goal of the IEM Insights division is to share

Vision Python for Data Science in July will extend

ESTIEM’s

network,

into the summer. More events and more topics will

thus supporting the personal and professional

knowledge

be announced soon for autumn and winter so stay

development

tuned!

of

with

our

students

whole

throughout

the

completion of their curriculum. In order to achieve this, we have three services: Academic Days, IEM Complementary Courses, and the Global Student Challenge partnership. Since the Council Meeting Warsaw, the division has focused on Complementary Courses and the Global Student Partnership. We are currently holding the first edition of the competition in collaboration with InChainge and are excited to announce that a team of ESTIEMers will have a guaranteed spot in the final! Course preparations will be held at the first event on the planned course of SCRUM. Unfortunately, there is no good news to report with regards to Academic Days. The last event was canceled and we are awaiting new applications. If ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 45

INSIDE ESTIEM

BOARD ARTICLE - “THE 29TH BOARD INVITES YOU FOR A BEER!” Time for a beer. That was the conclusion after the five of us closed of a long night and day of travel

“It was indeed quite challenging. I remember how

on the Ukrainian railway. Like we did regularly, we

nervous and excited we all were; finishing the

stroll into a craft-beer bar with our backpacks still

presentations in our tiny hostel room, still trying

on. The bartender watches warily from behind

to attend all the parties and be awake the next

around twenty draft faucets how we drop roughly

morning. The anxiety peaked on the last day when

a metric ton of backpacks next to our table. As

it seemed it was almost finished, but no organiser

all of you know, some of the best conversations

for the LIX CM was chosen yet. I believe I have never

happen with a beer at noon, so we’ll describe one

seen us all so lost and at the same time so ready to

of these moments.

act. At some point, I thought our voting committee wanted to run away from us! But we solved the problem mentioned earlier and I couldn’t believe it was over. However, CM wasn’t just all stress for me, there were so many good moments that I will take with me. Like that time when Elias started to collect cash in the crowd!”

“Every problem can be solved by having a nice glass of beer with some good company.”

“When I saw Elias going around with the Finnish cap I literally laughed out loud!” says Robert after “Pff, well that was a tiring trip. And we still have

taking a sip of his beer. “It was amazing when

so much ahead! I wonder if I will ever get used to

Casper and Nadja counted all the small coins and

being on the road for such a long time”, says Jorik.

bills in the hat and ESTIEM got over €200 from it.

Without that donation and all the other donations,

Palao answers, “I still think the trip before Council

we wouldn’t have survived the year. The whole

Meeting Warsaw was the most demanding. Just

financial state of ESTIEM didn’t make our year any

remember how it was, with the pressure of our first

easier but I think in the end the learning experience

CM, every day of biking, Dutchieness, sessions and

we got from it is really valuable. Making such deep

then in Hubble until 2 AM, making presentations

cuts in the budget, having to cancel events. It all

and working to have everything ready. And then,

wasn’t fun but in the end, it’s best for ESTIEM.” I will

the flight to Wroclaw and that bus that seemed the

get another beer Robert states while slowly getting

driver was driving with his feet. The self-managed

up from his chair.

LWS we pulled off was also something else, with participants cooking, doing shopping and me

“It was indeed complicated sometimes, but

dying out of stress all day long. That whole trip

remember how excited we were when our first big

was a rollercoaster from beginning to end: fun,

partner signed?”, Rita celebrates, while imitating

but you could feel yourself shaking from top to

the same weird dance moves as we did on that

bottom. Can’t wait for another one, let’s see how

day, but she gets melancholic, thinking on how

it goes with so many applicants. Nasti, I imagine

was at the start of the mandate.

the Council Meeting must have been tiring for you

“It took a lot of time to get the first results. In the

as well”

beginning, there was no one on the CR team to

46 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

INSIDE ESTIEM

approach companies and the only partnerships

people being able to discuss their failures, this will

were the ones with universities. More than calling

be impossible.”

companies, a proper team needed to be created to make it also sustainable for the next years. At the

“We are closing in 10 min, any last order?”

end ESTIEM’s CR needed to be reinvented. With a

announces the bartender. “Let’s have a toast!”,

couple of possible leads at the start, not going as

Jorik continues. “To ESTIEM, to Yogi Bear and to

expected, nothing looks like going in our favour.

all the hours spent on this great network. We had

But I just remember when we asked alumni for

quite some ups and downs but in the end a year

help and some leads and possible partnerships

filled with good memories. I am very glad that I

started to show up. I hope everyone’s efforts will

could spend this year with you guys. It would never

pay off and that it will bring better things for the

be as great, without having you as my fellow board

future ”

members.

A toast to all our leaders, who dedicated a year to

“Guys, I think we need to remember happy things

work for ESTIEM and moving it forward. Without

as well! Do you remember our trips to Maastricht,

them, we would not be able to achieve what we did.

Dour festival or Lviv after CM Warsaw? Where

Lastly, a toast to all the ESTIEMers. It is all of them

we had some time to spend together and where

who make ESTIEM such a beautiful organisation.

we could really build our friendship? Or do you

Seeing all these people enjoying the daily ESTIEM

remember how we made quite some steps with the

life is heart-warming. Because of them, I can say

transparency within ESTIEM? This transparency will

that I am proud to call myself an ESTIEMer.

create a new atmosphere where people are able to

Cheers!”

talk about their failures and get some feedback to it. In the end, we are all here to learn and without

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 47

INSIDE ESTIEM

29TH BOARD OF ESTIEM

Jorik Meijers President

Fun fact: Finished the last course of his Bachelor during the board year with the lowest grade possible

Anastasiia Plishkanovska

Robert Lintzen

Fun fact: Since August, I destroyed 2 trolleys, 1 backpack and 1 fanny pack

Fun fact: On average I drank 1.57 unique craft beer per day during our mandate.

VP of Administration

Carlos Miguel Palao

VP of Finance

Ana Rita Mendes

VP of Education

VP of Public Relations

Fun fact: My father put my room up for rent since I’m never home, but nobody called

Fun fact: I’m the best person to go to a Karaoke bar (if you like to destroy every single song)

48 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

EXPLORE

MY ERASMUS EXPERIENCE IN HEILBRONN

Almost at the end of your bachelor studies? And it started to get a bit boring, isn’t it? The same environment, same way of studying, same university every day? Your everyday life is starting to get into a routine?

Luckily there is a way to turn things around and to refresh your studies. Erasmus is a student ex-

Nevena Davosir Local Group Novi Sad

change program, where you can study one/two semesters abroad. I decided to definitely take advantage of this opportunity. The decision „Where to go? “needs to be made. There are tons of choices and cool places to move to. My goal for an exchange was to improve my language skills and to learn many useful new things in a different system.

As I speak German and English, it was very simple: go to Germany and study there in English. Bingo!

International Students SRH

My final destination was Heidelberg, SRH University.

One more magic ingredient was present, the Frankfurt International airport was only one hour away. I

The things that I spend the most time with were

traveled all around Europe and almost every week

packing, hoodies, notebooks, and tracksuit. I was

I visited a different city. I have never seen a greater

preparing myself to spend most of my time sitting

amount of low-cost flights to destinations all over

in my future room and studying. At that point, I

Europe and wider. The deals were so good, that if

had thought that I wouldn’t travel anywhere. I

I had all the time of the world, I probably wouldn’t

thought that I have already traveled enough and

stop traveling. My first destination was Amsterdam

saw a lot of things. I was not that interested in roa-

and Rotterdam, after this, I already decided to tra-

ming around anymore, but after my exchange pro-

vel to more cities.

gram I learned something important: „Never say you know enough, have seen enough or you are

I visited Portugal, Lisbon and Porto, Spain, Madrid,

tired of exploring new things! “

Malaga, Granada, Barcelona, Brussels and of course visiting many different cities in Germany. During this one semester journeys, I fell in love with Spain

“Never say you know enough, have seen enough or you are tired of exploring new things ”

and Portugal. There are amazing historical cities in Spain like Granada and Toledo that have over thousand-year-old castles and buildings. Except for the historical part, beautiful pictures of beaches of Malaga and Barcelona will surely stay in my mind for a longer time. Of course, I was enjoying

The university that I was studying at had a com-

tapas, paella and sangria is a must when it comes

pletely different system than I was used to. There

to Spain. Traveling with international classmates

were 5-week blocks, which means that you study

makes these trips a lot more interesting.

one subject per 5 weeks. At the end of the block, there is an exam. This system was set up to make

Now, before this traveling part of an exchange

students concentrate on just one subject or maxi-

starts to take over, let’s go back to my studies in

mum 2 at one time. So if you organize your studies

Germany. Heidelberg is a small city, with a popula-

well and have a bit of luck, it leaves more time for

tion of just 180.000 inhabitants. It is mainly a stu-

yourself.

dent city and a tourist attraction.

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 49

EXPLORE Famous for its castle, Heidelberg is one of the most visited places by tourist in Germany. The center of the city is one long street full of shops, restaurants, and bars, which are full of students every weekend. It is very common to see people of different nationalities everywhere, speaking in English. This city is very international. My German skills were completely neglected because I spoke in English for almost all the time.

5 months of the exchange program felt like I have traveled around the whole world, although I have just visited one part of Europe. This is due to International students that came from many different countries worldwide and gathered in one school, in one city. We had full time and Erasmus students from every continent. I made very good friends from South Korea, Mexico, Poland, the USA, Greece, Germany and other countries of Latin America.

Getting to know other cultures and new ways of thinking is a priceless experience. Not to mention different food, customs, beliefs, religions. We created one great, open and friendly international community.

It is almost impossible not to meet someone who would eventually become your friend. All of the students that came from abroad have the intention to meet new people, travel, explore, just like yourself. I met one of my best friends in a queue as we were waiting for some paperwork to get done at the faculty. It all starts with a very simple conversation like „Hey where are you from? “and ends with a longtime friendship.

Also, students organize a lot of parties where it is easy to meet new friends. It is very nice to spend time together, where all of the students can gather. We had a ’party basement’, free space in the student dormitory where we could organize meetings and make parties.

Besides the basement, the main meeting point was the kitchen where we prepared various meals together, sharing traditional recipes and having fun. I probably haven’t eaten that much Mexican food in my whole life.

Kitchen Gathering Traveling together was not the missing part, as I already mentioned. But we were studying and traveling at the same time. Sometimes we planned our months ahead so we could manage to travel and not miss any classes. The University in Heidelberg that we were studying at has a special way of organizing their classes. Teaching took place in small groups encouraging interaction between professors and students and between students themselves. We were free to express our opinion, worked on many projects in teams and held presentations. This was a chance for me to experience studying in a system that was the complete opposite of what I had before.

Before coming to Germany, I didn’t know in what way this exchange is going to take place and how it is going to change me. It was a different adventure than I imagined. It is impossible to plan everything and sometimes you just have to wait to see how things turn out. Though, one is for sure, going on an exchange is a very valuable experience. It pushes you out of the comfortable everyday routine and brings you memories and friendships for life.

Lastly, not everything is perfect. When entering a new, unknown space some things also have to go wrong. For example, some suitcases get stolen, friendships get broken or you get lost in a foreign city. But most importantly, it is all part of one great experience that makes you grow as a person and is all absolutely worth it.

50 ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization

EXPLORE

APRIL 2019 Nordic Regional Coordination Meeting, Oulu 18-04-2019 – 22-04-2019 Europe 3D Spain, Barcelona & Madrid 22-04-2019 – 28-04-2019 Social Entrepreneurship Event, Istanbul-Bogazici 22-04-2019 – 28-04-2019 BrainTrainer 10th Anniversary, Budapest 24-04-2019 – 30-04-2019 Lean Six Sigma Training Event, Vienna 24-04-2019 – 01-05-2019 Braunschweig visits Lapeenranta, Lapeenranta 26-04-2019 – 01-05-2019 MAY 2019 Kyiv visits Grenoble, Grenoble 01-05-2019 – 06-05-2019 Saint Petersburg visits Eindhoven, Eindhoven 02-05-2019 – 08-05-2019

Feria Activity Week, Sevilla 02-05-2019- 07-05-2019

JUNE 2019

Minsk visits Bremen, Bremen 04-05-2019 – 08-05-2019

Vision Logistics – Future of Warehousing, Dortmund 10-06-2019 – 15-09-2019

Vision eDrive – Future of Mobility, Munich 05-05-2019 – 12-05-2019

The Hamburg Games Activity Week, Hamburg 12-06-2019 – 17-06-2019

Europe3D Sweden, Lund 06-05-2019 – 12-05-2019

Lean Six Sigma Training Event, Kaiserslautern 23-06-2019 – 30-06-2019

Bremen visits Minsk, Minsk 08-05-2019 – 12-05-2019 UteKravallen Activity Week, Linköping 16-05-2019- 19-05-2019 BrainTrainer “Become a Manager 3.0”, Lyon 19-05-2019 – 25-05-2019

JULY 2019 Vision Python for Data Analysis, Saint Petersburg 01-07-2019 – 07-07-2019 Europe4D, Minho 08-07-2019 – 14-07-2019

TIMES Training Event, Novi Sad 20-05-2019 – 25-05-2019

Perestroika Activity Week, Kyiv 15-07-2019 – 21-07-2019

Alpine Regional Coordination Meeting, Grenoble 22-05-2019 - 26-05-2019

SEPTEMBER 2019

Training Advanced Trainers, Gdansk 23-05-2019 – 28-05-2019

Oktoberfest Activity Week 2019, Munich 23-09-2019 – 29-09-2019

ESTIEM Magazine | 56th issue - International Business & Globalization 51

MASTER’S PROGRAMMES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS DESIGN

DEVE LOPS E NTR E PR E N E U R S PR E PAR E D FOR SUSTAI NAB LE B USI N ESS DEVE LOPM E NT I N TH E KNOWLE DG E ECONOMY.

MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMICS OF INNOVATION

TRAI NS G RADUATES TO MANAG E I N NOVATION, AT TH E I NTE R SECTION B ETWE E N TECH NOLOGY AN D ECONOM ICS.

QUALITY AND OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

SU PPORTS G RADUATES I N ACQU I R I NG TH E KNOWLE DG E AN D SKI LLS R EQU I R E D TO I M PROVE ORGAN ISATIONAL PROCESSES.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

DEVE LOP KNOWLE DG E AN D SKI LLS TO DESIG N, MANAG E AN D I M PROVE SOU RCI NG, PROCU R E M E NT, OPE RATION, LOG ISTICS AN D MAR KETI NG PROCESSES ACROSS COM PANY’S B OU N DAR I ES.

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