Author: Anke Finger

EUROBIZ students visit Legrand Company in West Hartford

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On Friday, February 17th, a group of EUROBIZ students, accompanied by Prof. Gerlinde Berger-Walliser, the Co-Director of the program, visited Legrand in West Hartford. The excursion offered not only an exploration of the company, but also a wonderful opportunity to meet a variety of managers and employees and to glimpse career opportunities for the future. The visit was expertly arranged by Kelly W. Kennedy who summarized the visit as follows on her LinkedIn account:

The University of Connecticut School of Business is grateful for our strong partnership with Wiremold in West Hartford, Connecticut (Legrand North America). Their team spent a fantastic day with our Eurobiz students last week. The program was designed to educate our fluent German-speaking students on global business and demonstrate the critical work done in this industry. This was a very hands-on experience, where students could view the manufacturing operation on the plant floor and their tech and power solutions in the Wiremold Experience Center. We are incredibly grateful for the team that put together the day that exceeded our expectations. Legrand prides itself on” transforming the spaces where people live, work and meet, with innovative and sustainable electrical and digital infrastructures.” Thank you- The Wiremold Company Legrand Judy Travers Adonica Walker Lawrence Gerlinde Berger-Walliser Anke K. FingerRobert Sauer, M.S.#urobiz #uconnbusiness #careerdevelopment #manufacturingindustry #connecticutjobs

The EUROBIZ program will regularly organize company visits in the future.

2023 Success with Internships at German Companies: Sophia Ruelle

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As the EUROBIZ program grows, we are featuring short portraits of EUROBIZ students who are currently in Germany and have successfully secured their internships for the second half of their stay. Our first portrait presents Sophia Ruelle who is working for Henkel. Here’s what she reports back:

After completing my first semester abroad at University of Tübingen, I am very excited to be continuing my time in Germany with an Internship at Henkel as part of the Eurobiz curriculum. While the company name may not be as recognizable, Henkel is a German company that represents powerful brands such as Dial and Snuggle. I will be interning in the Internal Communications department focusing on internal employer branding and employee engagement. Most of my work will be focused on creating global content for all locations of Henkel to use, including their Stamford location in Connecticut. I am also excited to discover a new city as I will be living in Düsseldorf for the time.

Viel Erfolg, Sophia!

Sophia Ruelle wins Group Case Competition with University of Mannheim

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“I signed up for the VW case competition because I was looking for an opportunity to test my teamwork skills when it comes to a topic that I had not learned about previously and working with very different people. In my group, I got the opportunity to work with a fellow UConn student and two Mannheim University students from Germany. It was very fun and interesting being able to hear the different perspectives and also how what we are learning in different countries can also be very similar. Overall, I think it is very important everyone takes the opportunity to participate in at least one case competition in college to work on your teamwork skills. I think this is what made my group so successful, as we were able to meet on several occasions, split up the work accordingly but always help each other when we were stuck with our section.” (Sophia Ruelle, Eurobiz Student)

For more information about the competition, please visit the uconngerman newsblog!

Congratulations, Sophia!

 

German Business Leaders at Diversity Conference (Deutsche Welle)

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With the new “Ampel” government in place, German business leaders and media are calling for an increased focus on and efforts to support diversity in German-speaking businesses at home and abroad. The Deutsche Welle team summarized the article linked below and has some footage to share from the conference:

Decision-makers from business, science and politics in Germany are at the annual Diversity conference to show their commitment to an inclusive workplace. But many attendees complained that the country is lagging behind.

Read the full article here.

 

The African Merchant – New German-African Business Magazine

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Celebrating the launch of a new business magazine in Düsseldorf, the African Courier comments on The African Merchant as follows:

“The African Merchantseeks to accompany African entrepreneurs, providing insights, highlighting challenges and reporting success stories thereby revealing best practices,” Awoniyi, who is also the publisher ofThe African Courier,said.

“We hope you will enjoy reading the magazine and, above all, find it useful as you master the challenges of self-employment and thrive in your different ventures.”

Check out the new magazine here: https://www.merchant.africa/

   

   

UConn German Studies ranked #4 by Chronicle of Higher Ed

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In an article on “Which Colleges Grant the Most Bachelor’s Degrees in Foreign Languages?,” published in the Chronicle of Higher Education in January 2019, the UConn German Studies program was ranked #4 nationally, based on the number of majors graduated. 

See the summary of the Chronicle Information in the German Studies News Blog from April 2020:

UConn German Studies placed #4 nationally by Chronicle of Higher Education

For questions about the program and what else German Studies offers, beyond EUROBIZ, please contact Anke Finger (anke.finger@uconn.edu).

Career Booster Germany, October 4th

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Find out more about opportunities for studying and working in Germany and join the Career Day Germany! The Goethe-Institut Boston invites teachers and students of high schools and colleges to Career Day Germany on Friday, Oct. 4 between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm.
 
See how speaking German can improve career perspectives and explore options for exchange programs, German university degree programs without tuition fees and career options in Germany and in the USA.
 

Pitch Your Idea at Falling Walls Lab in Boston, September 26

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Northeastern University, the German Consulate in Boston and the German Center for Research and Innovation in New York are delighted to host Falling Walls Lab Boston on September 26, 2019, at 6 p.m.

Falling Walls Lab is a platform for excellent academics, entrepreneurs and professionals from all disciplines who would like to present their research work, business model, innovative project or transformative idea in front of their peers and a distinguished jury from academia and business.

The call for applications is now open. Bachelor and master students, postdocs, young professionals, entrepreneurs and faculty members are invited to apply. Falling Walls Lab Boston offers an opportunity to pitch ground-breaking ideas and win a trip to Germany. If you are the finalist in Boston, you will be awarded the chance to represent your institution at the Falling Walls Conference in Berlin on November 8, 2019, present your ideas and compete for additional cash and research prizes.

The Falling Walls Lab Boston will take place on Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 6 p.m. at Northeastern University’s Boston campus. Applications can be submitted online until August 15. For more information go to: https://www.falling-walls.com/lab.

To help spread the news of the Falling Walls Lab Boston, we would greatly appreciate it if you could forward our call for applications to emerging researchers and professionals within your institution’s network.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact CSSHDean@northeastern.edu, info@bost.diplo.de or the Falling Walls Foundation (lab@falling-walls.com).

 

Moving your start-up across the Ocean

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The German Innovation Center just published a How-To Guide for transatlantic travel with your start-up. Here are a couple of first pointers:

1️⃣How to Germany
Self-defined as “important things to know and consider when starting a business in Germany,” this page defines types of companies, demystifies taxes and premiums, and gives tips for hiring, self-employment and more.

2️⃣Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy
As close as you can get to “The OFFICIAL Guide to Starting a Business in Germany,” this page covers it all from “first steps” to a Q&A with experts to helpful checklists.

3️⃣Make It in Germany
This government-sponsored site calls itself “the official website for qualified professionals.” Tabs help you explore visa and professional requirements, financing & funding, personal & company insurance and more.

Important for this context is the accompanying article on the difference in start-up scenes:

  • In contrast to Germany, failure of a start-up in the US is not a stigma as long as entrepreneurs learn from their mistakes.
  • Forming a start-up in the US is comparatively easy and tax laws are very founder-friendly, which is not true to the same extent in Germany. What is more, there are not as many investors and funding sources for pre-seed start-ups in Germany as there are in the US.
  • German founders and investors are generally very risk-aware – even risk-averse in many cases – while a high degree of risk tolerance can be found in the venture capital and investor scene in the US. However, this higher risk tolerance and easier access to capital often encourages the premature formation of a start-up based for example on technologies that have not yet been fully developed. This results in many more failed start-ups and bankruptcies in the US than in Germany.
  • Start-ups in the US profit from a particularly extensive support structure of investors, mentor and adviser networks, incubators and accelerators. In addition, American start-ups can take advantage of training programs for entrepreneurs at an early stage in the process. This multi-faceted support environment can certainly serve as a role model for Germany.