The possibility to participate in a study trip is included in several Metropolia Master’s programmes. Study trips and international study modules as well as exchange programs strengthen the international competencies of Master’s students. Business Informatics student Laura Invenius wrote about a study trip to Berlin.
Innovation and Renewal course is a mandatory module for Business Informatics Master’s students. Luckily it included a two-day study trip to Berlin at the end of April 2017. The instructions stated that we needed to arrive to Berlin either on Wednesday evening or very early on Thursday and so we did! We had a WhatsApp group and people reported on regular intervals once they were arriving and so the excitement kept growing.
On Thursday, we had a visit to a local university and with Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin’s MBA students we did a group assignment together, in which we needed to innovate new business models for various companies. The discussion was vivid, both about the task, but also about the student life in Finland and Germany.
After the group presentations, a company named Futurice, introduced themselves. Originally from Finland, they are now located in various locations in Europe, and have changed their business model several times. They have an interesting concept and employee policy, trying to find different capabilities and skills and forming teams based on these.
On Friday, we visited Innovation Labs Berlin. It brings together startups in different phases and helps them through different challenges they might be facing. CEO Klaus Kammermeier told us about the startup scene in Berlin and why there are so many of them; living costs and quality of life in Berlin are good, the location in the center of Europe is excellent, those being the most important factors.
After a quick currywurst lunch and a visit to Brandenburg Tor, we headed to Finnchat. Finnchat is a Finnish company that provides chat services on company websites. They are well known in Finland already, and are now trying to get footstep in Germany. We made a group work around their sales and marketing funnel.
Quick visit to Kurfuerstendamm and then we had a fairwell dinner together at a very nice Italian restaurant in Mitte area. There was a lot of laughter and joy after an exciting program. Many of us stayed over the weekend and visited sights enjoying a sunny and warm spring weather.
Laura Invenius
Business Informatics student
See also:
Finnchat. com: Metropolian opiskelijat vierailulla Berliinissä
Student Evgenia Molchina’s blog: MBA Study Trip to Berlin
