In this course, there will be several projects into which the students will be split up. This year, our projects and partners are as follows:

• Scaling strategies for European SaaS start-ups in cooperation with A.T. Kearney
• Open banking strategies in cooperation with ZEB Consulting
• Digitization strategies for malls in cooperation with Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

Students will be allocated to the projects based on their preferences, their CVs and a short motivational statement. Note: therefore a spot in any of the projects will not be guaranteed and you may end up in the project of least preference! CV- and motivation-based allocation will be done based on the supervisor's subjective assessment of fit between project requirements and student experience.

In all projects the challenge is to connect theory to a real-life business case, paired with data collection and evaluation. Constant status meetings will ensure the exchange of ideas and feedback among all three groups as well as the academic supervisors and the partner companies.

Please note that due to the nature of projects, information as stated on this page is subject to potential changes (e.g., the times (not dates!) of the first or the last class may change). Specifically note that most classes will be reserved for work-on-project and/or coaching sessions. Consequently, you most probably do not have to be in class every week all the time. In addition, however, a maximum of 1 or 2 additional meetings dates will come up to allow for extended interaction with the corporate partner. Also, telephone conferences may be arranged outside of the indicated hours.

The aims of the projects are

• to investigate and structure a complex management challenge that an international company faces
• to provide an in-depth analysis of the current status by undergoing a thorough survey
• to provide strategic solutions that are viable under the given organizational conditions

After completing this project students will have

• gained insights into what challenges a global company faces in an international management environment and how it deals with such issues
  
• learned how to analyze and structure real-life management situations in a global context
• combined and applied several theoretical concepts to the international management challenge
• received feedback from practitioners on the outcome of their analysis and the viability of their recommendations

• develop critical thinking and defend their developed arguments in class and in front of practitioners
• organize teamwork including presentation skills
• present and "sell" their solutions in a professional way, through presentation skills and support of suitable media

IMPORTANT: Generally, you need to attend all sessions. However, we will not meet in class at every unit indicated in the course catalogue as some of those sessions are blocked for group work. Moreover, all sessions indicated to take place at "Ort nach Ankündigung" are reserved for kick-off, midterm and final presentations with the corporate partners. Hence, you will not have to attend all of those meetings but only those for your group (please block all of them in your calendars for the time being though). More information will be given during the first session.

The process will be split up in a way that ensures crisp project work with the company on the one hand as well as detailed feedback and reflection on the other hand.

For the former, the students will work closely and independently with the company.

For the latter, several status meetings will be held during the semester in which the groups are to present their project, reflect critically as well as give and receive valuable feedback. Furthermore, the two sessions will include parts of the academic supervisors giving theoretical and practical background information and guidance. 

jonas. puck[at]wu.ac.at; florian.klein[at]wu.ac.at