Enhancing Workplace Readiness of Interns
Enhancing Workplace Readiness of Interns: A Case Study at a University in Germany
Professor Jennifer Hynes, Professor Hasan Koç, professors from the Faculty of Business at Berlin International and Dr. Evamaria Wagner wrote an article that explores workplace readiness, focusing on factors contributing to a positive employee experience for interns and ways universities can enhance it. Qualitative analysis of internship reports at a German university reveals the significance of management relationships, job design, onboarding, and a supportive environment. Recommendations for curriculum development encompass job crafting, language skills, resilience training, and addressing contemporary work challenges, along with a call for improved industry relationships.
This article by Dr. Jennifer Hynes, Dr. Hasan Koç, and Dr. Evamaria Wagner is highly relevant to business students because it bridges academic learning with real-world internship experiences. By analyzing internship reports, the authors identify key factors, such as management relationships, job design, and onboarding, that directly impact how students experience their first steps into the professional world.
For business students, understanding these dynamics is crucial for two reasons:
- Career Preparation: The article highlights what makes internships successful, helping students recognize what to look for in a workplace and how to advocate for a positive experience.
- Skill Development: The recommendations for curriculum improvements, like job crafting, resilience, and language skills, offer valuable guidance on how students can better prepare themselves for modern workplace demands.
Ultimately, the article helps students become more workplace-ready by providing insights that can shape their expectations, choices, and growth during internships and early career stages.
Study BA International Management & Marketing at BI
The learning environment fostered at Berlin International is student-centered and hands-on. Our teaching concept focuses on project-based learning; students work individually and in groups in order to promote professional and personal growth and the development of team skills. All Bachelor and Master programs at Berlin International are taught in English. In combination with our diverse student and teaching body and our global network this enables us to offer a truly international academic experience.
Berlin International's learning environment is problem-based and has a strong focus on the applied practitioner approach. We draw on the expertise and professional experience of our diverse staff as well as our local and international firm network to bring theory closer to the actual business practice. We pay attention to employer needs and help our students develop a skill set that is relevant to the challenges of the 21st-century workplace. Interpersonal, intercultural, and analytical skills are all high on our skill development list.
We practice these skills by working individually as well as in groups. Our learning environment is friendly, inclusive, and social, which allows us to respond to individual student needs. An international study program to prepare students for the global job market. The Bachelor's program in Business Administration is taught in English.
Based on a limited number of carefully selected and designed modules in the first year of your studies, you get to cover all significant business administration fields, such as foundations of management and marketing, international business, digital business, and organizational theory. Simultaneously, you get to develop further the all-important practice-oriented business skills, such as team building and conflict management, as well as critical thinking. From the third semester onwards, you then get to really focus on the specific topics of particularly international management, international marketing, business ethics, and entrepreneurship. Additionally, you get to practice negotiating skills and learn to conduct talent management workshops. We also help guide your internship journey and, thus, the overall career preparation.
Together, we conduct business simulations, role-plays, and workshops, as well as discuss current business practices and challenges with members of leading multinational corporations and startups. Our genuinely international student body enables you to gather diverse perspectives on a number of collaborative projects.
Studying Business Administration | International Management & Marketing provides the perfect opportunity for you to find out firsthand about potential career opportunities in large multinational corporations, startups, and leading consultancy firms. In a practice-driven and motivating learning atmosphere, an internationally experienced team of lecturers and professors at Berlin International encourages you to develop your individual talents and further develop your analytical skills as a future management or marketing executive.
Graduates of the Bachelor program in Business Administration with a focus on International Management and Marketing can work as general managers, business analysts, consultants, or management/marketing executives within small, medium-sized, and multinational corporations. There are various job perspectives and employers, such as:
- Getting hired at a
- multinational corporation
- consultancy firm
- non-governmental organization
- public sector institutions
- Founding a start-up company, e.g., for consultancy or business analysis services
- Further study and research
Learn more about the BA Business Administration | International Management & Marketing program and Berlin International. Below, you can download the study plan, the Berlin International brochure, and our current academic calendar in PDF format.
Study BA Data Science & Business at BI
The learning environment fostered at Berlin International is student-centered, hands-on, and has a strong focus on an applied, practitioner approach. Our teaching concept focuses on project-based learning and uses a number of innovative teaching techniques, such as case-based teaching, analytical labs and real-life simulations. Students work individually and in groups in order to promote professional and personal growth and the development of team skills. All Bachelor and Master programs at Berlin International are taught in English. In combination with our diverse student and teaching body and our global network, this enables us to offer a truly international academic experience.
All our Business students acquire the necessary foundations for successful further study during the first year of their program — no prior knowledge is required. The second and third years then focus on students’ chosen specializations.
In the BA Data Science & Business program, students receive a thorough grounding in both management and data science, highlighting the interdependence of these two fields in a data-driven economy. This grounding covers:
- Traditional management courses such as International Business and Strategy, complemented by a set of soft-skills courses such as Team-building and Conflict Management, as well as consulting.
- Courses that sit at the intersection of management and data science, such as Digital Marketing and Platform Business.
- Programming in Python and R, are the two most widely used programming languages in data science. (No prior knowledge of programming is necessary — it is taught in a hands-on manner whereby students get extensive experience with a wide range of datasets, applying machine learning and other analytical techniques.)
- Courses focusing on conceptual modeling techniques and tools, such as Digital Enterprise Management and Database Management.
- Students will have the opportunity to obtain certificates in machine learning and cloud computing from the Amazon Web Services Academy.
These subjects are never abstract but are always taught in an applied manner – the goal is to make the learning journey fun and to kindle intrinsic motivation. Current students value this highly: the courses with the seemingly most difficult material are also those which enjoy the highest rates of student satisfaction!
To gain further hands-on experience and sharpen their expertise, students undertake an internship at an organization of their choice during their fifth semester. Berlin International supports students in preparing for the internship and finding a suitable organization. Finally, the Bachelor Thesis is an opportunity for students to explore a topic that interests them independently and in-depth.
Around the world, there is a severe shortage of skilled professionals who are not only trained in business but also understand and can realize the opportunities that digitization has to offer. Due to this shortage, salaries have risen sharply for anyone working at the intersection of management and data science.
There are many different careers available to students of Data Science & Business upon graduation, both in traditional management roles and in more data-driven, analytic areas of organizations. Given the many different possibilities, the examples below represent only a small sample of such careers:
Business Analyst and Data Scientist
Both business analysts and data scientists use data to understand and quantify business drivers such as what are the core aspects of a product’s success. In addition, data scientists have the skills to develop models that make predictions about, for instance, individual consumers and whether a given consumer is likely to buy again from the company.
Business Developer
A business developer is familiar with the key competencies of the organization and identifies and evaluates opportunities for future growth, such as for a new data-driven product, or the expansion or repositioning of an existing product.
Product Manager
A product manager is responsible for the management of products and serves as a hub connecting the different business units that all work together to ensure a product’s success — units such as sales, development, and legal. A product manager, therefore, needs a broad understanding of all relevant aspects of the business. In a data-driven environment, this entails a deep understanding of the opportunities and limits of machine learning.
Marketing Manager
A marketing manager makes sure that the four Ps — the four essential factors involved in marketing a good or service — are well aligned. These are the product and its positioning in the market with respect to competitors, the price (what the consumer pays), the place (where a product is marketed online or offline), and promotion (i.e. advertising). This role often involves working extensively with data.
Enterprise Architect
Enterprises are complex systems with different organizational units, employees, processes, products and services, customer groups, suppliers, business partners, IT systems, and further resources. By offering a holistic perspective, Enterprise Architects link different views of an organization with conceptual modeling methods. They address the main concerns of key stakeholders and their strategic goals, analyze gaps within the IT landscape, and define the actions to be taken.
Learn more about the BA Data Science & Business program and Berlin International. Below, you can download the study plan, the Berlin International brochure, and our current academic calendar in PDF format.
