KIC InnoEnergy Summer School 2013

In the globalized world of employment educational qualifications are not enough: convincing an employer also means being communicative, team-oriented and interculturally competent. Forty students of the KIC InnoEnergy Masters Programmes ENTECH and Smart Cities developed these key qualifications as part of the first mutual Summer School, organized by KIC InnoEnergy in collaboration with the Grenoble École de Management from June 30 to July 6 at Burg Rothenfels.

Participants of the first KIC InnoEnergy Summer School embarked on a remarkable journey: in different interdisciplinary workshops, they expanded their knowledge in the disciplines of economy, innovation and entrepreneurship. By way of various team-building measures and cooperation in small groups students became better acquainted with one another and deepened their competences both in the fields of intercultural communication and in their capacity for teamwork. They were supported by the two coaches Vittoria Piattelli and Henrik Langholf, who accompanied the participants throughout the course of the Summer School.

At the opening of the event, Dr. Christian Müller, Managing Director of the KIC InnoEnergy Co-Location Germany, and Prof. Johan Driesen, Education Officer at KIC InnoEnergy Co-Location Benelux, gave students an introduction into the structure of KIC InnoEnergy. This preceded a series of workshops held by Professor Orestis Terzidis, Director of Chair for Entrepreneurship and Technology Management (EnTechnon) at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), and his colleague Christine Hardt on the German and European energy transition and the foundations of entrepreneurship. Dr. Jonatan Pinkse, Associate Professor at Grenoble École de Management was also invited and demanded considerable creative input from those present: after introducing the students to the complexity of topics relating to electro mobility, they were required to design business models for the new introduction of e-cars. On the penultimate day of the Summer School students had two surprises waiting in store for them: management-consultant, Nicola Knoch, gave insights into her work with companies seeking to integrate the principles of sustainability into their corporate culture. This was followed by Jan-Christoph Schüler, Country HR Manager at ABB Germany, giving a description of what businesses expect from graduates about to embark on their professional careers. His lecture prompted lively discussion in the context of which the students were given the opportunity to ask their questions directly to the manager.

The general goal of all activities was the advancement of the business spirit and the interaction between all participants. The aim of the workshops was for all students to acquire the ability to transfer tried and tested methods to different situations, to elaborate innovative approaches and to attain a mutual result. In addition, their lecturers provided them with different creative techniques which could be applied over and over again. All results were presented and discussed in the plenary session.

Due importance was also given to leisure time: among others, students organized and designed the final theme night with games and theatre plays.

See a picture gallery and read more on the Explore House Blog, whose editors accompanied the event.