Training Spotlight

The engineer’s role as a development manager

Training course at SHB under new management

Our modern economy has put innovative management, influential character profiles, and practical problem-solving skills in high demand. There is a call for employees to bring in new ideas and strategies that are geared toward the market, and to implement these successfully in the development of competitive products and services. The extra-occupational course in “Development and Design Management” offered by Steinbeis University Berlin (SHB) has been tailored to the needs of just this target group, examining the overall context of key issues that will define the future.

Engineers are being asked to redefine how they see themselves, to an even greater extent if they are involved in complex projects or are in executive positions with organizational responsibilities that include HR management. The aim of this course is to provide further education and professional development for people in development and design (D+D) with management potential. The course covers materials that D+D managers may need in order to:

  • Successfully handle complex tasks in internal and external networked systems
  • Expertly lead a team of enthusiastic employees
  • Deal with tasks effectively and efficiently
  • Derive and implement key actions based on the right strategies
  • Confidently answer technical and business-related questions posed by colleagues from other specialist areas

The study program, now completed for the 36th time, has seen more than 600 students successfully finish the course, ensuring they receive skills-based training for their work in engineering. After many successful years establishing the course under Prof. Arno Voegele, the course has been under new leadership since the beginning of this year. Berthold Villing, director of the Alb-Schwarzwald Business School, a Steinbeis Transfer Institute at SHB, is now responsible for the administration and curriculum of the program.

Now’s the time for health care specialists

SHB certification course to become an EOL heath care coach (SHB)

“Simply adding a juice bar at reception and making sure each office is equipped with ergonomic chairs doesn’t go far enough these days” – a clear statement made by Prof. Dr. Kilian Mehl, head of infer (the Institute for Experiential Learning), expressing his view on modern occupational health care management. Together with unisono, the Steinbeis Transfer and Competence Institute at Steinbeis University Berlin (SHB), infer offers a certification course for coaches, training staff, and people involved in health improvement and maintenance. Successful completion of the 5-module course earns participants higher education certification as an EOL Health Coach (SHB).

The introductory module is based on experiential teaching methods. The Balanced Individual module, which is held at the rehabilitation clinic in Isny in Allgau, covers effective methods of health promotion. The Healthy Organizations module focuses on occupational health care management. It probes deeper into issues relating to effectiveness, awareness, and the successful implementation of health care instruments within business environments. The 12-day training course as a health coach is held primarily at clinics in Wollmarshöhe and Überruh, which are both located near Lake Constance. The next course is scheduled to start in October 2014.

Contact

Peter Schust | Gerd Xeller
Steinbeis Transfer Institute Competence Institute unisono (Ulm)

EU 2020 – Gearing SMEs toward Europe

Master of Science in European Innovation and Technology Management Horizon 2020 is an EU research framework program that focuses primarily on application-based activities, with plans to cover more of the complete innovation cycle in the future. At this point in the program, organizers are calling on smaller, more innovative companies to become actively involved. This also involves a new degree program towards a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Innovation and Technology Management, with a major in European Innovation and Technology Management. The program will be offered as of June 2014 by the School of International Business and Entrepreneurship (SIBE) at Steinbeis University Berlin in cooperation with the Steinbeis- Europa-Zentrum.

The degree program is geared toward highly motivated, talented young professionals from the fields of engineering and science, who’s work areas overlap with management in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It is also open to people with a business background who work closely with technology and engineering.

The degree takes an in-depth look at innovation and technology management, EU structures and institutions, and the opportunities offered to SMEs by European project funding. This enables students to face the complexities and ever-increasing pressures that are driving innovation within their own companies at an international level. The degree program has been based on SHB’s proven project competence concept, in which the curriculum is closely dovetailed with business practice. As part of the degree, students have to pass examinations and this forms the basis of an EU funding application within the scope of the EU 2020 strategy for fostering innovation, thus providing direct benefit to the companies sponsoring the students.

Key skills for business mediation

Steinbeis trains mediators

More and more businesses are calling for people with mediation skills. As business is becoming increasingly complex, there is a corresponding rise in the potential for conflict. The Steinbeis Consulting Center for Business Mediation has teamed up with the Steinbeis Transfer Institute Academy for Social Aspects and Law at Steinbeis University Berlin to offer a training course for mediators, which culminates in a university certificate.

The aim of mediation is to facilitate between conflicting parties through an arbitrator, who helps those involved come to an agreement. The communication techniques used in mediation are useful in uncovering potential conflict areas early and mitigating the effects before things escalate to the conflict level, which can ultimately be very costly for companies. Mediation training also serves to prevent conflicts and strengthens personal behavior in conflict situations, allowing people to react better. This contributes greatly to better results in team meetings and facilitated workshops.

Mediation has been embedded within the German legal system with new mediation legislation. It defines qualification standards for mediator training. The Steinbeis course meets these criteria and gives participants a solid basis for working as a mediator within business environments. Other key topics that have recently been integrated into the training curriculum include issues like dealing with emotions and gaining insights from online communications. The interdisciplinary team of instructors made up of Dr. habil. Gernoth Barth, Bernhard Bohm, and Cordula Sofftge bring to the course their unique professional experience from a variety of fields (pedagogy, law, psychology). Representing both genders, the team also keeps the training course varied by introducing appropriate mediation techniques from different perspectives.

From manager to leader

SHB certification course for becoming a Leadership Manager

Many managers feel so overwhelmed by daily business that there isn’t much time left over for doing what their position actually demands – leading a team. In cooperation with human resources development specialists Wiltraud Johanning-Natzke and Wolfgang Natzke of jobperformR, the Steinbeis Transfer Institute for Business Management and Innovation at Steinbeis University Berlin has developed a business-oriented training course for potential leaders to become certified leadership managers.

In many cases, this holistic approach offers clear relief for managers in their daily leadership role. The program is divided into eight separate modules which run over the course of a year. Each module lasts three days, each followed up by work on a case study. In parallel, participants are expected to work on an actual business project which ends with a project presentation after completion of the eight modules. Together with the course instructor, the participants analyze their daily management work and develop their own management strategies. They learn to navigate the challenges they face as a manager and tackle these head on. The course is intended for professionals in middle and lower management with previous experience who wish to accelerate their career. That said, the course may also appeal to newcomers who want to strategically plan their management role.

Contact

Wolfgang Natzke
Steinbeis Transfer Institute Business Management and Innovation (Porta Westfalica)

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