Products

Introduction

Over the past 10 weeks we had several courses that covers different fields of education. The courses are based on 11 different learning objectives. They serve as evidence for my learning behavior in the past term and to see if I’ve grown enough.

You’ll be able to explain the concept of business in general, including important trends and developments to lay-people

To be able to understand business of the modern time, it might be useful to know what happened in the past and what kind of influence it had on the business in the world. Enclosed are some notes I made about the Industrial Revolution. I think the Industrial Revolution is one of the biggest historical events that had influence on the modern-day society and business. It opened the door for so many inventions in the future to come and it was a crucial time in forming almost all industries in the world.

Industrial Revolution

You’ll know which business sectors are out there what they are about and which ones tickle your fancy to possibly specialize in/You’ll be able to make a case for the importance / need for innovation in business in general and in the sector of your choice

I made my poster presentation about the invention of the telephone. I chose this subject because I’m interested in modern-day technology but also because the telephone has so many additional intentions, inventions, and characteristics. The telephone changed a lot of industries because it evolved in an internet communication device with lots of possibilities. A telephone is not only used for vocal communication, it is a device to keep track of your health, make bank exchanges with, to relax, to educate yourself, or to kill time. I enclosed my notes about the content and poster.

Notes Poster

You’ll know why studying International Business Innovation Studies was the best choice you ever made

I feel like IBIS can teach me so much. IBIS can teach me how to improve myself as a person, to become more mature and help me finding a good way in finding solutions. They teach me a way of thinking and I love the fact that it is in English. There is so much room for improvement but I really feel like I’ve made progress in the past 2-3 months. Innovation is very important in every business and I’m very motivated to work to the next term (not setting far away goals). I think after this study there will be many job opportunities, but that’s something to worry about later.

You’ll be able to diagnose a business issue in its full complexity, allowing you to come up with valuable and sustainable solutions

Last term I learned about Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas (2010). The canvas can be used to get insight in a company’s strategy and way of create value, revenue and how to decide what actions a company has to do to achieve their goals.

We talked about a bakery of Ed&Tom in class. They offered us a completed BMC and case. We had to come up with ideas to gain more profit and to take advantage of the surrounding area. I came up with various things like: having a cake bake workshop for kids, making sandwiches for the offices, a breakfast package, and a way how to get rid of fresh bread after closing time without disposing it.

We also talked about Phone Bloks. This was a company that created a fully customizable phone that got rid of problems like: lack of sustainability, and functions you don't need by introducing functions you can add in the way of blocks.

Ed&Tom Phone Bloks

You’ll understand yourself (as a person and as a student) better and be able to capitalize on this knowledge

This will also come back in the reflection.

In what’s in my backpack we talked about our strengths and weaknesses. We talked about your „value proposition“, as they would say in Fundamentals of Business. We did a test in class which was shockingly accurate. After filling in some questions they gave me a result and explanation. In many of these tests I don’t really believe what they say because they say some general things that apply for everyone, but I felt like this one was different. Apparently I fell in a category that less than 2% of the people fit into. I didn’t really learn anything new because after all you are being placed in a category so not everything has to be true. I did become aware of a couple of things of my behavior.

Finding out what your strengths are pays off in your future career. You can decide what task you are going to do in group work and make yourself useful. However I think knowing your weaknesses is important too. Not only to improve them and learn to live with them, but also to know what to avoid or pay attention to in certain situations.

Test result

You’ll be able to process large amounts of information faster and easier than ever before

In the kickoff week we had a fast reading workshop. They used a metronome to determine the pace. I didn’t continue to practice after the workshop but I think it still is useful for when you have to read long articles. I do not have any evidence for this.

You’ll be able to solve complex thinking puzzles and reason yourself into pretty much anything

I made several blogs that show off my thinking process. Some blogs are made for class and some are my own thoughts.

You’ll be able to construct your own showcase website using HTML and CSS code/You’ll be able to bring across your knowledge, views and opinions clearly and comprehensibly in English, in various forms of (oral and written) interactions

HTML was one of the things I found the hardest in this term. I didn't understand the material immediately and I was usually a couple of classes behind. This is why I chose to make a simple website and don’t make it harder than it has to be.

English is going better every day. Even a small chat in the IBIS launch contributes to my English development. I sometimes had a hard time getting my message across in the beginning but it’s getting smoother every day. There is, however, still a lot of room for improvement and I’m pretty far from satisfied.

English Portfolio Home