Combining Technology, Business and Foreign ExchangeThe importance of foreign experience

Sinem Ilhan during her internship in London

Th, 06. July 2017

The major „International Sales Management and Technology” teaches business Engineers how to solve problems for international clients. They draw out the route for a company’s business plans. They contact customers in target markets and try to get them excited about their solutions.

Business engineers discuss and decide on the needed specifications of a product with their customers. “Here, they use their knowledge of products, markets and prices so that they can find an advantageous solution for both parties. Business engineers find new markets and customers and develop new products to guarantee growth within a company,” explains Prof. Dr. Jobst Görne. He expanded further “Business engineers have a critical responsibility in the company and operate worldwide. They get a lot of required cultural competency by learning a second foreign language and doing a required semester in a foreign country.”

Sinem Ilhan studies International Sales Management and Technology, and studied in England during her 5th semester: „During my internship, I lived for 6 months in south London,” she explained, “Every morning when I went to work in beautiful Great Britain, I was greeted with the sentence ‘Hello, are you all right?’ Sinem Ilhan is grateful to have had the chance to gather such valuable experiences. “The thing that impressed me the most was the realization that you can develop so much in such a short time. You grow, whether you like it or not, and you really learn what it means to be self-sufficient.” You expand your horizons automatically when you travel due to the cultural differences that make you see the world with a fresh pair of eyes: “I’m confident that I will always remember the good times I had in England.”

Students can do one or more semesters in a foreign country. They can write the bachelor thesis just as well over there. “It’s fun, and the students are ready for the international stage,” explains Jobst Görne. During their studies, young people get a wide range of business-related and technical skills. The lectures get complemented with practice and labs. “For example, they learn how to do a meeting in the sales lab, and important technical basics in the technical lab, they make prototype groups and then make a virtual Start Up in their study groups. Presentations are a part of a lot of lectures, so that everyone eventually masters presenting,” Görne proudly describes.

A lot of case studies, project work and presentations in the coursework promote team skills like initiative, assertiveness and teamwork. Engaged students have the opportunity to get better at organization, communication, marketing and business. “The business engineers from Aalen University have a broad range of job opportunities and are well-prepared for the business world,” said Görne, “If you actively engage with your studies and your study abroad goes well, you will get a good job in the industry, whether it’s a product manager for a car company, technical sales manager for a systems engineering firm in a foreign country, or as a marketing manager for a machine manufacturer – sales and distribution is always looking for well trained, motivated people. Our alumni get paid more than average in these important jobs.”

The “Bachelor of Engineering” degree is acknowledged worldwide. Görne: “With a bachelor of engineering, our alumni are predestined for a job in a corporation with technically significant products and internationally active customers.

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Applications for the summer semester are due on July 15th.

Applications for the winter semester are due on January 15th.