"For me, the Bachelor of Business Administration International Marketing is the perfect combination of professional, linguistic and intercultural training. The great opportunity to spend a year abroad and gain a further degree at a partner university particularly impressed me right from the start. In addition, the program optimally prepared me for practical work in marketing and consulting and laid an excellent foundation for further international orientation in the Master's program. If you are interested in marketing and want to look beyond Germany, the Bachelor of Business Administration International Marketing is the right place for you."

Moritz Bienecker

(Consultant bei Roland Berger Strategy Consultants)

"Looking back, my decision to study International Marketing at Pforzheim University was exactly the right one. The modern, practice-oriented degree program teaches basic business administration skills and provides a specialization in the field of international marketing. Numerous projects with external companies and the integrated internship semester gave me the opportunity to apply what I had learned. A special feature of the program is that you spend one year at a renowned partner universities and therefore have the unique opportunity to graduate with two degrees. Of course, you also improve your language skills and make friends with other students from all over the world. I would particularly like to emphasize the close and good contact with the professors, who were always present with help and advice. To summarize, the strong practical relevance, the "internationality" factor and the above-average support allow me personally to come to only one conclusion: International Marketing at Pforzheim University? Again and again!"

Carolin Hecky

(Head of Marketing Pet Care bei J. Rettenmaier & Söhne)

Julian Gauger, semester abroad at the ISCTE Business School, Lisbon, Portugal

Student life in Lisbon at the ISCTE Business School

Two of us went to Portugal to the ISCTE Business School in Lisbon. The anticipation of living near the water and in such a cool city was indescribably great. But things turned out to be even better than we had imagined.

Finding accommodation was surprisingly straightforward and allowed us to enjoy the city and the sea to the full before our studies even began. The beautiful old town, the friendly people and the unbeatable flair immediately won me over to this city.

An introductory week organized by the ISCTE Business School enabled me to make friends with other international students right from the start and get to know the city and nightlife better.

Then it was time for lectures. There are two different ways to take the courses. The first is "continuous evaluation", which means you need at least 80% attendance and have several small assignments during the semester, or you only write the final exam, as in Pforzheim. Most of the professors recommended the "continuous evaluation" and we followed their advice, which we did not regret afterwards. As in Pforzheim, lectures can take place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. - but don't worry, there is plenty of free time to enjoy student life.

Lisbon offers everything you need for an unforgettable time. From a multitude of small restaurants, where you can get a perfect fish menu with a drink for just €8, to bars with sensational views over the city and breathtaking clubs, the city offers everything for a successful student life. The "Bairro Alto" district with its multitude of bars also invites you to meet up with friends for a glass of wine or beer 7 days a week.

The city is a great place to enjoy your time, whether it's for a coffee in one of the cozy cafés or taking the metro (very good network in Lisbon) towards the Rio Tejo after class to simply "unwind" with friends and enjoy the great climate and sunshine. From March to the beginning of October, the nearby beaches were my number one destination. Whether it was for surfing or relaxing. The almost one-hour journey by bus/train was worth it every time.

The year abroad in Lisbon flew by and, looking back, I can say with certainty that it was the best time of my life. I was able to learn and discover a lot of new things and make friends for life. I can therefore only recommend that you also choose this degree course.

Lea Schneider, semester abroad at Tec de Monterrey, Mexico

Olé Mexico!

Unlike the other study programs at Pforzheim University, the Bachelor of Business/International Marketing includes a full year abroad with the option of a double degree. That was one of the decisive reasons why I chose this degree program. I was not disappointed.

Everything is a bit different for us at International Marketing – everything revolves around the stay abroad right from the foundation course. Your grades in the first two semesters can decide whether you are accepted for your first priority or have to settle for your second choice. Only those who have passed all the examinations in the foundation course after the third semester are allowed to go abroad at all. This encourages motivation very early on in your studies.

Then the fourth semester starts. It was already clear to me in the first semester that I had to go to Monterrey, Mexico. But there's something for everyone – from France and Portugal to Indonesia, Taiwan, Mexico and Peru.

No matter where we went, we all had a fixed course catalog, albeit with small differences between the individual partner universities. Six of us started in Mexico in January. With several hundred exchange students at TEC, the first week was intended as an orientation, where you could get to know the campus, the city and other exchange students. Here I got to know many different nationalities and was also able to practice my Spanish directly.

Mexicans have a wonderfully warm-hearted mentality. I particularly liked the fact that even if you didn't know your hosts, you could always join them at a party or a family meal. However, it took a little longer to get used to the unpunctuality, which is another major aspect of the mentality. This was particularly challenging when we worked in groups. But after a while, you learn to deal with it calmly and take the lateness into account.

Monterrey, even if it has no well-known sights, offers plenty to experience. The mountain range that surrounds the city is particularly inviting for hikers. The best view of the city is from the summit of Cerro de la Silla.

The university system at the TEC can hardly be compared with the German system: With compulsory attendance in all courses, regular homework and short tests and, last but not least, three written exams or one long term paper per subject, the semester as a whole is more time-consuming than in Germany. However, the effort pays off, as all of us were able to significantly improve our average grades during the two semesters in Mexico. As almost all the courses we took dealt with the various key areas of marketing, the knowledge was particularly well memorized due to the many repetitions and the learning effect is clearly noticeable after the year abroad.

Despite a four-week summer school in June, which may seem daunting at first glance, you have enough time to travel to other parts of Mexico in the summer. Trips to the USA, Cuba or other countries in Central America can also be easily accommodated during the university day. This allows you to get to know the country and its people in a completely new way.

Although every Pforzheim student can now go abroad without any problems, I think what makes International Marketing special is that while everyone else must go home after a semester, we can enjoy the benefits abroad for even longer.

For me, the year abroad was the best experience of my studies, and I would choose the International Marketing degree program and the year abroad at TEC de Monterrey again at any time.

Aljosha Klein, internship semester at adidas AG

Be the difference

As a rule, a practical semester is scheduled in the sixth semester of the Business Administration International Marketing course. You have already gained a lot of theoretical experience from the previous semesters, but now you have to apply this knowledge and supplement it with new practical experience.

Due to the strong international orientation and the obligatory year abroad, it was clear to me that I wanted to work for a global company. Fortunately, I was able to convince adidas AG with my application and took up a position in the Brand Management - Consumer Engagement department. At the headquarters in Herzogenaurach (near Nuremberg), around 4000 employees work for the adidas Group and its various sub-brands, including 200 interns every semester. You can imagine that there is a large community of young, sports-loving people here and an internship at adidas actually feels a bit like an exchange semester. This is also reflected in the fact that employees come from all over the world; the company language is English. The working atmosphere is super warm and characterized by flat hierarchies and extracurricular activities.

In my department, I was quickly integrated into the rather small (and recently established) team and after a while I got a good overview of the ongoing projects: The goal was to develop and build a global customer loyalty program. This involved a lot of collaboration with external agencies and other adidas departments, which gave me an even deeper insight into the practical world of marketing. My tasks included online research and presentations, as well as participating in strategy development workshops. I also worked on a customer acquisition project focusing on adidas' sponsorship of Manchester United. This task was particularly interesting for me as a soccer fan, as it gave me an insight behind the scenes of such sponsorship.

But in addition to the varied work, there were of course many other compelling reasons why I look back fondly on this internship. For example, the employee discount that you can often take advantage of in the outlet around the corner. Or how about the extensive sports facilities that the adidas Campus offers: Soccer pitches, fitness center with various courses, tennis, beach volleyball, ...? There are also regular events on site, where sport, music and fun take center stage. And if that's not enough, you can simply be surprised by a spontaneous visit from athletes such as James Rodriguez from Real Madrid or world stars such as Pharrell Williams.

A particular highlight for me was winning the so-called AI3 Challenge, in which adidas Group interns and trainees compete against each other with various concepts to solve a real problem or business case. This also shows that you are taken seriously as an intern and are not there to make coffee. (At adidas, you can simply go to one of the many cafeterias to get one).

Finally, an internship also helps you beyond the semester, you make important contacts that will be relevant for your Bachelor's thesis and your job search.

Angela Schossig

Finding a topic

For me, the final thesis was the culmination of my studies, with one decisive special feature. Thanks to the one-year stay abroad, which is compulsory in the Business/International Marketing program, I initially had the choice of writing my Bachelor's thesis in German or English.

Finding a topic is one of the crucial points of the Bachelor's thesis. Various factors play a role, such as areas of focus from your studies, personal and professional interests and current topics. In my case, the internship I completed at Porsche a semester earlier played a decisive role. I've been interested in vehicles and engines since I was little but experiencing the fascination of Porsche up close was an unimaginably great experience full of emotion. The importance of emphasizing the emotionality of the vehicles in communication between the company and the customer was reflected in my work in project management for sales and marketing. During market research and competitor analyses in particular, it became clear that the vehicles of many car brands are equally well positioned in terms of technology. Apart from the brand and the design, the emotionality of each vehicle is the unique selling point that needs to be communicated. I was particularly interested in communicating the emotionality of different car manufacturers. I used this approach as the basis for the topic of my bachelor's thesis. During a brainstorming session with Prof. Dr. Walter, the direction of the topic was specified, and I quickly had a clear idea of how I would focus on theory and practice. The process of finding a topic was therefore complete and I was able to get started.

Initial phase

The weighting of the Bachelor's thesis is relatively equal with regard to the theoretical and practical parts. In the initial phase, I first drew up a structure that served as a detailed outline and a common thread. I first set priorities in the theoretical part, which I later applied in the practical part. The literature research was accompanied by an examination of many theories, and I came across new, interesting content from book to book. At the same time as researching the literature, I drew parallels with the practical part and placed specific theories so that my basic framework was solid.

Practical part

The practical part is the second part of the thesis and gave me the opportunity to design my bachelor's thesis individually and to be creative in my own way. I was looking for the biggest challenge at this point and looked for an alternative to the possibilities of a questionnaire survey, expert interviews and case studies. The result was the development of a set of criteria that I used to analyze commercials from Porsche and the core competitors. I looked at the commercials of one model of each brand in the current year, which was 97 commercials for BMW alone! Wow, I hadn't expected that, but in terms of the world as a whole, my empirical analysis was ultimately conclusive and clear: emotionality is communicated more strongly than rational aspects in most brands and has become an integral part of advertising. Based on my findings, I developed recommendations for action for car manufacturers and predicted the design of advertising for the future with regard to the importance of emotionality in relation to the state of the art.

Delivery

It's almost done, what a great feeling! I had the bachelor's thesis printed and bound in triplicate for submission, and I created the digital version on the CD myself. On the day of submission, I was relieved and proud to be able to submit the Bachelor's thesis successfully.  It was an exciting time, and the more you can find yourself in your topic, the more fun it is.

Postal address:

Tiefenbronner Straße 65

75175 Pforzheim

Germany

If you would like to have more information about the International Marketing degree program, there is the possibility to meet with us via Skype/ Alfaview/ Zoom.

If you are interested in an interview, please contact us via bim(at)hs-pforzheim(dot)de. We look forward to hearing from you!