During the second semester of the MBA International Management programme at Hochschule Pforzheim, the students are tasked with choosing their first round of electives that will further shape their MBA IM studies. In an effort to remain current in today’s business environment, practical and hands on electives are offered to develop a more in-depth skillset that is often required amongst job opportunities in the market. Among these requirements are various project management methodologies and strategies. That is why Agile Project Management is offered as one of three electives in the second semester.
Taught by Prof. Dr. Matthias Handrich, who comes with a wealth of experience from working with companies like Daimler and Siemens, this is the first year the course is offered and explores agile principles using SCRUM. After an initial briefing of SCRUM principles, Prof. Handrich divided the class into teams who would continue to work together throughout the four-week course. The teams’ first task was to assign each person in their group either the title of SCRUM Master, Product Owner, or Developer – traditional titles found in a SCRUM team. In addition to in-class work, the teams were presented with a case study tasked with developing an app. Each week the teams encountered “roadblocks” or “delays” to their project and were expected to reassess their approach using methods taught in the prior class. Presentations of the teams’ results occurred weekly.
The course provided a solid, foundational knowledge of agile and SCRUM methodologies that would be useful for anyone interested in pursuing a career in project management. Thank you, Prof. Handrich for providing a hands-on and interactive course!

text: Gabrielle Boimann, Class of 2022
picture: Prof. Matthias Handrich