Three international courses will be offered by International Cooperation and Student Affairs Office during 2018-2019 fall semester, that is Project Management,International Business & Marketing and International Marketing.

Three international courses are open to students. [Photo / International Cooperation & Student Affairs Office]

Students who select the international courses will improve their spoken English and experience international teaching style without going abroad. They will also learn skills and insights from experienced working and academic professionals. Moreover, they will be more likely to be selected for the student exchange program.

These courses are subordinate to the Economics of Engineering internationalcourse series which aims to help engineering background students enrich their knowledge in economics, management science, marketing, operation and strategy etc. Such courses will be given by a group of lecturers with research background and industrial experiences from partner universities in Switzerland, Germany and United States.

1. Project Management, Lecturer: Peter Burkhalter

Professor Peter Burkhalter currently gives lectures on Project Management at Bern University of Applied Sciences. He has extensive corporate experiences for more than 20 years. He previously worked as the CEO and President of Patton Inalp Networks. He was a Service Solutions Executive at IBM, Head of Sales Innovative Solutions South Europe at Nortel, Business and Project Manager at Ascom, and SW Engineer and Product Manager at Siemens Switzerland AG.

With the combination of theoretical concepts, practical case analysis and team project, this course will introduce the foundational techniques of Project Management to students. Specifically, students will identify project scope and write a proper project charter, systematically develop and plan the project based on the PMI methodology, manage and execute a project, assure project quality, and know about some basic tools.

2. International Business & Marketing, Lecturer: Markus Prandini

Markus Prandini holds a PhD in Educational and International Management from the University Of St. Gallen (HSG), Switzerland (AACSB/EQUIS). He is currently Professor for International Business at Zurich University of Applied Sciences/School of Management and Law (Switzerland). Since January 2013, he has been the Managing Director of the Competence Center for Asia Business. In 2010, Markus won the Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. He has been working for over 15 years in the field of management development at various international companies and organizations. He is also the founder of an IT company specialized in e-Learning.

The course provides a systematic introduction into the concepts and practices of international business and marketing. It focuses on cross-border economic activities which involve all commercial transactions between individuals, private organizations and governments. It aims to train students to apply and transfer international management, marketing theories and concepts to the real world.

By learning this course, the students are able to:

1) Understand how the international business environment impacts on the goals, activities and operations of international firms.

2) Develop internationalization and foreign market entry strategies and the necessary organizational structures and processes.

3) Define marketing strategies and explain ways how to measure the outcome of market activities.

4) Create and implement a consistent, well-reasoned marketing plan including the various segment plans for the 7 Ps.

5) Understand the effects of cultural differences on international business and marketing.

6) Understand the risks associated with international operations.

3. International Marketing, Lecturer: Paul Ammann

Paul Ammann holds a PHD degree at University of St. Gallen. He is the leader of a post-graduate degree (Executive MBA) in International Management at Bern University of Applied Sciences. He has extensive management experience in consulting and business development as well as successful teaching experience at postgraduate executive MBA study program at Bern University of Applied Sciences. He was a Market and Business Development Manager at ABB Business Unit Transformer and Senior Consultant at ABB Switzerland.

This course will lead the students to explore selection of foreign target markets, to decide the form of international market entry and to develop international marketing mix: product, price, promotion and place.

    At the end of the course, students will understand the process & the impacts of globalization on the economy, learn how companies select foreign markets and the form of international market entry, know how companies work within foreign markets, and grasp the differences between the most important cultural areas and understand their influence on the activity of international companies.

    Today's recruiters are seeking for candidates who have not only deep knowledge within one discipline but also broad knowledge about how it interacts with other disciplines. Therefore, Economics of Engineering international course series will benefit students from all engineering and scientific disciplines in their future profession.