„How to do International Business“ 2006 Objective of the Online Course The fact that international business has been increasingly ascribed an important role is the basis for establishing an international course that applies the methodology of e-learning. This online course with the title “How to do International Business” is developed in cooperation between the Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca (Spain) and the University of Applied Sciences Jena (Germany). The lessons are held in English. Students of both universities can learn within the 6 modules about international management topics on a national, regional and local level. This ranges from “important facts and figures” over “intercultural differences” and “strategic position of Jena and Salamanca” to “fitness for mega-trends and emerging technologies”. With the help of the online learning platform “moodle”, theoretical knowledge can be imparted in many different ways. Cloze tests, photo galleries, case studies and multiple choice tests are examples of how autodidactic learning is supported. Additionally, intercultural student teams from Spain and Germany work together interactively and exchange information in forums. The method platform developed in this project can serve as a basis for further online courses in the future and thus also help to increase the intensification of university contacts. In detail: 1. analysis of precise economical, social and cultural characters of the regions that are adequate for the project 2. consistent definition of e-learning applications that are used for the project in Salamanca as well as in Jena 3. development of precise e-learning applications based on partly available e-learning-platforms 4. implementation of e-learning in lesson 5. interactive exchange of knowledge and experiences between professors and students of both universities The Six Modules I Important facts and figures II Intercultural differences III Successful international products and business models IV Strategic position of Jena and Salamanca V Fitness for mega-trends and emerging technologies VI Learning and surprises The learning model This E-learning-course concentrates on business aspects of Germany and Spain. In doing so it is important that all students learn in an active instead of only a passive way. That means interactive, interdisciplinary and autonomous working even in (intercultural) teams. Therefore the course contains at least ten different types of exercises/ activities. The students will use 3 II. Important companies and successful business models B. 2 III. Trends and Chances for New Business I.Business facts & figures Information assessment Intercultural Curiosity 1 New business project A. 1 Analysis of international business models Information seeking C. Lo Re ca g l (S Na i o na tio ala l (C na ma l (S as nc tilla pa a/J in / en y Ge Lé a) rm on an /Th y) uri ng ia) and train their abilities and develop their skills in international business matters. 4 5 6 7 Training modules Case Studies Autonomous and Team Decisions Deducing of success factors Product and price comparisons Techniques Flexibility Analyses 9 8 Development of business and city profiles Positioning on a regional and business area Intercultural Openness Communication Creativity The project was activated on November the 20th in 2006 and runs till the end of January 2007. At present there are advisements about an equivalent course with Hungary at the end of the year 2007. The international team Dr. Javier No Sánchez Pedagogy Juan Carlos Gacitúa Technics Dipl.-Bw. (FH) Anika Thomas Structure and content Dr. Luis Ephrosi Language and culture Monika Rommel Translation and content Anette Cooper Translation and content Prof. Dr. Günter Buerke Ideas Dipl.-Ing. (FH) Peter Mimietz Technics Project Management: Prof. Dr. Günter Buerke; Telephone: 03641 205-595, Fax: 03641 205-551 E-Mail: [email protected] Prof. Dr. Luis Ephrosi E-Mail: [email protected] University of Applied Sciences Jena, Department of Business Administration, PF 100314, 07745 Jena