Photo: Prof. Dr. Lisa Fröhlich draws a positive balance to the last weeks: “We went from traditional to digital classes – in all areas. CBS mastered this transformation in a very short time.”
The CBS International Business School has succeeded in switching over to online teaching within one week. The online teaching process is technically mapped on MS TEAMS, this programme is available to all employees and students via a campus license. CBS has already taken announcements of the ministry seriously at an early stage and has started training their internal as well as external colleagues. Every week, joint meetings are held to exchange experiences and provide assistance. A five-member task force has been set up and is constantly working on optimizing the use of TEAMS in teaching.
This change has taken place for all BA and MA programmes, but also for all course formats. Learning a second or third foreign language in addition to English is compulsory in many study programmes. Even the language modules were successfully adapted to the requirements of online teaching: They are characterized by a joint development of content and continuous assessment etc. are part of the everyday lecture routine. Moreover, a so-called Innovative Building Block is offered in the advanced semesters of all BA and MA programmes. Business projects take place in this context: Here students work on real problems of our partner companies together with their professors. Regular presentations are to be given to the management to demonstrate the project’s progress based on the previously defined milestones. This format also continues successfully without any major problems.
Photo: Collaborative learning of Prof. Dr. Anja Karlshaus and her son: “We moved the lecture hall to our living room”
These two success stories strengthen the trust in the CBS, not only from our students but also from our corporate partners. From the very beginning, it was important to act openly and transparently. A mailbox has been set up for our students “gethelp@cbs”, regular newsletters "Corona Updates" are sent out. Our faculty and service departments are available for our students around the clock in their home offices. We also communicate with our stakeholders via social media and have created the format "A message from your Presidential Board".
Photo: Message from the home office: CBS employees are still available for the students around the clock
Trust and communication are important for us in order to overcome the biggest hurdles right now: Preventing to let the autumn intake figures sink to the bottom. Our administration has done a great job here, too. All A-Days, consultation dates and Open Campus Days are now taking place virtually. CBS can provide all the information prospective students need - from the virtual campus tour to the presentation of individual study programmes.
In the end, this crisis has shown us that all employees of CBS, faculty and administration, form a powerful team that can offer high-quality study programmes even in difficult times.
More information at: https://cbs.de/en/university/news/letter-from-the-executive-board-of-the-cbs-international-business-school/