ESB IB: The Interview

So you have successfully sent in your ESB application and got an interview? Congratulations! If you're feeling a bit nervous about your upcoming interview, whether in person or Skype, don't worry! We've provided you some tips to help you rock your interview.

1. Research! Although you may already know some information about ESB, check out the website and other resources such as the Facebook page and blog. Find out what makes ESB so awesome and what you want to be involved with when you start your education here.

2. Practice! Speak with an English speaking friend or relative, or watch some English movies, TV shows, or Youtube videos. The more you practice your English, the more confident you will be in your interview.

3. Visit! If possible, visit the campus before hand or arrive early and walk around. It is a great way to get a feeling for the campus and ESB itself. Also check out the city of Reutlingen to get an idea of what living here is like.

4. Prepare! If you are interviewing on campus, arrive early to make sure you can locate the buildings and rooms in enough time. If you are doing a Skype interview, make sure your internet and Skype are working before hand, and that you have added the correct ESB account.

5. Be yourself! You want to be selected because you are truly a good match for the school. Be honest with your answers and confident in your interview, so both you and the school can get a feeling if it is a good match.

With these helpful tips and some preparation on your part, we are sure you can succeed in your interview. Remember, every student in IB has had to go through this, so if you're a little nervous, you're not alone. Be excited for this great opportunity, and we can’t wait to meet you!

Rolling out the RED Carpet.

On November 20th, IB students brought out their suits and dresses for the most glamorous night of the Winter Semester, the annual Winter Prom. Held at the Nürtingen Stadthalle, the night was full of spectacular talent, dazzling glitz, and delicious food.  The theme this year was "are you REaDy?", and was shown off in many students choice of red attire.  

The Winter Prom is organised by their own Orga Team, who coordinate the venue, food, drinks, and talent for the night. Additionally, the event was sponsored by Solcom, without which the night could not have been possible. These two groups' hard work certainly paid off. From a personalized rap to open the night to 3 awesome musical performances and a DJ from our own program, the night was filled with entertainment.  Student's were provided a raffle ticket to win a free limo ride to the event.  Prom King and Queen are voted on from each grade and then elected that night. Congratulations to Kai and Elena!

This night is a perfect example of ESB spirit, as both IB and other ESB students happily enjoyed this event, which marks one of the last of the semester before examinations. 

All About IB Vision

Have you ever wondered who is actually responsible for this blog and the IB page? Who are the students in the application interviews and who informs you on the open house days? 
All these activities and many more are organized by students participating in IB Vision Ressorts.
IB Vision is the academic support council of the IB program. It supports the faculty in various aspects and tries to contribute to continuous improvement of the program with students‘ ideas.
B-Vision is divided into 3 main divisions which are managed and overseen by the Strategy leaders, who are currently Jana Rebmann and Michael Marx.

1. Orientation
The area of Orientation, currently lead by Marisol Sengewald and Thuna Dinh, tries to connect applicants, current studentsm and alumni. The ressorts organize the interviews for the application process, workshops and excursions, and organize the IB/ AW get-together, where Alumni tell their success stories and students get the opportunity to get in touch with former IB students.
The next event supported by the orientation team is the night abroad on November, 25th, where students get informed about the variety of partner universities they can chose from for their semester abroad. All universities from all around the world are presented and first-hand information is shared. Make sure to not miss this amazing event! 

2. Marketing
The division of Marketing tries to increase awareness of the IB program all over the world. They organize the Open House days, where applicants can talk to IB students to get a better insight in the program and their choices. Additionally, taking photos on all ESB events or presenting the ESB to your former school are IB Vision Marketing activities. For these and other activities Minjae Choi, Evelyn Konrad and Heike Bitterle are in charge.

3. Degrees
The heads of degrees, Tabea Schroth and Luca Fahrion, are responsible to inform students about the various exit options and degrees they can choose from. For example, they organize skype interviews with the partner universities for masters degrees where you get a better insight in the different countries and programs. 
If you have any comments, questions, or just want to know more about our work do not hesitate to send us an e-mail to bewerbung.ibvison@gmail.com or just talk to us on campus.

Your IB Vision team.

ESB Firmenforum 2014 - “Meet your Future”

Whoever happened to be on campus during the last couple of days certainly noticed that a lot of students were wearing their suits. This is because during the past week the ESB Firmenforum (or FIFO for short), one of the most important events for IB students during the winter semester, took place on campus! The FIFO is a career fair, which gives all IB ( as well as all other ESB students) the possibility to get in touch with well-known and internationally operating companies.

This years' two-day event offered a unique possibility to ESB students to get in contact with 41 of our sponsoring companies. From consulting firms and banks to manufacturing and transportation companies, all firms were given the chance to inform and showcase their internship programs and career paths.

But what is it that makes FIFO so special? Students have the chance to learn about the companies during presentations and while
talking to company representatives. Secondly, many companies are conducting interviews for internships, trainee programs and jobs directly on campus during the business fair. But let's also not forget about the famous “Start-Up evening” organized by the ESB Entrepreneurs, which typically takes place on the day before the FIFO, and focuses especially on alumni who founded their own start-up companies and are able to provide students firsthand information and insights if they are interested in becoming entrepreneurs themselves. Most importantly, the FIFO  is almost completely organized by ESB students for ESB students proving our famous ESB spirit!

FIFO's motto “Meet your Future” summarizes what the business fair is all about: informing yourself about many exciting career opportunities in different business sectors all around the globe. So to all future IB students: 
Get your suits ready and meet YOUR future next year at the ESB Firmenforum 2015! 

ESB-breviations

Like every other institution, the ESB has some abbreviations which are used almost daily. At the beginning it can be quite confusing, so we have compiled an exclusive list of the most common abbreviations used at the ESB.

1. The first one is of course ESB which formerly stood for European School of Business. But honestly, not even all of the students know that, everybody just says ESB. Since the merger in 2008 of the faculties ESB (European School of Business), SIB (School of International Business) and PM (Production Management), the name ESB is not an abbreviation anymore. Since 2008 it's simply a name. Not more - not less. 

2. If you want to tell your fellow students in which program you are in, you don’t say “International Business” but IB and usually the semester. So if you start at the ESB you are IB1.

3. The other study programs at the ESB also have abbreviations. The “International Management Double Degree” program is called IMDD and is also closer described with the semester and the country link they have selected. You sometimes will also hear IPBS which is the old term for IMDD.

4. RIO stands for the Reutlingen International Office, an important place to go if you are an international student! They help with lots of paperwork and questions you may having coming from a non German or EU country. 

So now that the basics are clear, I would like to introduce three more abbreviations that help you through the Winter semester. 

1. The first one is FIFO. This is the short version of “Firmenforum” and describes the annual business fair on campus. Companies come to the ESB to meet with students and provide the opportunity to inform yourself about programs such as internship places. 


2. The second business fair we have on campus is IBF, which is short for “International Business Fair” and takes place in April every year and is organised by the IB program.

3. Before we totally overwhelm you, there is just one last appreciation. Bib,  while sounding a little bit strange, is used quite often among the students. Bib is short for the German word “Bibliothek” which means library and during your studies you’ll definitely have to go there. But don’t worry, its quite a nice place.

So with this short guide you are well prepared for the ESB and you will (hopefully!) understand everyone on campus.

Let's Get Down To Business - The Internship Semester

Within the International Business Program, the 4th semester is your first test of what you have learned  at the ESB. My name is Ramona, I come from the South of Germany and I am currently doing my Internship in the Communication Department at Airbus Group in Toulouse, France. I started my internship directly after the exams in June. This internship has to be a minimum of 24 weeks long, or 26 weeks if you intend to do the Masters option.

I started looking for an internship already in January, which was much too early as companies usually have interns for 6 month and don’t start looking for a new intern more than 2 months beforehand. However, just keep your eyes open for deadlines of the different companies. I got my offer six weeks before I started and it was no problem to find an apartment etc.. So don’t be too anxious if the deadline approaches and you don’t have an offer yet. 

Thanks to the courses at the ESB I felt very well prepared for it, even though I am doing my internship in a department that is not really covered in classes. The first important subject is the first and second’s semester Business Technology, as companies Companies assume that you know all about Excel (a fellow student just got a “Excel for Dummies” book from his boss – so they assume that you know even more) and Word of course. The Management and Financial Accounting classes helped me to understand financial results, which I had to put on the homepage of my company. Thanks to the second semester’s Project Management course I learned how to handle “virtual teams” as half of my team is based in Munich and even though I am working with them every day, I haven’t met some of them in real life so far. Last but not least thanks to the courses in English and Spanish, I have no problems to communicate with my colleagues and to understand their languages. As it is a very international team, small talk occurs in their native languages. 

The Internship semester is of course not just all about work. I am having a great time here in France. I enjoy being in the South of France where it is still 25 degrees in the end of October and I take the opportunity to visit other cities in France and Spain for the weekends. In big companies like Airbus Group there will be other interns which gather for Intern activities just like lasertag or afterwork parties.
I am very happy that the ESB has the integrated internship semester as I am not missing one semester for it and it gives me a feeling about what I can do after my studies. I am proud to say that I took the right decision to study International Business at the ESB.

the IB Photographer

Name: Yash Bothra
Home country: Jaipur Rajasthan (Northwest of India)
Semester: 3rd

Had you ever visited Europe before?
No, Germany was my first country in Europe.

When you arrived in Germany, did you have kind of a cultural shock?
Yes, a big one. One of the biggest differences I recognized quite fast is the interaction between boys and girls. In India it is a big thing, especially for guys because you have to meet the father of the girl to ask him for any permission, so you have to go through a lot of communication channels and processes.

So what do you like and dislike about Germany?
I love the beer and drinking, it is on another level here in Germany but in a positive way.
What I really dislike it the food, especially Kaesespaetzle.

When did you start to take pictures and who inspired you?
I started when I was about 13, when I got my first camera and since then I like to do it.
Well it fascinated me when my father and grandfather took pictures of our family or when we traveled around and they seemed to have so much fun taking pictures.

Do you have a favorite object you like to take pictures of?
I prefer abstract thing in combination with people or landscapes but mostly I like night photography. But I am still exploring myself, what I am good at and what I can do.

Why did you started as the ESB Photographer?
I arrived a week later than the other students who were already joining a resort, I asked my mentee what to do, who told me; I should go to the photo resort because no one applied for it.
So I thought about the photo club in my hometown which I joined 5 years ago and where I learned how to work with pictures and cameras in a more professional way.

What was your first event?
My first event was the 'All in White' party and at this night I shot more than 700 pictures within 3 hours. Since then I went to every party, shot the pictures, processed them over night & upload them the next day before people ask for them.
But I also take pictures at business events like the IBF or last year’s FIFO and other events which are somehow related to the ESB.

Is it sometimes annoying when you can’t party because you have to take pictures?
Oh yes, it’s sometimes annoying because at the parties all of my friends are dancing and I stay somewhere taking pictures. In that case I put my camera away for 5 minutes, go dancing and then rush back to it. I like what I’m doing but I need a little bit less intensity of it, because people are expecting way too much.

What is the most difficult thing about taking pictures of so many people?
Sitting in front of the screen and going through all the 600 pictures of 1 night. Especially if you have 10 pictures of the same group and they all look similar and you have to figure out which is the best one to upload.

What is your biggest Pro and Con about taking the pictures for the ESB?
My biggest pro is that I get to meet a lot of people, and the biggest con is that I don’t get paid for it.

What advice do you have for your successors?
Be patient 

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