Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Exams!

Hey ESB IBers! We hope you are enjoying this lovely holiday break. We wanted to wish you a happy holiday season and send a few gifts your way.

1. A Delicious Christmas Drink
2. A Cup of Warm Cocoa for Studying
3. Some Fun Holiday Games
4. Some Study Help
5. And Some More..
6. Finally, Some Motivation!

IB3: The First Practice-Oriented Experience

Combining the theory taught in university with the practical demand of a company can sometimes be quite challenging. Therefore, IB students in the third semester get the chance to learn a mixture of both praxis and theory. In the Marketing Research class, Prof. Dr. Gerd Nufer introduces the students to this new topic in an approach different than other classes: Half of the class consists of getting familiar with research terminology and statistical approaches to conduct a marketing research survey,  while the other half consists of applying these new tools to a real life project. What sounds quite challenging and highly time intensive turns out to be also an interesting and informative experience: The students get in touch with a company of their choice and find together a topic of interest for the company. The students then develop their own survey, taking into consideration what Prof. Dr Nufer taught them in class. Analyzing the data from the survey gives a first insight on how the start of a future bachelor or master’s thesis could look like.

For the first time it was possible to apply theoretical knowledge from previous semesters to a practical project. Later on, the findings of the survey were introduced in combination with a consultation to the class and the company representatives. 

This semester, a group of six students were working together with “Amy’s Donuts & more”, a local snack store. The students first analyzed the trends on the global snack market and later used their survey to find out whether these trends would be successful in the German market. People from the cities Stuttgart, Tübingen and Reutlingen were asked for example whether they would find new snack trends like “Bruffin and Cragel” interesting for the German snack-market. Bruffin and Cragel is a new trend from Brooklyn, New York. Cragel is a mix between a Croissant (cr) and Bagel (agel). Bruffin is composed of brioche (Br) and muffin (uffin). The two mix- pastries caused long queues in front of New York bakeries. Further questions considered the demand for vegetarian and vegan snacks and drinks. “Amy’s Donuts & More’ will now try to put the findings into practice to fulfill the wishes of the interviewed people.

For the students, the project was despite the big workload a success and a great learning. The Marketing Research class is a welcome change to the other more theoretical classes.

Adventure is Out There: the Night Abroad

With Night Abroad the IB Vision Committee brought the well-known wanderlust to the ESB on last Tuesday. This event gave the students the opportunity to plan their exchange semester. Firsthand-information on more than 40 different partner university was provided by alumnae and current exchange students.  Here is the official list of the IB partner universities. 

In a fun, relaxed atmosphere students were able to get an inside look on our excellent partner universities with brochures, information, and first hand accounts from students. As stomachs filled with adorable finger food, the hunger for internationality was satisfied with this wonderful event.

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!