International Programme

1. Intercultural Communication & Management Competences (5 ECTS)

This course aims at the development of students’ intercultural communication and management competences. We will study and practice intercultural communication in order to further develop our management skills. At the end of the course, the students will be more familiar with intercultural communication theories, models, practices and strategies. They will have:

-         experienced intercultural team management,

-         made field visits

-         practiced different languages (English, German, French...).

2. Advanced organizational behavior OB2 (2 ECTS)

This advanced organizational behavior course is addressed to anyone who wants to pursue a career in business. It requires a good understanding of theories and relevant research in the field of psychology applied to organizational behavior. Key emphasis will be placed on: well-being at work, power, leadership, innovation, change and group dynamics. On completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Implement the knowledge acquired from DHO1 and integrate it in this course
• Identify the source and different forms of power and authority
• Identify the forces that require organisations to change and choose practices for implementing the changes
• Understand leadership theories and examine the key variables that determine the effectiveness of leadership in practice
• Appreciate health and well-being in the workplace
• Be capable of analysing work teams and interpersonal behaviour

3. Cross-cultural collaboration for Innovation (5 ECTS)

The course will be composed of two complementary modules.

Module 1. Doing Business with China – A Cultural Perspective is worth 2 ECTS and takes place over seven weekly sessions (4-hour sessions per week) during autumn term.

The module will introduce basic concepts, theories and case studies drawn from international business, economics, political science and political economy. It will focus on addressing the following three questions and covers topics around those questions:

1. Why China Market Mindset matters for business development?
2. How culture matters for doing business in China ?
3. What managers and companies can do to cultivate their China Market Mindset? 

Module 2. Innovative and Responsible Management in a Networked and Dynamic World is worth 3 ETCS. It starts with a kick-off session in May 2022 and then takes place over one week in July 2022 in collaboration with FHNW Basel.

he module prepares students for professional experiences involving an international project or consulting work, at a management position in an international company or for a leadership function in a multilateral – profit or non-profit – institution. During the programme, students will work on virtual projects with team members from FHNW and HEIG-VD in Switzerland as well as from China.

4. International Business (Fribourg / Geneva) (9 ECTS)

Some options in English are given in our sister schools in Fribourg or Geneva for a total of 9 ECTS each.
In Fribourg, the topics should be : "Banking & Finance" (Thursday)  and "Competitivity & Sustainability in Digital Society" (Friday)
In Geneva, the topics should be announced in April.
Exchange students will recieve financial support to pay for the weekly trip to and from our sister schools.

5. International Innovation Management (5 ECTS)

Innovation is increasingly the source of sustainable competitive advantage for firms around the world. However, building an organization to successfully and repeatedly bring innovations to market is a difficult managerial challenge. In this course we focus on the practices and processes that managers use to manage innovation effectively. It explores the role of innovation in corporate and business unit growth strategy as well as in start-up development. Different approaches to innovation are discussed, leveraging examples and cases in consumer product industries, SME’s and start-ups. Subsequently, the “state-of-the-art” internal innovation capabilities which are required to outperform competition are discussed. These capabilities include innovation processes, consumer/customer insights, portfolio management, organizational governance. The course uses a “learning-by-doing” approach and requires students to conduct a real project realized with a start-up or SME. 
NB : An optional trip to companies in the Silicon Valley will take place after the semester. Exchange students participating on the course are also welcome, although they will need to pay for it.

6. Principles of marketing I (3 ECTS)

The course explores the principal concepts and tools of contemporary marketing management. The course enables students to develop an effective marketing strategy by examining how organisations can reach their objectives through creating and delivering value to their target audience. Students learn by participating in classroom discussions, preparing mini-projects and case studies, including in-the-field activities.

7. Principles of marketing II (3 ECTS)

8. Business English (2 ECTS)

The aim of this course is for students to develop competence and confidence to use both spoken and written English autonomously, strategically, and appropriately in a range of business-related contexts. The courses are based on a range of themes and communication activities. Classes involve hands-on learning in groups, in addition to textual analysis and input on effective language learning and strategic communication in the workplace. Themes covered include corporations, marketing, finance and human resources.

9. Survival French (1 ECTS)

This course is designed to help students acquire basic French to be able to deal with everyday matters while studying in Switzerland and to get to know the local area and culture. It includes hands-on practical activities and all incoming students are encouraged to take this course.

10. German for Business (2 ECTS)

Lernziele sind der mündliche und schriftliche Ausdruck sowie Hörverstehen über komplexere Themen aus den Bereichen Werbung, Messen, Handel. 

Die Kursform ist partizipativ, verbunden mit Arbeit in Kleingruppen und individuellen Übungen. Zusätzlich erlernen die Studierenden Werbeanzeigen zu analysieren.