German students to visit campus

By Josh Weir, Staff Writer

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The University of Kassel campus. Photo submitted by Dr. Bruce Kibler
Don’t be surprised if you hear German being spoken around the campus next week. Thirteen students and two instructors from the University of Kassel, Germany will be arriving Saturday to meet their American counterparts in the department of business and management.

As part of the Strategic Management class here, University of Wisconsin - Superior students form teams with students in Germany. They work together across the Atlantic to manage a simulated business, in competition with other teams.

Dr. Bruce Kibler teaches the class. He said students last year got to know each other through email, video-chat, and other electronic media, “But it’s still not the same as having a physical body in from of you, having met somebody and really working with them after that.” So he convinced the University of Kassel the exchange would be a good idea.

This will be the first time they get to meet in person before the simulation, “And that makes a big difference in team dynamics,” Kibler says. “We’re hoping that actually through having them come together and meet each other for these several days that it will change their team dynamics and elevate their performance.”

The team that wins the initial simulation is invited to compete internationally. With over 70 schools in the competition last year, the UW-Superior students placed third. Kibler and others will publish a paper on the results.

Samantha Blake is a student in the class. She says working on a team with the Germans will add another dimension to the challenge.

“But in a good way. A lot of businesses have to communicate with customers, suppliers, etc., internationally. I think this simulation will be a good experience to have under your belt when you leave college,” she said.

Anup Acharya is an international business major, and hails from Nepal. Acharya thinks the visit will “not only provide us different perspectives and views to succeed in the simulation, but also help us to know many things about their culture and experience.”

It’s not all business. Besides sitting in with the strategic management class, Dr. Kibler has plenty of activities planned to try to give the visitors a peek at life in Superior and a chance to socialize.

They’ll be kicking things off Saturday with a barbecue where the guests will get a chance to meet the UW-Superior students as well as the host families they will be staying with until they leave Thursday. They’re planning a Vista Fleet cruise and some whitewater rafting, a tour and lunch at the Fairlawn Mansion, visits to some local businesses and possibly some rock climbing or hiking.

Their trip isn’t all planned out either. “A lot of these German students have never been to America before,” Kibler says. “How many students do we have here in Superior [who] have really had that kind of interaction with one to one people coming over here to see them. Literally they are coming over to see them, and that’s pretty powerful stuff.”

Kibler hopes more UW-Superior students will be able to visit Germany and other European countries in the future.

“There’s a huge opportunity across all of Europe right now. Since I lived there for 17 years I’ve got a lot of connections, and I’d like to try to use that a little bit to develop more partnerships in Germany or Slovokia and some of the other eastern block countries.”

“The world is only getting smaller. And the fact is we must face these things. The more we get out and have people have the realizations of these other people and these other ways of doing things and perceptions, the better off we’re going to be.”