On May 1^st, 2022, two study groups of BMWI and BDEM of Hochschule Pforzheim went to Berlin for their excursion week after 2 years of corona and not able to do so in person during those two years. The students were accompanied by Professor Schuler with whom they visited one company every day from Monday 2^nd May to Thursday 5^th May. The companies visited were as follow:

• Monday 2^nd May – HIIG
• Tuesday 3^rd May – SAP
• Wednesday 4^th May – Resourceful Humans
• Thursday 5^th May – Daimler Group Services Berlin

HIIG- Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society

At HIIG the students were given an insight into research topics and how a research centre works. The presenters talked about the topics they were working on and how they go about researching and writing a paper briefly. Personally, I found this very interesting as I got to know from expert in the fields of research how to go about when it comes to writing scientific paper. This is specifically noteworthy for students going into the thesis semester. The topics presented were very much aligned with our study courses and were IT related. The presenters also gave a brief overview of career options available at the research centre, be it for bachelor, masters, or postgrad students. After the presentation, the presenters engaged into a 1-1 talk with the students and professor whereby everyone engaged with each other and cleared out any questions they might have. This session was quite informal and very friendly. We all sat down across a table grabbing drinks and having IT related conversions with each other and clearing out any questions we had with the two presenters.

 SAP

We then visited the SAP office in Berlin on day two where three representatives of the company gave a presentation about the company. They gave us a background of the company from foundation years until present day. They further explained how the company and their business works. This was followed by telling us more about the life at SAP for example all the advantages given to their employees. We also got a better insight of the different paths on how one can join SAP from working student to intern to rotational programs. All of them are available at SAP for university students. IT was very helpful getting to know about all these different types of opportunities available.

This was followed by a more detailed talk on SAP Signavio, a company SAP recently acquired. SAP Signavio is a process modelling tool. Those from BWMI and BDEM will remember how much we have used modelling tools throughout our study course and getting the chance to see a real-life example where it was being used was incredible. The presenter took the time and went into details about this tool and answered all the questions we students had. To top it off, we were informed that we could freely access the tool using our academic email address for a trial.

In between the session we had nice break where the students could enjoy the beautiful view from the office all while having drinks and appetizers.

Resourceful Humans

After the first two days, the students then visited Resourceful humans which is a start-up based in Berlin. There, we were introduced to the topic of Artificial Intelligence and Virtual reality. This was a very informative session followed by a very interactive virtual reality game. The game was about submarine missions which we had to do as a team. In the game, we got the roles of captain, navigator, engineer, and weapon guy. I found it very interesting how they could see our actions and reactions in certain situation and actually see our team player skills, responsibility and decision making as a team. It was a long session full of fun and learnings. In our team, I was the captain, Prof. Schuler was the navigator and two more students had the other two roles, unfortunately we ended up killing the fishermen rather than rescuing them in the game, but at least we did not commit suicide accidently like one of the other groups. Through the game the students were able to experience virtual reality first hand and learn a lot of new things both individually and as a team.

Their office was also very interesting. Iron man standing there, a wall of cars and many more such cool things. It looked very creative and productive place for working. The team who took care of us was super helpful and friendly.

Daimler Group Services Berlin

Last stop for the excursion was at Daimler group services. There students got great insights about the company. The two main topics addressed were process automation and data analytics, both of which are very relevant and interesting for students of our degrees. The presenters were very friendly and experts in their field.  They gave an overview of each topic and showed how they use them in their everyday task at Daimler. Overall, session was interactive and fun.

We also got a chance to have an office tour with them. We saw their offices, working environment and also the roof top room where they all enjoy their casual discussions, some activities and coffee breaks with a wonderful view of Berlin.

Other Activities

Apart from the company visits, each day there was a fun activity planned by students. Not even a single day was unplanned for us. It was all very well organized, combination of fun and some great learning experiences.  As we know that Berlin is known for its rich history, beautiful tourist places, and great culture. We visited the famous tourist places in Berlin like Brandenburger Tor, Reichtag, Kaufhaus Des Westens (KaDeWe) and Berlin East side gallery. In addition, there was a Boat trip organized by students for the whole group. It was a two-hour long trip. We had a guide with us too.  It was a river route which passes through Berlin. We were shown all the known places and the guide explained us a little bit of their backgrounds. We also had an opportunity to grab some food and drinks on the boat. It was an amazing experience to do it with our whole group. We really enjoyed the trip and also made new friends. Each day we had an amazing evening plan together. We tried out different food places in the city. Not to forget our hostel. It was clean and had great services. It was located around very nice and lively place. Breakfast was organized for us there at the hostel which was a great advantage. Variety of food offered was nice too.

For us it was a wonderful experience to be part of this excursion. It was great to visit such big companies. We got a chance to meet them in person. Talking to them helped us to get insights about their work experiences, culture, and internship opportunities in their companies. Surely, it would be of help for us when we would soon have to make our career decisions. In this one week we explored Berlin with many new friends and had great fun together. It was a very joyful and memorable trip.

Erstmals nach dem Erscheinen des Corona-Virus im Jahr 2019 konnten unsere Studierende aus dem Fachbereich Wirtschaftsinformatik (WI) wieder auf eine Präsenzexkursion begeben (2021 fand eine digitale Exkursion statt). So machten sich am 1. Mai 2022 zwei Studiengruppen des BMWI und des BDEM der Hochschule Pforzheim für eine Woche auf nach  Berlin. Begleitet wurden die Studierenden von Prof. Dr. Joachim Schuler. Insgesamt standen mehrere Unternehmensbesuche auf dem Programm:

• Montag, 2. Mai – HIIG
• Dienstag, 3. Mai – SAP
• Mittwoch, 4. Mai – Resourceful humans
• Donnerstag, 5. Mai- Daimler

HIIG- Alexander von Humboldt Institut für Internet und Gesellschaft
Am HIIG erhielten die Studierenden einen Einblick in Forschungsthemen und in die Arbeitsweise eines Forschungszentrums. Die Referenten sprachen über die Themen, an denen sie arbeiten und wie sie ihre Forschungsarbeiten strukturieren. Nach der Präsentation führten die Referenten ein 1:1-Gespräch mit den mit den Studierenden und dem Professor, wobei jeder mit jedem ins Gespräch kam und alle Fragen beantwortete.

SAP
Am zweiten Tag besuchten die Studenten das SAP-Büro in Berlin. Dort stellten SAP Mitarbeitende das Unternehmen vor, sprachen über spannende Projekte und berichteten aus ihrem abwechslungsreichen Alltag. Ferner zeigte SAP das Tool SAP Signavio und erklärte die Funktionsweise und die Anwendungsbereiche des Tools.

Resourceful Humans
Am dritten Tag stand das Start-up Resourceful Humans auf der Agenda. Dort wurden den Studierenden in das Thema künstliche Intelligenz und virtuelle Realität eingeführt. Zuerst in Form eines spannenden Vortrags, gefolgt von einem sehr interaktiven Virtual-Reality-Spiel. Durch das Spiel konnten die Schüler Virtual Reality hautnah erleben.

Daimler Group Services Berlin
Die letzte Station der Exkursion war Daimler Group Services. Dort bekamen die Studenten einen besseren Einblick in das Unternehmen und speziell auf zwei interessante Themen, nämlich Prozessautomatisierung und Data Analytik im Detail. Die Referenten gaben einen Überblick über das jeweilige Thema und zeigten, wie sie es in ihrer täglichen Arbeit bei Daimler.

Weitere Aktivitäten
Neben den Unternehmensbesuchen  hatten die Studierenden jeden Tag eine spannende oder lustige Aktivität eingeplant: Sie besuchten die berühmten touristischen Orte in Berlin wie das Brandenburger Tor, den Reichstag, das KaDeWe und die Berliner East Side Galerie. Für die gesamte Gruppe organisierten die Studierenden eine Bootsfahrt zur Besichtigung von Sehenswürdigkeiten. Studenten genossen auch die gemeinsamen Abende und das gute Essen.

Alles in allem eine erfolgreiche Exkursion für unsere Studierenden – wir freuen uns schon auf 2023!

Authors

Abeeha Rizvi and Pooja Sookun