STUDENT LIFE LAST UPDATED : 13 MARCH 2018
Students from across Birmingham City Business School have travelled to Germany for the annual Emerald Forest business game.
Academics Dinisa Kandasamy and Martin Beaver accompanied 12 Business School students to Karlshochschule International University in Karlsruhe (near Stuttgart) for the event in early February. The game was run over five days and sees students from various European Universities compete in a number of activities to tight deadlines.
This is the third year Birmingham City University have represented at the Emerald Forest game, and have enjoyed successes every year, with BCU students in the winning team each time.
Two students who went on the trip have shared their experience.
Eleanor Watkins - Marketing (Advertising and PR) - BA (Hons)
Upon arrival to Karlshochschule University, the intimacy and the direct communication between staff and student was enlightening. It was an incredibly immersive experience that successfully unified many students, from various cultures and countries; encouraging each team to push themselves mentally and creatively.
From a creative approach, I was extremely proud of our teams’ efforts to take an alternative approach to the simulated hotel game, Emerald Forest. Nevertheless, there were evident areas to improve on – the finance aspect in particular. Remaining vigilant of ones’ in-goings and out-goings became more apparent, as the competition developed through the week.
Achieving ‘Coaches Favourite’ at the end of the week was a real boost to the team. A remarkable amount of effort went into the game; many late nights and rush to make the deadline. To receive this, after many creative ideas and alternative approaches was a great compliment.
Considering the amount of work necessary this week, socialising and developing new friendships with international students, was a key aspect to this trip. When leaving Germany, I left with new friends and new experiences; I would encourage other students to take this opportunity if offered, all students benefited greatly from our trip to Karlsruhe.
Aisha Shakil - Accountancy - BSc (Hons)
The first day we got there it was work, work, work straight away, with students from all around the world that we had never met. We had assignments set everyday and if we handed them even a second later it affected our group majorly. As the week went on all the groups had ups and downs, the time seemed to fly and before we knew it, it was time for our final pitch.
Each day we all learnt different things and improved on skills some students didn’t even know they had. The main skills we learnt were team-working skills and communication skills as well as confidence - having to share your ideas and speak in front of a group of people you had only met an hour ago wasn’t easy. However as the days went on, I became friends with the group of people I was with, everybody was working hard to achieve the best results possible. The week ended so fast and overall the experience was wonderful, I enjoyed every bit of it and if I had the chance, I would go back to do it again.