Students work in teams of five on project questions in the area of strategy and organization. Industry partners such as multinational corporations or hidden champions as well as research institutions provide the project questions. The industry partners are often in the process of currently working on the topic they suggest. Hence, they are interested in the students’ research results and potential solutions. They provide relevant information regarding the project and give feedback on the students´ work. 

The project starts with a kick-off day. Our industry partners present their question and their company. Based on the available information the students plan their approach and create a project plan. Every team has to work empirically. Typical methods are:

• Interviews with employees or experts
• Survey based on a questionnaire
• Secondary data analysis
• Benchmark analysis
• Structured literature review

First results are presented during the interim presentation. The industry partners’ feedback allows the student teams to further improve or adapt their approach. The end-results are presented during the final presentation. The direct contact to industry partners allows for deep insights into the applied work field of strategy and organization as well as to build a network for future job opportunities.

After completing this course students will have the ability to: 

• Plan, execute, and present projects on strategic or organizational topics to industry partners
• Conduct a literature review
• Empirically examine strategic or organizational questions 
• Choose and apply different research methods to collect relevant data
• Analyze collected data, critically evaluate the findings, and develop solutions to practical questions
• Manage their time, responsibility and roles on a team

Apart from that, completing this course will contribute to students' ability to:

• Efficiently work and communicate in a team
• Translate their knowledge to practical problems
• Structure and work collaboratively on a longer project
• Improve their oral and written communication and presentation skills

• Meeting with the project partners at the Kick-Off event and signing the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) (5%)
• Project plan (presentation slides) (15%)
• Interim presentation (40%)
• Final presentation (40%)

The focus of the evaluation is the value added for the students’ industry partner.
Please note that students must participate in all grading components in order to pass the course.

IOD guidelines for AI use:

1. Is the use of AI-based software for your course/exam an (un)authorized aid?

Allowed is the use of AI-based software for writing support, such as Grammarly. However, it is mandatory to indicate the use of any AI-based software in your written work. If you use  AI-based software for text and content generation such as ChatGPT in your reports, presentations, or any other written text, it is mandatory to:
a) verify the information generated and
b) add all relevant references for the text, data, and AI-based software.
During in-class discussions, we will challenge the results and insights from your presentations and written work.

2. How to indicate the permitted use of AI-based software?

You need to provide indication in a footnote for the corresponding sections AND add a detailed appendix with specific "prompts" and the responses from the text generation software.

3. What will your initial steps be for any suspected cases of unauthorized use of AI-based software?

Note that in case of suspicious cases, we will set up an additional individual oral audit interview with the student.