Like in previous years, this spring IBA offered a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) for students and staff. 13 students and one staff member from ELTE GTK participated in the three BIPs between 7-11 April. 

• International Multimedia/ICT Week (3 GTK students)
• International Business Week (5 GTK students)
• International Marketing Week (5 GTK students)

We interviewed the following five students about their experience of their respective BIP programme: 

Kíra Zsófia CSENDES, Mia Nicole Sage HUNTLEY, and Anna Virág NÉMETH participated in the International Marketing Week, while Razan NABER and Virág SŐDI took part in the International Business Week. Dr Nóra KELECSÉNYI (from GTK’s International Office) joined the accompanying Staff Week entitled “Global Mindset Training for Staff”, which aimed at developing a global mindset and optimising communication and collaboration with international colleagues and students.

This is a summary of the students’ experiences: 

All the students were attracted to this Blended Intensive Programme because of the opportunity to be able to work in international teams and visiting Denmark at the same time. Razan summed it up very briefly as follows, “…it seemed like an exciting short-term opportunity in a country I had not been to before”. Virág emphasised that this seemed a great match because of her passion for Nordic countries and their innovative, adaptable economies.Mia’s interest was also sparked by the fact that she had recently joined a startup company to work in marketing and product development so she believed this would be the perfect opportunity to gain some insights and to learn new ideas related to her job. 

While the tasks on the different programmes differed somewhat, all seemed very interesting and involved company visits as well. Participants of the International Marketing Week worked in small groups to create a marketing and communications plan for a Danish winerycalled Skærsøgaard (which is said to be the northernmost winery in Europe). During the company visit, the young manager showed the group around the premises and explained the challenges they faced when producing high quality wine in this Northern region. The marketing plan the students had to design was meant to increase brand awareness and improve the market presence of the winery’s products, especially their flagship product, the sparkling wine, which the students also had a chance to taste during their visit.

Students participating in the International Business Week had to decide if a Danish brewery should expand into the Chinese Market and if they could do so sustainably following the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Naturally, for this, the teams had to analyse the Chinese beer market and develop SDG-aligned strategies for market entry. The students on this programme visited a local Danish brewery, which included tasting their products, too. 

The third programme (International Multimedia/ICT Week) required students to engage in a project centred around the topic of ”Prototyping Sustainable Digital Experiences for Green Innovations”. Their work centred around a Danish eco-friendly technology company, wishing to expand its global footprint by creating digital products that promote sustainability and environmental consciousness. The key challenge was to design and prototype digital experiences that not only aligned with the SDGs, but also resonated with a global audience, while showcasing green practices.

The three programmes were attended mainly by students from EU universities (including Latvia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Finland, Belgium, France, and others) but also from the UK and as far away as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and China. On each programme, the students worked in small mixed teams. The groups adopted different methods to arrive at the end-product, which had to take the form of a presentation (pitch) including a slideshow/video. All interviewees underlined the use and importance of brainstorming, discussion, and negotiation during the preparation phase. Different ideas and perspectives were combined through open communication and collaboration and where the team members shared a similar work ethic, everything went smoothly and without any conflicts. Virág was particularly proud of her team: “I was proud of our teamwork, especially how we integrated diverse ideas into a strong final proposal. Our group dynamics were amazing, and we had a lot of fun while working together.” Students also stressed how professors provided the teams with positive and constructive feedback throughout the programme.

Naturally, the week was not all about work: the students (who were also accommodatedbased on their groups) had lots of fun in the late afternoons and evenings too, simply walking around the town (as Razan put it: “The best part was walking by the lake everyday; it was very peaceful and quite, a nice relaxing getaway from the noisy chaotic city life in Pest.”), exploring the city, including its bars and clubs, as well as watching a football match on tvtogether and participating in a fun and game-filled evening on IBA’s premises. According to Kíra, this was not only fun but “it gave us the chance to socialize with students from other programmes”, too. IBA also organised a field trip to Jelling, “Home of the Viking Kings”, where visitors learnt not only about the beginnings of the Danish kingdom but were also told the word “Bluetooth” came from the name of the 10th century Viking king Harald Blåtand (meaning Bluetooth)! Virág also liked the local castle called “Koldinghus … my favourite part of the trip, it was breath-taking. The view was spectacular, and I loved that we got to explore the history of the castle.” Last but not least, all seemed to enjoy the evening spent at a local Chinese restaurant where not only the food was “absolutely delicious”, but the students were also able to appreciate a series of traditional Chinese song, music, and dance performances, all thanks to the employees and students of IBA’s Confucius Institute.

When asked what they learnt from this BIP, the direct benefits included, among others, the application of sustainability principles to real business scenarios and the analysis ofmacroeconomic conditions for market entry. However, what most participants of the Kolding BIP emphasised as the long-term gain of the trip was the group work experience with students from very different backgrounds, the importance of communicating one’s ideas clearly in an international setting, always being open minded, finding one’s strengths and allocating work in a group according to these. The Northern approach of analysing and producing a solution with minimal guidance may take you outside your comfort zone and may seem frightening at first but according to Razan, this is “a good thing, and you might just end up with a bunch of unforgettable memories and new friends.” And as Kíra concluded her summary, “I would highly encourage anyone considering a short-term Erasmus programme to go for it — it’s truly an unforgettable experience.”