Press release
February 27th, Glonn, Germany
The program director of Export-Oriented Management at University of Applied Sciences Krems, Austria, and their professor for Intercultural Management engaged in a pilot project with storytelling specialist Capscovil. The project’s goal was to enable students to apply storytelling when describing results of academic research on human resource management carried out for bachelor papers. The bachelor program successfully accomplished the pilot project with stories in all bachelor papers.
Bild: © IMC Fachhochschule Krems
Professor Maria Veronika Surboeck knows that “in times of abundant digital information and especially in business life, it is more and more important to communicate relevant topics vividly to engage with and achieve desired results in a diverse workforce”. Therefore, she convinced Professor Christopher Schwand, bachelor program director of Export-Oriented Management, to run a pilot project with boutique publisher Capscovil. Their new method of storytelling describes business-related and technical topics in an entertaining way that anchors them in the reader’s memory. The storytelling technique mixes facts and realistic fiction. Relevant topics can be narrated more emotionally giving readers from business life, as well as private individuals, a deeper understanding.
“I like confronting students with new activities, since I believe the best way to stay alert and don’t be afraid of change is by constantly trying out new things. And what better way to learn this than by simply doing it. Scientific research and writing let students develop knowledge in various courses, but the “real” world also asks for different communication. Storytelling as the oldest form of passing on information gains more and more attention not only in the corporate world, but also in the scientific community. This project managed to combine both: get an adhoc start on a new activity to stay vivacious and experience with an old new method. The results are impressive: not only with regards to how the stories are told, but more importantly to the learning effect, namely, the ability to understand how daily routine activities interlink with scientific research, and how they can be transformed into buoyant stories.”
Hon.Prof.(FH) Maria Veronika Surböck, MSc. MAS
Bild: © IMC Fachhochschule Krems
The pilot, part of Capscovil’s project Rainbow Fire in partnership with initiative Diversity Natives, was kicked off on October 14, 2016 with a workshop introducing the students to the storytelling method. In the following weeks, the students, by themselves or in teams, researched several topics with an impact on today’s workforce ranging from internships and social media recruitment to communication in different hierarchies and virtual teams and to cultural diversity and employee motivation. The students’ research results and personal experiences made abroad during their previous internship term laid the foundation for the stories that formed the second part of their bachelor paper. At the end of the project, all students had contributed to 13 stories.
“On the very first day of studies I discuss with our students one of the greatest aspects of studying: that we enjoy a sandbox environment that allows us to try out new ideas and approaches. Today, living in a world where alternative facts make news, cutting through the clutter is getting more and more difficult. When it comes to science and scientific research, people often forget that dissemination of results to both public and specialist audience is important to foster the development of knowledge and discussion. Storytelling is an excellent tool to improve the communication and to support the transfer of knowledge and learning. Thanks to Maria and Capscovil we had the opportunity to do the pilot with our students, and once again I was amazed by our students’ abilities and their results.”
Prof.(FH) MMag. Christopher Schwand, Program Director Export-oriented Management
“It was very rewarding to see how well the students applied the storytelling technique and how vividly they communicated the scientific secondary research findings of their bachelor papers,” Professor Surboeck summarizes the results. Program director Professor Christopher Schwand agrees: “The positive outcome of this pilot project calls for a continuation, especially as this is a way of emphasizing the innovative approach we take within this bachelor program.” Feedback from students showed that at first they thought it was an unusual approach. However, throughout the sketching and writing of the story, the method convinced them and they had fun and enjoyed the learning experience.
Capscovil plans to publish selected stories in stages on their website’s short story section. The stories will also be featured on the Diversity Natives’ website.
About University of Applied Sciences Krems – Bachelor Program “Export Oriented Management”
Export-Oriented Management is a business study program at the IMC University of Applied Sciences in Krems, Austria, aiming to provide students with a broad understanding of all relevant business processes in the field of international management and business and a comprehensive training in the management of international processes and projects. The Bachelor program also has an explicit language focus. This enables all our alumni to act within a multi-cultural and global environment in a transsectoral manner and gives them a real advantage in the job market. In an age of rapidly changing, competitive global markets, prospective managers face a series of major challenges. The Bachelor program in Export Oriented Management specifically addresses these demands. Homepage
About CAPSCOVIL
Capscovil is a boutique publisher with a focus on technology viewed from a sustainability point of view, and a focus on diversity and education. As a service, strategies and concepts enabling sustainable business growth fueled by innovation are developed for startups and companies within the technology arena and for independent in-house projects. Capscovil creates and publishes innovative content that inspires professionals and entertains a diverse readership.
About Diversity Natives
Diversity Natives is an initiative founded by Dr. Annette Leonhard-MacDonald and Britta Muzyk-Tikovsky. It empowers founders and business professionals of all genders to foster diversity in the workforce and inspire innovation, especially in technology-driven areas. Homepage
