The first educational week of 2023 took place at the renowned University of Potsdam (Germany). Potsdam is the capital of the German federal state Bundesland Brandenburg, about 30 km south-west of Berlin. The week’s theme was ‘Practice of Digitalisation’ and students were immersed with the latest tools, techniques and insights on the topic of Digital Business. French/Ukraine Olena Stanislavska: “The great news is; all acquired skills can immediately be implemented in my professional life.”

The educational week is part of the online MBA track, consisting of ten online courses and three educational weeks. One week is mandatory in Maastricht, the other two can be picked out of six options, to the students’ own taste, choice and schedule. “The blended format is perfect for me as it provides the benefits of both online and face-to-face interactions. Flexibility on one side and human connection and exchange on the other”, Olena states. “Meeting my peers in real life is the best and most exiting element of the residential weeks. I enjoy learning from their experiences and obtaining insights from various industries.”

Skills & competences development

During the educational week, the focus lies on development of managerial skills and competences, allowing students to exercise and experiment with tools and techniques that help them deal with future digitalisation challenges. Apart from the basics of digital transformation, topics were leadership in the digital age, successful digital negotiations, entrepreneurship and digitalisations and industry 4.0. Marc Akkermann, Director Sales at IT-firm Infodas (Berlin office), took on much of the programme. He was especially appreciated for his contribution to the Digital Transformation topic, with lots of practical examples. Olena: “Various aspects of digitalisation practices and challenges were covered; from customer-centered approach to data protection, negotiation and leadership. Personally, I found leadership and negotiation the most inspiring. It’s interesting to learn from experts in the sector the impact of digitalisation and how to deal with disruptive digital trends.”

Group assignments

The students also worked in small groups on assignments, the results of which were presented on the last day. Olena: “Our group studied the impact of digitalisation on executive education. We took the Maastricht Executive MBA as a practical case. I really enjoyed the diversity of our group and the wealth of opinions. At the end of the week we presented several recommendations, some of which can be implemented immediately, using already available tools. Other advices will take more time and involve innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Augmented and Virtual Reality.”

Work hard, play hard

Besides lectures, interactive sessions and group assignments the educational week in Potsdam offered fun team building activities, such a serious gaming, and entertainment. The students visited the beautiful city of Potsdam, known for its palaces, gardens and old Dutch quarter. Naturally, a trip to the vibrant city of Berlin was part of the programme. In retrospect students called the week inspiring and joyful with lots of delicious food for the mind (and stomach).

This article presents a recap of the Online MBA educational week on Practice of Digitalisation at University of Potsdam, Germany. Our Online track has a blended format, both face-to-face as online and is part of the executive modular part-time MaastrichtMBA programme. The programme has a Triple Crown accreditation and is aimed for professionals with at least 5 years of working experience.