Too many good ideas of the world die because they lack a business mind behind them. Passion, creativity and innovation are one thing, but the lack of proper business training can deter you from providing tools to help you recognise, identify, and pay attention to opportunities and value.

There are many business schools sprouting up every year, but most of them sorely lack the tools, resources, knowledge and conviction to train strong business minds. They increasingly construct wonderful models of a non-world. And when the students graduate from these schools, they find the real-world business issues facing industries and economies as a whole.

A well-trained business mind can inspire others by turning ideas into value generating systems and ecosystems, creating platforms for value creation. A strong business-oriented perspective can see things for what they are truly worth and what they can be, exploring the art of the possible. Your business can be a by-product of fulfilling your purpose.

Having a foundation in business can help students become remarkably strong-headed and marketable individuals, aiding with their job search and more effective the job/position they end up accepting. Fortunately, there is a school in Germany that combines a culture of fortuitous business discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship to train business-oriented individuals who embody great performance. Welcome to GISMA Business School!

Since its establishment in 1999, GISMA Business School has paved the way for talented and skilled individuals to develop tech-driven and innovative solutions to some of the biggest challenges in the business world. With its goals in mind, the institution continues to expand and grow, helping students from across the globe to pursue their dreams and succeed.

GISMA awards both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, and is also trusted to deliver degrees from some of the top academic institutions across Europe. GISMA is also known as one of six business schools in Germany accredited by the prestigious AMBA (Association of MBAs) which represents innovation and excellence in education – an honour shared by only 2% of all business schools worldwide.

Since 1999, GISMA Business School has expanded and grown significantly, and now has 5 locations across Germany and in London. Additionally, through a range of partnerships with schools including the triple-accredited Grenoble Ecole de Management, The University of Law and Kingston University, GISMA has expanded its selection of programmes providing more students with the opportunity to pursue their career ambitions.

In 2021, GISMA Business School expanded into its brand-new flagship GISMA Berlin-Potsdam Campus. With the new campus, the GISMA portfolio is extending to include programmes such as data science and artificial intelligence, all awarded directly by GISMA Business School. These programmes allow students to become even more appealing to the evolving demands of the job market.

Since all degrees are taught in English, GISMA attracts a diverse array of students from across the world and encourages a global, expansive approach when it comes to students’ education and future career.

The GISMA Way

GISMA educates individuals to be leading members of the global business community. The institution stands for practice-oriented and inspiring management education that enables students to be engaged in life-long learning and synergising relevant academic science and practice.

GISMA strongly value diversity in the backgrounds, ideas, strengths, interests and experiences of its students, faculty, and staff. It cooperates with a network of globally operating organisations in business and higher education and supports the business community in its internationalisation and change processes by preparing students for the global and regional (German) business community.

The expert faculty and staff are passionate about creating the leaders of tomorrow. Having experienced business in the real-world, they understand how academic theory relates to real-world conditions and this comes across in the delivery of their teaching in order to prepare students for the ever-changing business world after they graduate.

At GISMA Business School, students are supported in their pursuit to secure internships and job opportunities in Germany. With the sprawling campus, GISMA’s students have access to numerous employers from the world’s biggest tech firms as well as a range of start-up companies. Cooperation between GISMA and employers has enabled students to find exciting job opportunities and work on collaborative projects.

Rising to the Challenge

Out there, a digital revolution is occurring in all areas, and with the view of this, GISMA wants to equip young professionals with exactly the right skills for these jobs of the future. Almost every job will be affected. Some jobs will disappear entirely. New jobs, not even thought of today, will come into being. Human talent though remains the most important factor.

The future requires courageous entrepreneurs. Employees with interface know-how. Specialists for transformative technologies, inter-disciplined team players with a sense of responsibility and leadership, innovation power and creative personalities with unique ideas. That’s why digital key competencies are an integral part of every single GISMA study program. In addition, it offers formats in which to train creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and leadership skills. The institute doesn’t just do traditional business; business goes with tech and vice versa.

On its campus in Potsdam, GISMA is part of the so-called ‘Think Campus’ with start-ups and the SAP Innovation Center. This neighbourhood means inspiration, exchange, cross-fertilization of ideas and networking. The institute remarks that this is what the work of the future will look like – “we no longer think in one box, we are agile on the move and flexible”. Undoubtedly, this has a big impact on its students, who can work in a very hands-on way in many partnerships.

“In leadership, for example, I don’t think there will be a way back to the old normal, after Corona,” commented professor Stefan Stein, the President of GISMA Business School. He adds: “the new normal will certainly have virtual communication and teams that are scattered in home offices and elsewhere, all over the world. This creates completely new challenges for the functioning and management of such virtual teams, the emotional agility of the employees, and so on. We have already incorporated this into our leadership lectures, which of course will no longer be lectures, but will be highly interactive, collaborative sessions with peer-to-peer learning elements.”

The Academic Rollout

GISMA offers a range of accredited postgraduate and undergraduate programmes, MBAs, language classes, a university placement programme and executive courses with a focus on teaching practice-oriented skills in digital transformation, business, and technology. The institute aims to prepare students for the fast evolving digital revolution.

The programmes range from artificial intelligence and data science to business management and digital marketing. Whether you are looking to feed your entrepreneurial mind or seeking to build the next generation of intelligent systems, you are bound to find a course that suits your needs. With some of the programme offerings, you will also have the opportunity to do an internship or business project or spend a semester abroad.

All of its programmes are taught in English, the world’s foremost language for global business communication.

The Definitive Difference

• Accredited by the prestigious AMBA which represents innovation and excellence in education. It is only one of six business schools in Germany, and is an honour shared by only 2% of all business schools worldwide.
• Partnerships with world-leading business schools in Europe, including triple-accredited Grenoble Ecole de Management, The University of Law and Kingston University.
• GISMA offers the added benefit of free beginner German classes. Learning the German language will boost employment prospects and help students stand out to employers who value strong communication skills. It will also help students connect with their German classmates and interact with the locals.
• GISMA cooperates with a network of globally operating organisations in business and higher education and supports the business community by preparing students for the global and regional (German) business community.
• Benefit from excellent student services such as a dedicated Career Centre, visa support and accommodation team. The dedicated staff and here to make sure you have the best possible student experience studying with them.
• Scholarships and flexible payment plans available so students can focus on their education without the stress of worrying about their finances.
• Study in an international student cohort. The alumni of GISMA represent over 40 nationalities. Discover, thrive and build your network in the diverse international environment.
• In addition, students have the opportunity to utilise GISMA’s committed careers centre which can help them with anything from writing a CV and applying for jobs, to practising their interview technique. With the support of GISMA’s Career Centre, some of the students have gone on to work for companies such as Zalando, Uniqlo, Delivery Hero, Wayfair and Siemens.

The Cultivated Leader

Professor Dr. Stefan Stein is the President of GISMA Business School as well as a member of the Board of Governors for the University of Europe for Applied Sciences. He served previously as the Rector of the University of Europe for Applied Sciences and has held various positions within the university as professor of ‘finance and asset management’, Vice-Rector for academic affairs and founding Dean of the Department of Economics.

His expertise spans studies for ministries, banks, and insurance companies. He is a corporate trainer for fintech and banking regulation. He coaches supervisory board members. Prof Stein holds a doctorate in economics and was Managing Director of the renowned institute for ‘banking and finance’ at the Ruhr University Bochum for more than 13 years. He is a member of the supervisory board of the consulting firm Moore Stephens Naust AG. He is also a member of the university council at Shanghai Polytechnic University.

Achievements and Accolades

• GISMA Business School was awarded ‘University of Applied Sciences’ status, having received official state recognition by the Federal State of Brandenburg in Germany.
• As a University of Applied Sciences, GISMA is entitled to award bachelors’ and masters’ degrees. This recognition grants GISMA degree awarding powers and the opportunity to launch its Hochschule – a tertiary education institution with a focus on teaching practice-oriented skills in digital transformation, business, technology and agribusiness.
• A brand new state-of-the-art campus opening in 2021 in Potsdam, will be located near the Innovation Centre of SAP, one of the world’s largest enterprise software companies. Students will benefit from the proximity with the SAP Centre and Potsdam’s network of industry leaders.
• It also benefits from AMBA accreditation, which was awarded for the global MBA. The prestigious AMBA accreditation represents innovation and excellence in education.
• GISMA Business School also has a long history of working with partner universities in Europe and has been trusted to deliver partner programmes accredited by AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS, and EPAS.

Adapting to the changing times

The Covid-19 outbreak presented an unprecedented challenge for the entire global community, as it did for GISMA Business School. Although the entire team of the institute have achieved a tremendous accomplishment here; they had to change their entire business model in just a few days. Within a very short time, the classrooms were set up virtually, training of teachers and service staff, exams took place online, and the entire university took place virtually.

“Today we can say, the virus did not slow us down! The virus didn’t slow our students down. We even took advantage of the situation,” added Prof Stefan Stein.

In the real world, politics, businesses struggle with how to manage their operations under the conditions of the pandemic. How to lead teams, maintain engagement, and ensure optimal work-life balance virtually? How to run a business when all the knowledge and teaching is in the air?

At GISMA, the students instead gained exactly that piece of knowledge through an additional learning experience. Consultation hours via video calls were arranged and carried out much faster. Students learned how to study across time zones and with fellow classmates even across continents. They all got accustomed to what the real challenges were in working together as a team, virtually, and learned how to get across these challenges. It was truly a global class experience.

The institute even welcomed students and employers as virtual avatars to GISMA Business School Employers Day. No conventional job fair at all, again: bridging continents, time zones, cultures, environments and roles in the virtual space. Even though an event like this in the ‘normal world’ thrives on personal exchange and networking, the entire team was very pleased to come together digitally in the ‘new normal’ and offer new opportunities to ensure student employability.

The library is going to become the smartphone. In light of this, GISMA wants to give its students a whole new library experience, similar to what Spotify offers in terms of music for scientific literature, which is then directly linked to the online materials for the lectures.

“As a result, covid has fuelled our strategy shift. We offer places, virtual and physical ones that enable the fastest/best skill acquisition through technology, setup, environments and the right people. Whichever channel our students want to use, we want to equip them with future-proof skills to make them highly sought-after employees,” concluded the stalwart founder, Prof. Dr Stefan Stein.