Business Week On Location

FR30MAR|SU01APR

EFR-Business Week On Location

This year we will take you to the city that embodies the Out-of-the-Box way of thinking like none no other European city: Berlin. The main goal of the EFR-Business Week is to inspire the students to realize their dreams. In the other parts of the EFR-Business Week this is done by presenting them with the experiences and stories of world leaders, CEO’s of multinationals or other people who had an impact on the world. During the On Location we will prolong this practice beyond the border by visiting the companies that make Berlin the great city it is. This year, we will not only present them with what can be achieved, but how they can achieve it: To take matters into their own hands and realize their dreams. As usual, the first steps are the hardest. Therefore, we will bring them face to face with people who have taken this step already: the start-up entrepreneurs from Berlin. Furthermore, we will present the students with the local culture. The students will get the opportunity to understand the history of the city and the past business, political and cultural movements which are now reflected in it. Along with an understanding of how history has influenced the people and their society. But mainly we will look to the future, and how current movements will shape the city in years to come. As a joyful interruption in the week we will also experience the local nightlife.

Berlin

Besides being the capital city it is, with its 3.45 million people, also the largest city in Germany. But part of the strength of the city does not come from its size. Departing from Rotterdam, a group of more than 50 students will experience life in the capital city of Germany. These cities have quite a few similarities related to their past, both in culture and in architecture. In Berlin, the consequences of the war are mainly reflected in the physical aspects of the city. After the demolition of the iron curtain, a wide open zone remained between the East and West. This zone found its purpose in offering room as a cheap place to settle for artists, entrepreneurs and other people looking for their place in the post-bellum city.

In the last couple of years, this part of the city has experienced a quick transformation into one of the most popular areas in Berlin. A lot of the urban areas without a specific purpose offer the creative space for artists, clubs or other initiatives. Old buildings or factories are put into use by people or ideas.

The success of this example can be explained for a large part by the freedom the creators have in Berlin. This freedom, the absence of boundaries or bureaucracy, leads to creativity on all possible aspects. That, combined with the diversity, is what makes the nourishing soil the city is build on. In the past decade, this has led to an explosive growth in the entrepreneurial scene. The Deutsche Gründlichkeit certainly is present in the city. But at the end of the day, most people will praise Berlin for its welcome atmosphere, the diversity and its ease.

You Startup

This year, we will focus on eliminating the threshold existing in your road to their dreams. In other words, not only motivate them, but also facilitate them in their process. To do this, we will connect them with a group that has proven to be very successful in doing exactly that: the young entrepreneurs in Berlin. This way we can not only show them what impact they can have on the world, but also how to go about doing this. To do this, we will organize a workshop on the 31st of March 2012 for 50 Dutch students and about 10 start-up entrepreneurs from Berlin, during which the entrepreneurs can share their experiences with the students, and the students can take the first steps in realizing their own entrepreneurial venture: You Startup. For the students this is a great way to boost their entrepreneurial spirit, and for the entrepreneurs this is a great networking opportunity, and a way to take home some fresh ideas from the students.