International Management
(top athletes)

The course for competitive athletes follows the concept of the Ansbach University of Applied Sciences: Shaping the future - experiencing knowledge - experiencing innovation - using technologies - discovering perspectives. You set your own limits - we will be happy to help you learn new things and create new perspectives for your future.

The course contents correspond to a demanding curriculum for international business administration. In addition to the canon of subjects, there is a strong international component as a large proportion of the courses are taught in English (see the course descriptions for the planned language of instruction: D=German, E=English, D/E=German or English). During the foundation study period, language skills are developed or expanded and the internationally recognised TOEIC certificate is acquired (TOEIC = Test of English for International Communication) is obtained. These skills are further consolidated during the main study period; lectures are then held in English and foreign lecturers are also employed.

Study contents, which must be completed by all students:

• Specialist Skills (Economics and Business Administration)
• Hard-Skills (Quantitative Methods & IT)
• Soft skills (organization and communication)
• International Management
• Practical project (students work individually or in groups on a solution to a current project of a company; the project gives the students a comprehensive insight into the reality of a company and allows them to apply the skills acquired during their studies in practice)
• Bachelor thesis (scientific paper)

According to their interests, students can attend five elective subjects.
 

Organisation of studies

The course combines the strengths of distance learning with those of face-to-face study. The course is designed in such a way that it can be completed in ten semesters with approximately 75 days of attendance at Ansbach University. The attendance times can be selected individually from the course schedule (e.g. 2x5 days block) depending on the availability of the students. Students can flexibly distribute the courses over the semesters and, for example, take courses with a volume of four attendance days in one semester and courses with twelve attendance days in another semester.

As soon as the students register for a course, they receive the course description and additional course materials. The course description describes the learning objectives of the course and sets out a timetable to indicate which proofs of achievement (e.g. exercises, preparation of presentations, preparation of study papers ...) are expected from the students during the course and at what time. The exercises provided within the supervised self-study also help the learner to determine their progress. This organisation of the course of study enables students to plan ahead well in advance. In the phase of supervised self-study, the professor is available as a contact person for the students.

An essential element of the study concept is the attendance phase which accompanies the course, during which the acquired knowledge is deepened in the group and with teachers on site. This provides an opportunity for intensive dialogue between participants. This face-to-face study also serves as an ideal preparation for the corresponding exam or, where necessary, another proof of achievement.

Examinations for all courses can be taken once a year on eight examination dates. This is possible with minimal travel time to Ansbach, Berlin, Heidelberg and Bonn. An additional journey for participation in the exams can be omitted if they take place after an attendance period. Students do not have to register for an exam immediately after a course but can do so as soon as they have been able to prepare themselves sufficiently, as for each individual participant this may depend on their other dates. This allows each and every student to determine how quickly or slowly courses are completed.

At the age at which their peers begin vocational training or studies, athletes often sacrifice their professional careers in order to devote themselves entirely to sport. Some talented sportspeople who are faced with the choice of sport or professional career also decide against continuing their sports career in order to be able to take up vocational training or studies. Some of these athletes could remain in sport if they could be offered an attractive course of study to accompany their studies.

In collaboration with the Olympic Support Centres, the concept of this course of study was developed in order to provide competitive athletes who represent our nation internationally at competitions and in the media with career prospects even after their sporting career has ended. A business administration course specially geared to the needs of competitive athletes, which enables participants to master the challenges of a state-recognised bachelor's degree and at the same time meet the high demands of competitive sports, did not exist before.

When designing the study programme, it was particularly important to those responsible to ensure the greatest possible flexibility for the students. Professional individual coaching, short-term enrolment in courses, a flexible arrangement for taking exams, a range of face-to-face courses in block form and professional support for distance learning (literature study and supervised self-study) enable athletes to integrate their studies into a full schedule.

Student body
The interests of top athletes are represented by elected student representatives at Ansbach University of Applied Sciences. Details can be found on the website of the Fachschaft (German).

International orientation

Today, international competence is more in demand than ever before. We wanted this to be reflected in our study concept. So the study concept was enriched with the following international components.

International competence is taught through:

• Language competence
  As English is the primary international business language, students are prepared for the internationally recognised TOEIC language examination during their studies. These languages skills are then consistently deepened in the lectures. Whilst lectures in the first semesters are only offered in German, the proportion of courses in the English language gradually increases in the higher semesters. In this way, business vocabulary is also effectively expanded.
• Courses with explicitly international content
  Lectures such as International Business, International Business Law, Intercultural Communication, International Accounting Standards and others convey the skills required for the management of international companies.
• Attending courses taught by foreign professors
  Participation in lectures for students given by foreign professors at Ansbach University,

Partner universities

Ansbach University of Applied Sciences maintains relationships with partner universities around the globe. From Ansbach to the world? If you would like to attend courses at one of our partner universities, you can do so. Students who are interested should contact the International Office of Ansbach University of Applied Sciences to find out more aboutcurrent opportunities.

Ansbach University of Applied Sciences has extensive specialist literature for your studies, but also plenty of books on language learning and other important subjects. The range on offer is not limited to traditional books but includes the entire spectrum of multimedia learning. If a book is not in stock, it can also be obtained through an inter-library loan from other libraries. For our competitive athletes, the online library, which has more than 3,000 journals and sources available online 24/7, is also of particular value.

A modern learning platform (e-learning) creates a good infrastructure for distance learning. It enables students to access course information and creates a communication platform between the course participants and the lecturer, independent of geographical and time distance. A special service is also provided by the computer centre of the Ansbach University of Applied Sciences with a computer centre portal and identity management, which gives students "all-over-the-world" free access to software licensed by the university, such as SAP. This makes it possible for competitive athletes to successfully complete their studies, even though they often travel worldwide from one training camp or competition to the next.

This page enables students to access the following learning tools (access only with valid User-ID):

• Ilias learning platform
• Moodle learning platform
• HRZ portal