CBS International Business School, 20 September 2024

Semester opening 2024/25: CBS welcomes around 850 first-semester students at seven locations

Cologne, 3 September 2024 - On Monday, CBS International Business School welcomed the first semester students at the Cologne campus during a festive opening ceremony. The event marked the start of further introductory events at all seven locations of the university of applied sciences and heralded the start of the 2024/25 winter semester. Around 600 guests from the university, politics and business attended the ceremony at the Gürzenich in Cologne.

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CBS President Prof. Dr Anja Karlshaus opened the event with an outlook for the future and emphasised the role of the university in providing education and training that goes beyond the acquisition of a degree: ‘When we say that we support you in your academic education, this means above all that we want to train you to become competent and responsible decision-makers who take their social role seriously and find solutions to the economic problems of our time. In line with our vision Creating Tomorrow, we see our most important task as preparing you for current and future crises with sound findings from our research.’

Alumni career paths inspire new students

Alumna Katharina Heerdt, Team Lead Global Social Brand & Partnerships Babor Beauty Group, also emphasised the relevance of transferring knowledge from the lecture hall into the workplace. Heerdt, who now works in the marketing team of the luxury brand Babor, graduated from CBS in 2018 and is very familiar with the challenges faced by new students. As a dual student, she already combined theory and practice during her studies - in the audience, the story of her career path reached students in the full-time and part-time branches of the university as well as first-year dual students.

Student presenters Lea Holy and Nicole Bednarczyk next invited Mayor of Cologne Brigitta von Bülow to the stage of the large hall in the Gürzenich. She welcomed the national and international students to their new adopted home of Cologne and to the international campus in Rodenkirchen.

Tatjana Peters and Laura Walter then addressed the first-semester students in their alumni speech. The two start-up founders completed their master’s degrees at CBS in 2019. After initial years in marketing, they founded their own company, SheersDrinks. The start-up produces and markets rum aimed at a female target group. In her speech, Prof. Dr. Karlshaus underlined that she also expects precisely this innovative spirit from the new CBS students: ‘Don't be satisfied with the fact that things have always been done the way they have. [...] Develop your own innovative solutions and start your studies with self-confidence and as architects of your own future concepts. Don't shy away from big goals. Because you are the future entrepreneurs and managers - the future generation - that we need to master the complex global challenges of the future.’ The programme was musically framed and atmospherically accompanied by the singer Milen.

Introductory events at seven locations

The semester opening ceremony heralded the start of further CBS introductory events. New students will also be welcomed in Aachen, Hamburg, Mainz, Neuss, Potsdam and Solingen in the first week of September, with a total of around 850 students starting at the university in the winter semester. Many first-year students are starting a dual study programme with local practice partners. ‘We are delighted that our Matchmaker concept has once again enabled us to connect many dual study programmes with companies from different sectors this year. The successful combination of practice and theory as well as the linking of student career aspirations and entrepreneurial visions is once again our major goal for this year's intake,’ says CBS Managing Director Prof. Dr. Christoph Willers.

Through introductory lectures, interactive event formats and space for networking, the newcomers will familiarise themselves with the didactic concept of the university during this week. Regular classes for the overall 3,000 CBS students will start in the second week of September. Until the end of September, new students can still get one of the coveted study places.

CBS International Business School

CBS International Business School is a state-recognised private university of applied sciences for business. We offer accredited Bachelor's, Master's and MBA degree programmes in German and English on a full-time or part-time basis. Throughout Germany, the university is represented at three locations in Cologne, Mainz, and Potsdam.

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