Engagement and Knowledge Exchange

»WFI builds a vibrant ecosystem of knowledge exchange to enact a positive influence not only within our immediate region but also beyond, embracing a broader community eager for ethical development and inclusive growth in business and economic practices. Through our teaching, research, and outreach initiatives, we aim to create a seamless and powerful transfer of knowledge outside the boundaries of our school.«

As part of our mission-driven endeavors and our strategic plan execution, our faculty, staff, students, and alumni engage extensively with the business community, the broader academic community, and society. Engagement with all our extended stakeholders is built into the DNA of WFI and is reflected in every aspect of research, teaching, and service activities at WFI. It is not a stretch to claim that the school does not need to ‘encourage’ engagement and knowledge exchange, as it is part of the school’s fabric and is an integral part of all our activities.

How We Engage...

Engagement with the Business Community

At WFI we believe that the best way to educate capable professionals well-prepared for the future is by providing hands-on experience and involvement. By staying closely involved with local and global businesses, we aid our students in their future careers by offering them a wide range of experiences where they can interact with established businesses, organizations, and professionals.

Our faculty and students engage with the business community and with society (policymakers, non-governmental organizations) in and out of the classroom. Among the varied ways in which this engagement occurs, the most common examples across our programs include –

Experiential learning projects in which students are engaged in solving real business problems for companies,
Professionally qualified business experts as adjunct professors and lecturers,
Guest speakers from specialized industry functions, representing all levels of middle and senior management,
Recruiting fairs and Company-sponsored events,
Nationally well-known student organization events that attract top industry partners in immersive, multi-day events,
Boot camps in multiple disciplines that include business leaders, and
Alumni sponsored and led workshops for professional development.

Some recent, select examples of infusing real-world expertise from business include:

Experiential Learning Projects and Student Consulting Assignments

Experiential learning projects and student consulting assignments integrated into our courses, across all programs, with industry partners from Germany such as – Audi, HiPP, Deutsche Bahn, Continental, Munich Airport, Media Markt Saturn, and STIHL – and multi-national industry partners from all over the world such as – EDF (France), KPMG, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever. This is not to say that WFI faculty and students engage with only large corporations. Recent experiential learning and student consulting projects with startups and innovative small ventures include partners such as Greenforce, Brigk, BrainEffect, and Achtzig20.

Here are some select examples of experimental learning projects and student consultant assignments:

“Project in Service and Innovation Management” at the Chair of BA and Service Management: Student Consulting Project with varying partners, such as Munich Airport or Gebrüder Peters.
Master course, “From Idea to Commercialization: Start-up School” with the collaboration of 8 guest speakers from Germany and USA
Student Innovation project with STIHL
Student Open Innovation Challenge with EDF
Student Innovation & Collaboration Challenge with KPMG

Nationally Renowned Immersive Student Organization Led Events

Nationally renowned immersive student organization led events such as the WFI Consulting Cup and the WFI Summer Challenge which are not only among the most prestigious university events in Germany that attract students participants from all major universities in Germany to WFI but also bring in keenly sought after recruiters and business leaders to interact, mentor and engage with students. Given the small size of our business school, these annual events at WFI have an outsized reputation for engagement, professional development, and exposure to the business community.

Here are some select examples of events hosted by student organizations:

WFI Consulting Cup – An initiative to establish contacts in the consulting world
WFI Summer Challenge – A unique recruiting event
WFI Talente – A student recruitment and talent fair
DenkNachhaltig! – A student organizations hosting events to make sustainability tangible
FNI – Finance Network Ingolstadt – A student organization promoting practice-oriented training in finance and banking
WFI Entrepreneurs – An alumni organization that inspires students and graduates to start their own business and a career in the start-up sector

Recruiting Fairs, Company Days, and Interactions between Students and Businesses

Students benefit from recruiting fairs, company-sponsored and led workshops, and company-focused days, coordinated by the WFI Talente organization which was set up at WFI to formalize industry partnerships that help in the professional development and recruitment of our students. WFI Talente conducts in-person and digital events and provides a career portal for students to network with industry executives, find internship opportunities, and get their first full-time job after graduation. Unsurprisingly, WFI Talente enjoys strong alumni support, engagement, and loyalty; alumni come back to WFI to recruit talent, completing a full circle through the student lifecycle.

Societal Impact through Knowledge Exchange

WFI flawlessly fulfills its commitment to organize forums, workshops, and other events, generating potent dialogues on PRME-related topics across scientific, business, and societal sectors. Through projects in cooperation with other faculties, notably the "Man IN Motion" initiative, we've innovated channels for cross-disciplinary knowledge exchange, connecting stakeholders in science, politics, business, and civil society throughout the Ingolstadt region.

“Mensch IN Bewegung“ (Man IN Motion) Project

The “Man IN Motion” innovation alliance is a collaborative project between the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (KU) and the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI), spanning from 2018 to 2022. Funded by the federal-state initiative "Innovative Hochschule", the aim is to promote knowledge exchange among science, politics, business, and civil society in the region, and to systematically expand knowledge transfer at both universities, focusing on innovative mobility, digital transformation, sustainable development, and civic engagement. Both universities act as initiators of sustainable economic and social development in the region. WFI Professors Prof. Dr. Andre Habisch and Prof. Dr. Thomas Setzer play key roles in clusters focused on “Sustainable Development” and “Digital Transformation.” A Governance Board, including Prof. Dr. Jens Hogreve and Prof. Dr. Andre Habisch, responsible for strategic decisions and progress reporting, oversees the project.

In 2023, the KU and the THI started the second funding phase of the “Man in Motion” project with “Mensch in Bewegung II” (MiB II). Together with partners from politics, business and civil society, KU and THI are developing a regional platform for the exchange of knowledge and for the inter- and transdisciplinary shaping of the pressing issues of our time.

The project has led to various activities:

"Man IN Motion" Initiatives

KU’s newly developed School of Transformation and Sustainability facilitates interdisciplinary research and knowledge transfer between science, business, and society as well as innovative forms of research, teaching and transfer for sustainable development. With three competence clusters (sustainability, digitization, ethics) this initiative comes from the “Mensch in Bewegung” project.
The Science Gallery situated in the heart of Ingolstadt's city center, directly within the pedestrian zone, serves as a vibrant public space for engaged scientific discourse. Here, we engage with a diverse audience, including citizens, policymakers, and business leaders. The Science Gallery curates ever-evolving exhibitions on current topics such as “sustainability“, “digitization“, or “mobility“. It commenced with an exhibition centered on "Sustainable Development," probing the question, “How can we live sustainably?”
The Science Gallery includes the Green Office – KU's Sustainability Office. This hub caters to all KU members involved in sustainability efforts and extends its reach to the communities of Eichstätt, Ingolstadt, and neighboring regions. It serves as an invaluable resource, offering information, materials, networking opportunities, and direct contact points for all matters related to sustainable development. Together, we contribute wholeheartedly to fostering sustainability within the KU and its surrounding region.
The annual “Long Night of Business and Science”, that hosted several events concerning the UN-SDGs at both universities.
The State Garden Show in Ingolstadt under the title “Inspiration Nature,” showcases sustainability-related exhibitions and events from both universities. The KU pavilion conducts, along several other initiatives, the lecture series “Sustainability in China”, which featured speeches by renowned German and Chinese experts on environmental and social sustainability.
The KU's "KU at Schools" project aims to engage with schools and students, offering introductory programs to facilitate initial contact with university studies. WFI contributes thematic workshops such as Future Skills, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Global Fiscal Policy.
Wi-LINK project, developed by KU in collaboration with THI and "Wertebündnis Bayern," is an online platform that acts as an interface, helping students connect with potential employers, develop career goals, and access vocational information.
“Days of Sustainability” (“Tage der Nachhaltigkeit”) which take place at different locations throughout the city of Ingolstadt and are co-organized by WFI and the “Man IN Motion” project.

WFI Summer School

Students from different countries join WFI students at the WFI Summer School in Ingolstadt to explore "Responsible Innovation" through courses and workshops, covering topics like sustainable entrepreneurship and the impact of artificial intelligence. The summer school is designed as an Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Program (BIP), incorporating a mix of in-person and online learning phases, fostering an intercultural work environment and strengthening international partnerships. This initiative exemplifies Engagement and Knowledge Exchange at WFI by facilitating dialogue and collaboration across diverse cultural and academic backgrounds, fostering a dynamic exchange of ideas, and contributing to the development of innovative solutions with global relevance.

Knowledge Exchange in our Curriculum

WFI is tirelessly committed to the pursuit of excellence in knowledge creation and knowledge transfer in order to educate, mentor and prepare learners who are ready to take an active, responsible, and leading role in the future of society and organizations.

Here are select examples of Societal Impact through Knowledge Exchange in our Curriculum:

Knowledge Exchange through Curriculum

As part of our Master course, “From Idea to Commercialization: Start-up School“, students have the opportunity to learn from different visiting guest speakers from Germany and the USA. Each of these guests is an expert in the field of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Former guest speakers include successful entrepreneurs, the CEO of a digital incubator, and a legal expert on startups and new ventures.
The "Man in Motion" project includes a “subproject focused on Sustainable Organizational Development”. The Chair of Christian Social Ethics and Social Policy extended the course conceptualization of "Social Innovation" to the Virtual University Bavaria (Virtuelle Hochschule Bayern, VHB) for students from different faculties, including WFI. This course is offered every semester and is executed together with Hochschule Ansbach and Infini Institute. It features diverse media content on Social Innovation and Sustainability. Within this course, participants create sustainable startup ideas using insights from surveys conducted among citizens in Eichstätt and Ingolstadt.

Engagement and Knowledge Exchange in Research

Our faculty (including young researchers – doctoral and post-doctoral candidates) maintain close ties with the broader academic community internationally. Faculty members engage in multiple ways, including but not limited to, co-authoring research papers with international collaborators, participating in national and international academic conferences, assuming thought leadership positions in academic journals and discipline-specific organizations, participating in research exchange stays including hosting guest scholars from all over the world at WFI.

Some recent select examples of engagement with the broader academic community include publications in top peer-reviewed journals, participation in academic conferences, and editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals. Faculty members at WFI are research active through highly impactful and visible presence and scholarship in peer-reviewed journals, at academic conferences and service activities such as hosting / chairing conferences and conference tracks. Additionally, multiple faculty members hold editorial review board positions in top-ranked peer-reviewed journals.

Societal Impact through Research and Knowledge Transfer

KU and WFI's Research Institute for Business and Economics in Service of Humanity (BESH) is a mission driven research institute that produces, nurtures, disseminates, and celebrates academic research that makes a societal contribution. Research by the four WFI professors who are founding directors of BESH addresses important societal topics such as parental choice of healthy food for their children, financial well-being and resilience, migrant worker skills, labor market returns to human capital, and export price and wages of rural workers. BESH, along with the new School of Transformation and Sustainability at KU demonstrate a research agenda that values societal impact, and underscores KU and WFI’s investment in research, people, and resources towards meaningful societal impact.

Some recent, select examples of our knowledge exchange initiatives in the academic community include:

Societal Impact through Research and Knowledge Exchange

The KU hosts the Transformation Summer Camp, gathering (soon-to-be) Master's graduates worldwide. Participants discuss societal transformation towards sustainability, considering the diversity of lifestyles, nationalities, religions, cultural backgrounds, disability, gender, sexual orientation, and age. The camp focuses on the intersection of "Diversity" and "Transformation," encouraging participants to develop research ideas with experts from various disciplines, contributing to a sustainable, inclusive, and diverse future society. Besides discussions and lectures on transformation and diversity, students learn to present their projects and have opportunities to establish valuable academic and professional contacts.
The "Brown-Bag seminar" at WFI offers a platform for researchers to present and discuss their latest and cutting-edge research across business administration and economics disciplines. Held over lunch, it encourages interdisciplinary exchange and networking among students, professors, and experts.
The 23rd Bavarian Micro Day took place, gathering over 35 microeconomists from 10 Bavarian universities at the Ingolstadt campus in November 2023. The conference, organized by Prof. Dr. Alexander M. Danzer and Prof. Dr. Dominika Langenmayr, featured seven exciting presentations by doctoral students, postdocs, and professors on research topics such as discrimination, finance, food waste, and competition design. Additionally, there was ample opportunity for early-career researchers to network and expand their professional connections.
KU's Young Researchers Day
“YES!” – Young Economic Summit is a major German school competition where students in grades 10-12 work with researchers to address economic and social challenges, presenting their ideas at conferences and engaging with experts. In 2021/22, the Chair of Economics supported a team from the German Vocational School Hong Kong. They developed the "Re-Tax" app that incentivizes customers to ask for receipts by offering a lottery for cash prizes. The goal is to combat tax evasion and promote tax awareness. In 2023/24, WFI researchers and doctoral students at the Chair of Innovation and Creativity, Anna Reith and Maximilian Bauer, mentored two high school teams focusing on "Responsible Innovation." Both teams have successfully made it to the national finals.
WFI collaborates with partners including Audi, THI, and the City of Ingolstadt in the SAVe project, aiming to develop a virtual model of the Ingolstadt region for automated and connected driving.