Interview with Selma Heer

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Delving deeper into future topics such as innovation management, new leadership concepts and start-ups in the Master's programme is possible at the RheinAhrCampus Remagen with the Management, Leadership, Innovation course. We get a personal insight into her experiences so far from student Selma Heer. She is 23 years old and is currently studying for a Master's degree in Management, Leadership, Innovation at the innovative RheinAhrCampus in Remagen. A short version of the interview was also published in print in the General-Anzeiger Bonn at the beginning of February 2022 by editor Maike Walbroel.

When do you get up in the morning?
I usually get up between 6.30 a.m. and 7.30 a.m. during the week. At the weekend, I usually get up between 07.30 and 09.00. I'm not a late riser, but I always get a lot out of the day.

Why this particular degree programme?
I chose Management, Leadership, Innovation, or MLI for short, based on my time during my dual Bachelor's degree, as I worked in the IoT (Internet of Things) sector for almost two years and the majority of my work consisted of the Internet of Things and the omnipresent topic of digitalisation. I knew that I wanted to develop further in these areas with a Master's degree and started looking for a suitable degree programme. With MLI, I found the right degree programme for me, as it focuses on future-oriented topics such as innovation management (design thinking, rapid prototyping, agile development, lean startup), leadership and entrepreneurship and is very practice-oriented. I also benefit from exchanging ideas with fellow students from other degree programmes. As MLI is a postgraduate programme, Bachelor's graduates who do not have a business degree can also apply and be admitted. Anyone who is also interested in these current and innovative topics should take the opportunity and apply by .

When was the last time you were at the university and when will you be there next?
For me, like so many others, my Master's programme started online, so I didn't have many occasions to go to the university. In the winter semester 21/22, hybrid courses were also offered, but I have been on my semester abroad in Portugal since September 2021 and have not been able to experience the face-to-face courses in Germany. However, in our degree programme, for example, we have the Managing Technology module, in which we went through a start-up simulation together in teams, from brainstorming, through the entire product development process, including business planning, to the final pitch, which took place on site. I hope that I will be able to travel to the university from time to time for face-to-face events in my 4th and therefore final semester.

What would you like to see during your time on campus?
To be honest, my wish is that the face-to-face courses are handled in the same way as online, i.e. that the practical relevance and teamwork are maintained. For me personally, it is simply very important to have social contact with my lecturers and fellow students again and not just see them in front of the screen, but to go through the lectures together on site and do something together afterwards. Things that sound obvious but haven't been possible for months or years. I would like to see some normality and I hope the face-to-face events can make this possible.
 

What do you think we can take away from digital teaching?
Definitely the enormous flexibility it offers students and another point for me is the recorded online lectures. It helped me a lot during my exam preparation phases, because if I didn't fully understand something afterwards, I could watch the lecture again, so I hope this will continue.

Has the coronavirus changed you?
The corona period hasn't changed me much, but I have changed my everyday life a bit, as my job and university took place online, I used the free time in the mornings and afternoons when I would actually have been on my way to work or university to go to the gym and work on to-dos. I also used the time to prepare for exams etc. as I didn't have to commute.  Unfortunately, however, you have to come up with some ideas so that the ceiling doesn't fall on your head within your own four walls, which can often be very difficult in times of contact restrictions, closed restaurants etc. and the mandatory home office.

If you were president of the university and money was no object, what would you change at your university?
I would like to see study rooms and co-working spaces for us students and one or two university cafés. In fact, a working group led by Prof Dr Mareike Heinzen is currently redesigning rooms and making them accessible to students (co-working rooms with couches, quiet rooms for studying, etc.).