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19.10.2004

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   The Zollverein School of Management and Design presents its international training and research offering at Orgatec
(19 -23 October 2004)

It's coming in November: The Zollverein School of Management and Design is officially launching its training courses. The Base Camp 'Business Design' is an intensive seminar to celebrate the beginning of the MBA program in February 2005. At Orgatec (hall 11.2 / booth J-022) visitors will have the opportunity to inform themselves about the international training and research offering, and gain insight into the fascinating architectural plans for rebuilding the Zollverein School by the company SANAA from Tokyo.

Constructing a building on the grounds of the World Heritage Zeche Zollverein in Essen, who wouldn't be interested to know more? Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa with the company SANAA from Tokyo won the bid to build the Zollverein School of Management and Design and have implemented a fascinating minimalist design. At this year's Biennale of architecture in Venice, they both received the golden lion award for the most significant work in the exhibition, namely the design for the Twenty First Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa Japan, and for expansion of the Ivam (Institut Valencia d'Art Moderne) in Valencia. By the end of 2005 the light transparent-seeming, clear cube developed by the Japanese is to be built on the grounds of the Zeche Zollverein in Essen, just a stone's throw from the current home of the Zollverein School in the old director's building of the former coal mine.


The Zollverein School at Orgatec 2004

In order to provide Orgatec visitors with insight into the novel concept of the Zollverein School, both the future building and the contents of the training program will be included in the institution's presentation at the trade fair (hall 11.2 / booth J-022). The booth itself will represent elements of the planned architecture including the irregularly inserted windows, of which Glenn D. Lowry, director of the MoMA in New York has said that they are "like an interlude of jazz in a classical composition".
Dr. Ralph Bruder, founding president and managing director of the Zollverein School will be available at the booth for questions and discussions pertaining to the training and research offering.


Management and Design - two important competencies will be linked in a practice oriented manner

Design as a management task for decision makers in the areas of business, science, culture and politics: the new "Zollverein School of Management and Design" integrates these two disciplines, putting this training and research institute in a class of its own throughout Europe. It will provide both creative professionals and managers insight into each other's areas of expertise and help them gain the necessary combination of qualifications. Already about a year before moving into the new building, the Zollverein School is launching is internationally targeted offering this fall. It will set out to link the areas of management and design in both scholarly and practically. Design will be understood as a business leadership task.

The Zollverein School course offering

The studies offered at the Zollverein School target working employees in creative occupations who aspire to leadership positions as well as decision makers from the fields of business, science, culture and politics who are specifically looking to further their knowledge of design and economics related processes in management structures. The Zollverein School offers postgraduate Masters programs for full-time and part-time students. The goal of its further education offerings is to combine and interconnect design and management skills. In addition to training, research projects comprise the other primary area of operation.

The first Masters course of studies (Master of Business and Administration/MBA) is starting this fall with the introductory seminar "Base Camp I - Business Design". The four-day intensive course will impart basic management and design knowledge for employees in design companies and self-employed people with creative occupations. It can also be taken as a single Executive Seminar. The MBA program links management and design know-how in an entirely new way and is intended for future managers of companies in which all the facets of design (design creation and communication) play a decisive role in competitive success. In addition to this, participants should be able to initiate and coordinate design processes in their various different fields upon completing the 16-month program. The Masters course can also be completed on a part-time basis for working students. The MBA is awarded to students in cooperation with state-approved colleges. Teaching languages are German and English.

Admission requirements for the Zollverein School include passing a multi-phase admission procedure and providing proof of professional qualifications. The course is organized in a modular manner and divided into the three main areas Transformation, Strategy and Organization.
In addition to the courses of studies, the Zollverein School provides doctorate programs as well as workshops and seminars to round off the offering.

The lecturers in Essen include Professor Ruedi Baur (University of Design, Zuerich), Christoph Böninger (Managing Director of designafairs GmbH, Munich), Kazujo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa (SANAA, Tokyo), Dr. Franz Liebl (Witten/Herdecke University, Witten), Kay Pawlik (Managing Director of Erco Leuchten GmbH, Luedenscheid), Dr. Birger P. Priddat (Zeppelin University, Friedrichshafen) and Dr. Edgar Heineken (Duisburg-Essen University, Duisburg).


Establishment of the Zollverein School of Management and Design

A pilot phase bearing the name design school zollverein (d/s/z) came to an end in August 2003 and lead to establishment of the Zollverein School of Management and Design. The name alone makes clear references to both the history of the former mining grounds north of Essen and to the World Heritage Zollverein as a future location for design, business, culture and tourism.

The founding president and managing director of the Zollverein School, Dr. Ralph Bruder was primarily responsible for developing the course contents and direction of the Zollverein School. A board of trustees and a scientific advisory committee support the public institution in its work. Both of these committees include representatives from the areas of science, business, culture and politics. One of the primary tasks of the board of trustees consists of forming an international network. In addition to this, representatives from the fields of communication, design oriented management policies, virtual learning, and architecture and design support the Zollverein School of Management and Design.

The universities of Wuppertal and Duisburg-Essen as well as the Ruhr Area Initiative Group are all partners to the Zollverein School. Startup financing of approximately seven million Euro is provided by the European Union, the state of North Rhine Westphalia and the City of Essen. Starting in 2006 the Zollverein School will be managed as a public private partnership organization. The universities of Duisburg-Essen and Wuppertal are contributing from their special studies in design, art and business sciences to develop a joint course of studies. The Ruhr Area Initiative Group serves as a trustee to make contacts to companies in the area, which are to be approached for future projects.


*International Further Training in Management and Design
MBA program for managers*

The standard is high and the setting is anything but ordinary: the Zollverein School of Management and Design will soon launch its internationally oriented training and research offering at the Zeche Zollverein in Essen, which is on the World Heritage list.The institution, unique throughout Europe, is opening for business even a year before it can move into its own building. The stated goal is to connect the areas of management and design in a practical manner and further develop this combination through scholarly research.

The Zollverein School offers postgraduate Masters courses as full-time and part-time programs. The first Masters course is geared towards a "Master of Business and Administration" (MBA) and will connect management and design competencies in an entirely new way. The MBA will be awarded to students in cooperation with state-approved colleges.

The MBA program is intended for (future) managers who design company processes. This applies to those active in creative areas who want to extend their skills to include business and market knowledge as well as those who are currently active in mid and upper level management positions who want to enhance their management competencies with creative approaches. The MBA program provides a high standard training program at the crossroads of design and business. Upon completing the 16-month education, participants will possess the skills required to initiate innovation processes and implement business models.

The MBA course is modular in structure and is divided into the three primary areas Transformation, Strategy and Organization. The team of lecturers is top-notch: teachers are selected based on extraordinary achievements in practice or research. Teaching languages are German and English.

Those seeking admission to the Zollverein School are required to provide proof of professional qualifications and undergo a multi-phase admission procedure. Participation in the introductory seminar Base Camp is mandatory for those who wish to enter the MBA program.

In addition to the courses of study, the Zollverein School provides intensive courses, workshops and seminars to round off the training offering. For example, the Base Camp can also be booked as a single Executive Seminar. The first Base Camp will take place from 10 - 13 November 2004 under the heading "Business Design" and will provide basic management and design know-how in a four-day intensive course. It will also give insight into the areas of business science, marketing, cost and profit management, design law, investment and financing, and presentation to name a few examples. The second Base Camp "Design Competence", which will take place from 20 - 23 January 2005 provides fundamental knowledge of design creation and communication, and links the basics of design decisions and the strategic use of these decisions in design oriented companies.

Tuition fees are levied for participation in the courses of studies, workshops and seminars. The Zollverein School endeavors to support course participants through external (company) scholarships and internal grants if needed.