Course concept

Cultural & Socio-economic Introduction to Belgium - survival course Dutch
In this module you will learn about Belgian and Flemish culture and socio-economic data, all in comparison to the socioeconomic data of your home country. This module includes a survival course Dutch and visits to several important cities in Belgium.

Cross-cultural communication
In the context of a globalized world, intercultural communication has become very important. However, effective cross-cultural communication and cooperation is still quite a challenge. This course looks at the barriers that arise when people from different cultures and social groups interconnect, and what you can do to lower those barriers.

International Business aims to introduce you to the basic concepts necessary for a broad understanding of the international business environment. You will be able to understand concepts relevant to International Business and the differences between the business systems of the world’s leading economies. 

A comprehensive introduction to the behaviour of consumers in Europe and around the world.

• Consumers in the marketplace
• How consumers see the world and themselves
• Consumers as decision makers

CRM
CRM is a customer relationship management (CRM) solution that provides the tools and capabilities needed to create and maintain a clear picture of customers, from first contact through to purchase and post-sales. Customer Relationship Management can be utilized for Sales Force Automation, Marketing Campaigns and complete Customer Service Management as out of the box functionalities.

Students will learn to work with CRM-software, using the Salesforce Trailhead self learning platform. Badges and points need to be collected by the students at the end of each module.

Supporting CRM & MKT tools. Next to the CRM-software students will also look into supporting tools: 

• Google Adwords, Search Engine marketing (SEO/SEA), Display & video advertising
• Google Analytics
• Marketing Automation: Flexmail, Mailchimp,...
• Customer journey mapping software

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND GROUP PROCESSES – 6 ECTS
In this module you will learn more about experiential learning, group dynamics, team coaching and situational leadership and you will become more aware of your own behavior and role within the group.  

HRM - 3 ECTS
Human Resource Management is a specific approach in personnel management which in recent years has set the norm. In this course the focus will be on operational human resource management. Examples of topics that will be discussed are selection, appraisal, rewarding, socialization, performance & development.

NEW SUPPLY CHAIN AND BLOCKCHAIN – 3 ECTS 

What is supply chain and what is the "new" supply chain?
Short introduction to Blockchain, physical internet and the new network economy. From new network economy to data driven supply chain. Digital transformation and disruption: impact on economy and on logistics. Internet of Things, Augmented Reality, Artificial intelligence and Big data and data analytics in the supply chain. Data Sharing Platforms: NxtPort, Nallian, Xynaps, RX/SeaPort, GTD (IBM/Maersk). State of affairs digital documents and blockchain (eCMR, eECD, eWaste, ePhyto, eBL,….). Legal aspects of Blockchain. Global logistics delivered through Blockchain. Lean thinking & Lean working with/through big data/Blockchain.

The logistical digital transformation? Keys to success.

CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE - 6 ECTS
Nowadays, there is an increasing need and interest in Chinese culture and language. It is useful to know about the language when coming to China for travel or business. The Howest Confucius Institute offers (elementary – intermediary – advanced) Chinese language courses for students. The course also involves a small tailor-made and practical project. The course may be extended in the second semester (Spring).

GLOBAL TRENDS - 3 ECTS
A series of guest speakers on current and future trends in Global Business Management

ENGLISH FOR EXCHANGE STUDENTS - evening course (optional) - 3 ECTS
This course - complete IELTS Bands 5-6.5 - is a short preparation course of 24 classroom hours for students who wish to take the Academic module of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). It teaches the reading, writing, listening and speaking skills that a student needs for the IELTS exam.

It covers all the exam question types, as well as key grammar and vocabulary which, from research into the Cambridge Learner Corpus, are known to be useful to candidates doing the test. If a student is not planning to take the exam in the near future, the book teaches him or her the skills and language needed to reach an upper-intermediate level of English (Common European Framework (CEF) levelB2).

In this module you will learn about Belgian and Flemish culture and socio-economic data, all in comparison to the socio-economic data of your home country. This module includes a survival course Dutch and visits to several important cities in Belgium.

GOOD ICT background is recommended. Make sure your laptop runs on Windows Operating System otherwise you can’t install the required software.

Turning data into knowledge.
Presence in the lessons is required. When missing classes 4 times students need to send an email to the lecturer explaining the reason for their absence in order to be admitted for the examination.

Data Visualisation and machine learning

• Introduction 
  Before you can start learning how to use data science techniques and build machine learning solutions, it might be useful to start by defining what we mean by "data science".
• Working with Data
  Now that you have learned about the principles that underpin data science and you've been introduced to Azure Machine Learning, it's time to explore the ways you can prepare data for modeling.
• Visualizing Data
  After cleaning your data, it can be useful to explore it visually before selecting the features that will help you create a useful model.
• Building Machine Learning Models
  Now that you understand the iterative process of exploring data and building and evaluating models, it's time to examine some specific model types.

PROJECT CONSUMER AWARENESS – 3 ECTS
A course based on the outcome of the Erasmus+ Project Consume Aware. The objective of this project is to study consumer awareness in the European Union. Individually and in team, students will focus on at least one of the following themes: the importance of consumer awareness; consumer protection in Europe; consumer rights, both national and European examples and practices (for the tangible goods sector and services sector); institutions of consumer rights protection; building consumer awareness.

INCLUSIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION - 3 ECTS
Learning to communicate interculturally,
Learning to communicate inclusively
Learning strategies to apply this generally within companies
About intercultural communication, intercultural awareness and intercultural competence. Cultural models and dimensions will be dealt with in order to provide you with a framework for international negotiations and intercultural leadership and to improve your employability skills. 
About inclusive communication (meaning, sharing information in a way that everybody can understand). About creating strategies for companies that are committed to stay relevant in a diverse and ever-changing society.

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MANAGEMENT - 3 ECTS
The student gains insight in what sustainability is today, which theories and frameworks exist and which solutions are already implemented in the current business environment. We explore the domain of sustainable business management and look at the frameworks and challenges in the three main areas that can be defined: economic, social and environmental. We discuss practical solutions that could help face the challenges we talked about in the first part. We look into Corporate Social Responsibility, Social Entrepreneurship, Digitalization, Sustainable Energy and Circular Economy.

EVENT & PROJECT MANAGEMENT – 3 ECTS
You learn how to organize an event in a professional way.   A project needs to be SMART. It has a start, an end, goals, stakeholders, a target audience. Projects can be simple, like organizing an event e.g. a business conference, but also very complex, like building a space rocket. In this module you learn the basics of managing a project: P6 method, risk analysis, budget, roadmap, work breakdown structure, ...

Focus on SMART, teamwork, phases of project management, after-action review.

CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE - 6 ECTS
Nowadays, there is an increasing need and interest in Chinese culture and language. It is useful to know about the language when coming to China for travel or business. The Howest Confucius Institute offers (elementary – intermediary – advanced) Chinese language courses for students. The course also involves a small tailor-made and practical project.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW – 3 ECTS
International Business Law aims to give students an understanding as well as practical knowledge of legal problems arising in the area of international business, and to equip them with the skills needed to prevent and tackle these problems.

FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT - 3 ECTS
The student acquires knowledge and insight concerning the functioning of financial institutions and their environment, in general, and in the area of the main variables of the management of financial institutions, in particular, within an international legislative context. The student is able to judge in an uncertain context: able to cope with uncertainties that are specific to the banking environment or able to elaborate accurate forecasts of the main bank variables.
The student can deal with complex problems: he is able to analyze a (risk) situation and contribute to a strategic solution for the organization. The student has knowledge of risks, can map these various risks that financial institutions and companies face, and has insight into some basic risk management techniques. The student acts ethically and morally responsible with respect for the applicable legislation and guidelines.

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH – 3 ECTS
The research module is aimed at preparing students to write a final thesis. You will learn to select a relevant research topic in your field of study and you will get tips about writing a thesis partly on desk research, partly on field research. This module also focuses on the proper use of the English language, speaking and writing.

ENGLISH FOR EXCHANGE STUDENTS – 3 ECTS (evening course)
This course - complete IELTS Bands 5-6.5 - is a short preparation course of 24 classroom hours for students who wish to take the Academic module of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

It teaches the reading, writing, listening and speaking skills that a student needs for the IELTS exam.

It covers all the exam question types, as well as key grammar and vocabulary which, from research into the Cambridge Learner Corpus, are known to be useful to candidates doing the test. If a student is not planning to take the exam in the near future, the book teaches him or her the skills and language needed to reach an upper-intermediate level of English (Common European Framework (CEF) levelB2).

INTERNSHIP – 12 ECTS
NOTICE! ONLY FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS COMING FROM A PARTNER INSTITUTION IN THE USA

In this spring semester Global Business Management II, international students coming from a partner institution in the USA can choose for an internship in a company with a duration of 8 weeks. Contact the international coordinator Business Management personally when submitting your application to determine the most suitable internship provider.

For the remaining 18 ECTS, you follow the modules: CULTURAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTRODUCTION TO BELGIUM; AI FUNDAMENTALS, INTERNATIONAL MARKETING;  ENTREPRENEURSHIP: BUSINESS GAME and PROJECT CONSUMER AWARENESS. If you already participated in GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT I then INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH is an alternative for the module CULTURAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTRODUCTION TO BELGIUM.

For more info, please contact International Coordinator Business Management Lieven Theys lieven.theys@howest.be