Creative thinking and corporate culture

What is "culture" anyway? How can the traditional concept of culture be applied to companies? What does the design thinking method entail and what potential does it hold? And what does all this have to do with food?

To bring these different topics together, the Career Service Winter School was held in February 2017 under the title "Reflections".

Art and culture

The educational week kicked off with a guided tour of the Albertinum, the state art collection in Dresden. In addition to classical paintings and sculptures, the participants had the opportunity to view the controversial memorial to the three bus wrecks by Manaf Halbouni. The photo exhibition "Lampedusa 361" on Theaterplatz, which shows countless graves of refugees, was also thought-provoking.

The participants then drove to the picturesque Schöna Castle in the middle of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, where they were accommodated for the next few days.

Physical culture

Before breakfast each morning, Thomas Hönel got the day off to a fresh start. The martial arts instructor used gentle yoga sequences and various group-activating exercises to teach mindfulness of body and mind. The participants explored the surrounding landscape of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains on hikes.

Design thinking

In the mornings, Florian Müller, Marketing Consultant and Managing Director of projektUP!, presented the Design Thinking method. The aim of this approach is to find creative answers to problems. It is important to leave familiar ways of thinking behind and approach challenges in a playful way. The method was made tangible through a task that the participants had to complete in small groups during the week. Armed with Lego, colorful Post-Its and flipchart paper, the participants were able to present solutions haptically.

Culture

Karl-Heinz Reiche, Project Manager at Karriereservice, provided a theoretical view of the concept of culture and its history. He also explained how corporate culture can be made tangible and describable. In addition, process psychologist Jörg Heidig invited participants to explore culture and identity. In various exercises and discussions, the participants became aware of their own values.

Food culture

In addition to the knowledge input, Claudia Friedrich, a passionate do-it-yourself cook, took care of the physical well-being. Together with the participants, she cooked recipes from all over the world and showed how important food is for creating community and culture.

A successful week

What was special about this year's Winter School was the variety of topics, which were dealt with extensively by the respective lecturers and interlinked with each other. There was a uniquely warm and cordial atmosphere among the participants, which encouraged a shared exchange of ideas.

Author: Marina Welsch

Incidentally, the cover for the new Karriereservice event booklet was created at this Winter School. You can find this and further information here.