Starting on Monday, a group of 18 pupils in total from the secondary level 2 (Sekundarstufe 2), equivalent to sixth form in the UK, at Eichsfeld-Gymnasium in Duderstadt participated in a week-long Management Information Game hosted by the Lower Saxony Educational Institute for Business and Commerce (BNW). The workshop, which is led by different companies in the region on an alternating basis, was organised by med-tech manufacturer Ottobock this year.

“Our goal is to give the pupils real-life insight into the world of work beyond their classrooms and spark their interest in business-related topics and contexts in the process,” says Jana Klingebiel, a Personnel Officer for Vocational Training at Ottobock, who was responsible for organising this year’s management game.

During the Management Information Games, instructors impart basic knowledge in a number of information blocks, which cover the topics of “Company goals and organisation," “Research and development," “Shares and the stock exchange,” “Marketing: market development and advertising,” “Balance sheets and profit and loss accounts” and “Profit and liquidity”. The participants then put this basic theoretical knowledge into practice in the subsequent rounds of the management game.

Manfred Kussatz, an external instructor from the BNW, was responsible for realisation of this year’s workshop in Duderstadt. Under his leadership, the pupils took a close look at business-related topics for a week and also assumed the role of entrepreneurs themselves. They were divided into three groups and set challenging tasks that included formulating goals for a fictitious company, responding to current events on the market as well as discussing issues relating to personnel planning and financing. In addition, the pupils had to plan the type and scope of production for a product – the agenda this year involved developing and marketing a fully automated waste bin – as well as create a competitive marketing strategy.

The game then got serious on Thursday evening, when the three groups presented their marketing concepts in front of their teachers, parents and representatives from business and administration. They also responded to critical questions from the audience, who took on the role of buyers from a well-known electronics chain.

Given the incredible effort put in by the participants and the professional way in which they delivered their carefully planned presentations, the jury, which was made up of guests and Ottobock employees, found it quite difficult to choose a winner. “Strictly speaking, we have three winners today,” began Kussatz before announcing the jury’s decision. All of the seminar’s participants had demonstrated a great deal of motivation and enthusiasm for the topic, he said, and they should be proud of what they had achieved. But ultimately, only one team could come out on top, of course – and first place in this year’s management game went to “ECOlligent AG”, which impressed everyone in attendance with its high-tech waste sorting and compression system.