Welcome, Newbies!

They’re finally here! After a long, quiet break over the summer, the Vallendar campus at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management is coming back to life. All told, this year’s fall semester will see a collective 460 new students start their academic programs of choice. 190 new Master students have already concluded their Welcome Week; for the 270 new Bachelor students, everything geared up this past Monday. With the students having already started attending lectures, they know it’s time to get down to business.

“Use the time you spend on the WHU campus as a chance to develop yourselves even further,” advised Dean Markus Rudolf, greeting the 460 students with a smile at the Vallendar town hall at the start of the week. Professor Juergen Weigand (Deputy Dean of WHU and Associate Dean of Programs), Professor Christian Hagist (Director of the Bachelor Program), and Dr. Peter Kreutter (Managing Director Foundations at WHU) introduced themselves and gave the young students a warm welcome. According to Professor Weigand, it is the students who make the campus a lively, vibrant place to be following the summer break.

The Bachelor Program this year has 38% female enrollees; the Master Program has 34%. Both will host students from a total of 38 different countries—India, Taiwan, Pakistan, and Ecuador to name a few—making this semester quite diverse. Also of note, this year’s fall semester marks the debut of the Bachelor in Business Psychology program, which will run over the course of six semesters and blend together the key points of both business administration and psychology. The program will start with 23 enrolled students.

All newcomers will begin their time at WHU with the traditional Welcome Week. This period is designed to give the new students a chance to ground themselves in their study programs, feel comfortable on campus, and get informed. They receive tips on how to best organize their studies, choose the right language courses, and design their class schedule. They also become acquainted with the school’s numerous student clubs, such as WHU First Responder and Diversity at WHU. These initiatives offer students a chance to bring their hobbies and skills to the school and make valuable connections.

Workshops were also on the agenda for this year’s Welcome Week, covering topics such as “Presenting with Impact” and “Academic and Scientific Work.” At both the barbecue sponsored by professional service firm Accenture and the three-hour gathering hosted at the Kletterwald (a local tree climbing outlet), the students were able to get to know each other better and use the time to make their first connections.