Between Africa and the Rhineland

In the BAIN project, students learn to negotiate internationally in the virtual collaboration project. Brautlacht receives support from her African colleagues, Dr Gloria Agyapong from Ghana and Dr Joseph Owino from Kenya, who both teach marketing at their respective universities and designed case studies that the students used to discuss the entry of European products into the African market.

Students establish their first international contacts with BAIN:

Discussing market entry strategies with colleagues from Kenya and Ghana – that sounds like the work of international representatives and politicians. But in fact it is part of the studies at H-BRS. The university, together with the University of Cape Coast in Ghana and the University of Nairobi in Kenya, organises BAIN, which stands for “Becoming an International Negotiator”. Regina Brautlacht, H-BRS Presidential Commissioner for Global Digital Learning, is the initiator of the project, which is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

Across continents

BAIN launched in summer semester 2021: “Our goal with BAIN is to connect students from Ghana, Kenya and Germany in a digital learning environment. They gain practical experience in leading international negotiations in their Master’s programme in marketing,” Brautlacht explains. Currently, 43 marketing students from the three countries are participating

“I got to know our Ghanaian and Kenyan colleagues professionally and personally and, thanks to the interaction, better understood their communication styles, negotiation techniques and business practices. The knowledge of the different cultural backgrounds is absolutely useful for my future global business relations,” reports Linh Dinh, who participated in BAIN in summer semester 2022.

Summer School at H-BRS

In June 2022, the students finally met in person. Students from the two African universities travelled to the Rhineland to talk about the topics of negotiation and corruption. “The Summer School gave them the opportunity to continue building on their experiences from the online activities and have more intensive intercultural conversations,” says Brautlacht. In May 2023, the second BAIN Summer School took place, because: “The evaluations were very positive – we are extremely satisfied!”