Abstract:

In professional Bachelor Studies, it is of the utmost importance that students can quickly come into contact with corporate culture. However, only too often, students only discover this world during their internships. At University College Ghent, Belgium, we have been able to develop the student’s competences for the job market, by gradually introducing the students into the corporate world, from the first bachelor year onwards.

This paper describes an interdisciplinary business case assignment in which enterprises and professional associations are involved. We present a conceptual analysis of the procurement project in the first year, and the case in the second year of the professional bachelor in Business Management, demonstrating Vygotsky’s pedagogical zone of proximal development. We will demonstrate how the projects enhance students’ competences, necessary for the internships and the job market and how students gradually reach their professional competences in practice.

An interdisciplinary business case is a powerful means to getting students step by step into contact with the corporate world as of their first year. The project presented in this paper applies to any curriculum involving an internship. This essay about course management and best practices, could appeal to all academicians and professionals in education.

Keywords:

Interdisciplinary case, professional bachelor, business management, logistics management, best practices, first contact corporate world.