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RBS and NEOMA students combine in International Pressure Cooker

International Pressure Cooker weeks

12 April 2016

One of the ways we bring business teaching to life is by involving our students in 'pressure cooker' weeks. We expose teams of students to a live problem, provide them with expert lectures on relevant topics, and then require them to present a solution to the problem - all within a few days.

We further enhance these weeks by joining with students from one of our partner universities - bringing an international flavour to the experience. 

In a recent event, students from the NEOMA Business School in France joined RBS students for a four-day Pressure Cooker 'Sustainable and Smart Port'. Students attended lectures on Scenario Planning, Sustainable Innovation, Current Rotterdam Port Issues, and Presentation Skills - topics designed to help them with their team task. 

Teams were asked to generate scenarios of how the Port of Rotterdam would respond to over 20 current trends, such as Automation and Robotisation, Circular Economy, Climate Change, and Renewable Energy. They were then required to present their findings by writing a magazine article about the activities of the Port - in May 2030. 

Students needed to combine what they had learned in lectures, do their own research on trends, work together in multicultural teams and produce a convincing presentation - under tight time pressure! 

Led by Rotterdam Business School's Graduate Department, success of the event was due to the generous contribution of several institutes; the RDM Centre of Expertise, Research Centres Sustainable Port City and Entrepreneurship & Business Innovation, and the and the RBS Research Platform: Business Ethics, Responsibility & Innovation.