Markus Hübscher

cooperation with bank windhoek

Cooperation with the staff of Bank Windhoek was very good. Everything worked smoothly and there was hardly any short notice bad surprise. We had two rooms to do all the interviews. We made three groups with 5-7 students each. 2 groups had to do the interviews simultaneously in the same room. This worked well, since the main teaching room was big enough. The fact that there was always a staff member of Bank Windhoek showed the commitment of the bank to the program. This became also clear with the reception that Carolina and myself received from Bank Windhoek on Friday, before we started the Career Starter Workshop on Monday. Apart from the acting Head of HR (Josie Gobeong) the head of private wealth, digitalisation and particularly the MD of the bank. Beronice Hans attended the reception! What an honour.

cooperation with students

The cooperation with the students was very good. Not surprisingly, they were shy initially. But the longer the course, the more the students relaxed. They appreciated the fact that they were able to learn in a safe environment, where mistakes could be made without negative consequences and feedback was given in a constructive manner. Most of the students used the opportunity to present regularly. However, there are always students that are too shy to come forward during the week. But even these students managed to perform above expectations on the final business case presentation. Students were generally very anxious with regards to the interviews. But again, the fact that there was a save environment and that they were able to watch their colleagues interviews helped them to profit a lot.

impact and win-win

From the feedback of the students we can confidently say that the CSW at Bank Windhoek was a win-win-win:

• A win for the students who profited from the course

• A win for Bank Windhoek who got the chance to cherry-pick the most talented students

• A win for us - the teachers - as we learnt a lot from the students about their daily struggles in Namibia. I had the chance to meet various students I got to know over the last few years, be it at diners I fixed, or at the networking event which took place at Stellenbosch.

personal message

I enjoyed working with the Namibian Students a lot. I got the impression that we were able to give them valuable input and were able to support their future career. Additionally, the cooperation with Bank Windhoek was very good. Finally, the cooperation with my partner, Carolina, worked very well which was key to make the program a success. It was a shame that we had so many no-shows and drop-outs. While I prefer to work with committed students (and do not regret not-motivated students to drop out), it is unfortunate given the 200+ applications that were apparently sent in for the 2 CSWs. We could have given the course to many more students. Finally, the fact that the mother of one of our students died in a car accident on Thursday morning was a particularly moving moment for everybody (week 2). We, the experts, had to balance the sheer shock everybody experienced with the fact that everybody prepared for the interviews to be conducted. I think we handled this exceptional situation well with open communication vis-a-vis the students and the staff of Bank Windhoek. We finally - and jointly - agreed to still do the interviews but postpone the start by one hour.

memorable event

There were several memorable moments during the two weeks. I would like to pick out the following:

1. One of the students was very why and hardly ever volunteered for any activity. However, on the day of the business case she did very well. In the feedback round she said about herself: “I cannot believe the performance I just did. At the beginning of the week I hardly dared to speak and now I was able to stand here and speak to everybody. I am so proud of myself” She received this big applause by everybody. A very moving moment

2. One of the students created two pieces of cloths for Carolina and Markus. She sewed them on Thursday evening (after preparing the business case) and handed them over to us on Friday after class.