Triggered by the unique challenges and opportunities for effective teamwork that are present in today’s interconnected world where businesses often collaborate with partners and clients from different cultures? Eager to learn how to navigate cultural differences and foster inclusive collaboration within diverse teams? In this course, you will develop key skills such as active listening, empathy, conflict resolution, and adaptability, which are essential for building successful international and intercultural teams. You will gain an understanding of what is critical for solid intercultural team-design and team-interaction. The course is designed to offer an interactive learning experience. During an intensive week, theory, practice, group discussions and individual reflective exercises alternate.  We use the wisdom of our international classroom and develop our capacity for critical reflection, culminating in an authentic group-assignment.

=> ATTENTION: this is a mandatory course for ALL B4E students studying at KdG during the spring semester in 2024, in the form of an intensive week in Antwerp (from Monday 29 January until Friday 2 February)

Complementary to thorough proficiency in English you can develop your skills in Dutch. Dutch is the local language of Antwerp where you will be living for a while. The approach concentrates largely on listening, reading and speaking. These three skills will be combined with the fourth skill, the writing skill, in your assignments.

Money makes the world go around. A solid sales department will attract new clients and develop existing clients in order to make more money...
We will explore sales in all its aspects from marketing and sales automation to upgrade strategies in order to create loyal clients. Sales team management and negotiation tactics will be dealt with to complete your training.
A full course set in an international environment, filled with lots of exercises and thrilling role plays.
Are you up to it?

The course is focusing on the way Imagineering contributes to the success of e-Business. Transformational next to transactional marketing brings all parties closely together and enables strong and intense personal reactions; people want to belong to and to be involved because they love to be involved.

Theory will be translated into real action when constructing in small teams an imagineering programme for a real life e-business company. This course will have an irreversible impact on your life as marketer and/or an e-business professional. We want to welcome you to the inspiring world and memorable experience of this course ‘imagineering for sustainable happiness’.

This course will be presented in a highly interactive, dynamic manner through a series of interactive lectures/workshops. The topics to cover during the course are:

• Contemporary theory of lean start-up principles and practice
• New product development process following lean principles
• Co-creation and open innovation
• Business model design
• Revenue model design
• Lean analytics and tools
• Making a pitch for funding

The world is constantly changing.  Organizations are challenged to adapt to these changes or to perish. Therefore, the search for new opportunities is a constant concern at each level of the organization. 
In this course, you will be guided into the world of new ventures and how they can be found and evaluated. Consequently, the creative process of finding solutions to meet the demands of the new opportunities, will be trained focused on igniting specific skills and competences: Working well with others, Self-learning, Discovering and Sharing information, empathy, “Observing and Listening the others”, Working in group dynamics. 

As pillar knowledge you will learn the Design Thinking for innovation approach, model, process and creative tools. The week seminar will involve hard-work but also a playful learning environment based on exploring. Students grow a creative attitude and the right mindset to become game-changing professionals.

Over 50% of the world’s population lives in cities and this percentage will increase up to 70% by 2050. Our world is facing unprecedented challenges in terms of climate. In order to stop climate change and its disastrous consequences, we need global warming to stay within a rise of 1,5 degrees Celsius. 

In the intensive course Smart & Sustainable Cities we will explore how cities can play a crucial role in adapting to the effects - and even contribute to the mitigation - of climate change. The approach is a practical one. Theoretical concepts of the Smart Sustainable City, Data sources and Commons in the City are going to be illustrated with practical examples and concrete cases, especially from the experience as commoners in the city. The course is focussed around three main domains of the smart sustainable city: Smart Urban mobility, Constructions and buildings, (Limited) Resources. The students will get the opportunity to visit a project in the city of Antwerp and make a try-out with a smart tool (Citizen Science).

This course introduces the use of information in organizations and the role of information systems in creating competitive advantage. It covers (1) information systems in competition, (2) designing information systems, (3) ethical issues, and (4) marketing applications such as CRM, SCM and digital/mobile marketing tools. The course also introduces students to critical thinking skills with practical marketing examples and case studies."

Ever wonder how marketing has been used to shape norms and promote positive social change? Never before have social challenges been more at the center of public debate. Learn how marketing can be applied outside the commercial marketplace to the solution of social problems such as drug abuse, smoking, excessive drinking and drive sustainable goals such as recycling, sustainable business, and wellbeing. Get an overview of advanced areas of interest within the marketing discipline – Sustainable Marketing and Social Marketing. Sustainable Marketing is a process that applies commercial approaches, social principles, and green initiatives to communicate and deliver value that benefits communities and the environment. Guided by ethical principles, Social Marketing aims to foster behavioural change through a synergy of activities and is a useful guide for leaders in business, the non-profit community, and governments. Contemporary issues covered in this course include the link between Sustainable, Green, and Social Marketing sub-disciplines; advertising literacy and ethics; media's role in the Social Marketing mix; and the use of fear in changing consumer behaviour for the better. You will have the opportunity to discuss, analyse and evaluate a variety of marketing strategies that can support social change. Inspired by real-world examples and highly interactive workshops, you will be challenged to design your own creative Social Marketing Campaign for a non-profit organisation with a potential real-world implementation. In doing so, the course seeks to encourage well-informed understanding of emerging areas in the field of marketing. 

The course has been designed to get students to understand current and coming technologies and their impact on the brand to consumer interaction. The course is taught by a three times IMAX movie director & entrepreneur, together with a former B2B marketer, TikTok creator and academic. It teaches students to assess technological impacts on sectors, companies, brands and particularly modern marketing. It opens students’ eyes to understand how different geographic regions differ in technology adoption and how culture, habits, and legislation shapes technology adoption behavior. Throughout the course, students will be immersed into the world of blended reality, designing the future brand to marketplace interaction for two real life companies. Students will therefore not only be challenged to tackle the emergent language of immersive technologies, its limitations, ethical considerations or costs, but also how to manage a complex project in an international environment. This includes convincing an organisation’s top management of the threats and opportunities immersive technologies hold and why a particular organisation should invest into these technologies. After completing this course, students will gained new insights and an understanding of the world of innovative technologies and how these are likely to disrupt how humans, consumers and brands interact with information and each other. 

The digitalisation of our world and the perceived value for each generation, changed the way "marketing" can play a role in the business of tomorrow. Mr. Kotler's “4P” or “5/6C” model has been challenged by modern technologies and consumer's way-of-thinking (sustainability, local solutions on a global scale, personalization, ...). It's important to evolve as "future marketeer" using the frameworks of (modern) marketing theories in order to choose the right positioning for your brand/product/service. The course focusses on the latest trends in the different marketing theories and models. During each session, we will firstly elaborate the marketing topics in theory, which are then put into practice and discussed in smaller groups.   If you want to know why SAVE is a much more "modern" and practical model than the classical "4P" from our beloved Mr. Kotler, then we expect you very soon in this course. 

This course equips you with the skills you need to work in introductory-level roles in project and change management. Project managers play a key role in leading, planning and implementing critical projects to help their organization succeed. You’ll discover foundational project management terminology, gain a deeper understanding of the value a project management for an organization and understand the need for change management to realize a project's full potential.

Triggered by the unique challenges and opportunities for effective teamwork that are present in today’s interconnected world where businesses often collaborate with partners and clients from different cultures? Eager to learn how to navigate cultural differences and foster inclusive collaboration within diverse teams? In this course, you will develop key skills such as active listening, empathy, conflict resolution, and adaptability, which are essential for building successful international and intercultural teams. You will gain an understanding of what is critical for solid intercultural team-design and team-interaction. The course is designed to offer an interactive learning experience. During an intensive week, theory, practice, group discussions and individual reflective exercises alternate.  We use the wisdom of our international classroom and develop our capacity for critical reflection, culminating in an authentic group-assignment.

=> ATTENTION: this is a mandatory course for ALL B4E students studying at KdG during the spring semester in 2024, in the form of an intensive week in Antwerp (from Monday 29 January  until Friday 2 February)

Complementary to thorough proficiency in English you can develop your skills in Dutch. Dutch is the local language of Antwerp where you will be living for a while. The approach concentrates largely on listening, reading and speaking. These three skills will be combined with the fourth skill, the writing skill, in your assignments.

This course focuses on how consumers behave in respect to their (1) budgets, (2) acquisitions, (3) usage, and (4) disposal or trading-in of goods.

The Leadership and People Management course takes a two-fold approach to leadership practices and the different challenges of managing people in the multicultural and diverse workplace of the post-Covid world. Incorporating theoretical studies and  practical exercises, a mix between an academic approach and a business training, the course is structured around lectures, interactive sessions, workshops, individual and group presentations. Use will be made of case studies (Harvard Business Review), video and other material. Student work includes role plays, games, and concrete projects of varying degrees of difficulty. Students will study different areas within the three important building blocks in leadership and managing people.   

• Psychological with a focus on the individual

Example themes such as: emotional intelligence, discovering value systems, self-limiting beliefs, self-awareness, self-discipline and self-motivation.

• Social-psychological with a focus on the relational

Example themes such as: power and influence, motivation vs manipulation, empowerment and engagement, teamwork and communication skills.

• Situational context with a focus on the organisation

Example themes such as: organisational design, organisational culture, challenges of a multicultural workplace, risk vs crisis management and geopolitical and economic challenges in the post-pandemic world.

To be competitive in this era means having a supply chain that is innovative, sustainable, and digital. Organisations are aware of the significance of the supply chain seen as their backbone and cornerstone of their competitive edge. This course explores and explains how supply chains have evolved and become more adaptive and digital than ever before. The consequences of supply chain innovations and how it sets in motion transformations and transitions of the supply chain and value chain will be addressed and used to set the stage for a company simulation. In this course we want to give you the tools and techniques to identify and analyse supply chain innovation and see how this affects its governance. Are you ready for this challenge? 

In this introductory course an overview of different maritime topics will be provided. As such, the students can build an overall picture of the importance of maritime transport and will get a base knowledge of the composing elements. Topics that will be covered include the different types of cargo and ships, the difference between liner shipping and chartering, the importance of containerisation, types of containers, the use of flags of convenience, safety in shipping (conventions of international organisations and loadlines), types of ports, handling equipment, etc. When the student has finalised the course he will have an overall picture of the maritime and port sector.

Cross border trade and global procurement is an established and natural phenomenon. Learn to assess the risks involved by simulating an import or export transaction. Carry out an in-depth analysis of a product, its market appeal, the country where it was manufactured and the supply chain. Check the legal obligations under your sale contract such as delivery, customs clearance and payment. Draft the necessary contracts for sale, finance, transport and insurance, and have a sound grasp of the legal ramifications in the event of a breach.

The course builds on, and extends, concepts experienced in Foundations of Business Administration and International Management classes. A key objective is to apply strategic management theory to practical situations in a global environment.

• Why Strategic Management – conceptual frameworks 
• A global perspective: fitting the firm’s strategies and products and dealing with ethical and social/cultural responsibilities.
• Managing innovation in an international setting including business models for emerging tech
• Review of strategy theories and international expansion
• Managing international business negotiations
• Ethical and cultural aspects
• The role of strategy in managing global supply chains
• Selected specific strategic topics (innovation, internationalization...)
• Key readings concerning current issues in global strategy from top academic journals

This topic is more than ever before a top priority for CEO’s across the globe. And in the meantime, it’s what makes them most afraid. Reputation is amorphous and ambiguous and that’s what makes it so challenging. Why is reputation so important? How do companies work on this area? What is the impact on company’s performance, employee retention, long term viability? Once you understand the principles and apply it your own case you could start to make a true difference in business life.

In this day and age, businesses and policy makers face many new and diverse challenges and opportunities. These include the issues of climate change, job creation in a sustainable economy, corporate responsibility and transparency, environmental stewardship and protection of human health. This course will discuss how social and corporate needs become opportunities, how these opportunities develop into innovation drivers and how innovation creates economic and sustainable development. Overall, the primary objective of this course is to provide students with insights into, innovation and investment opportunities given the context of a changing world and a changing climate.

This course aims to provide the student with an insightful overview of the main aspects, workings and instruments of global financial markets and its key participants. The student will also develop a fundamental understanding of the key drivers, features and developments in global financial markets and its different submarkets. We will keep an eye on the news and current developments in financial markets allowing the student to better understand actual topics in modern financial markets.

Find out how to attract the right talent, develop it as well as reward and retain staff – core aspects of any successful business. Get a strategic and transactional overview, learn how to apply HR frameworks and concepts to real-life examples, and create the right conditions for employees and managers to achieve company goals.

Calculations and projections are important tools in business management. Learn how to work with statistics, market data and mathematical functions to develop simulations and forecasts in this hands-on seminar.