Summer School EAFIT Colombia – FHNW Switzerland 2023
26 students from Switzerland, Colombia and elsewhere participated in this year’s summer school on cross-cultural entrepreneurship.
The fifth edition of the summer school by Universidad EAFIT (Colombia) and the FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts kicked off in Basel. Half of the participating students arrived with business ideas, which they pitched on the first day. Five of these were chosen to be developed further during the summer school, as the students formed intercultural and interdisciplinary teams and got to work.
As the students refined their business ideas, they received inputs from experienced lecturers and entrepreneurs. They visited companies and incubators in Switzerland and Colombia, such as Switzerland Innovation Park in Allschwil and Promotora de Comercio Social, an agency that promotes the products of microentrepreneurs in Colombia and all over the world. Thus, the students learnt about business model development and evaluation, market analysis and market entry, prototyping and pitching and the minimum viable product (MVP) approach.
In addition to the academic programme, the students had the opportunity to discover Swiss and Colombian culture as they travelled to Lucerne and Rigi and to Comuna 13 in Medellín and the town of Guatapé.
A special highlight was the presentations by two participants from last year’s summer school, who pursued their entrepreneurial projects further and are currently testing their prototypes in the market. This provided more inspiration and motivation, as it showed the students that even a short, two-week programme can have lasting effects and be the starting point for innovative startups.
«Participating in this summer school was a journey like no other. It was an eye-opening experience, learning about business practices and entrepreneurial approaches worldwide. The cultural exchange broadened my horizons and instilled a deep appreciation for global collaboration. I now feel better equipped to handle complex tasks, set clear priorities, and make the best use of my time to achieve entrepreneurial success.»
«In the summer school, I learnt both theoretical knowledge and practical skills relating to entrepreneurship. I got to experience the importance of teamwork, Interdisciplinarity and diversity in organisations. Sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship go hand in hand and are the future of businesses and business models.»
«The key insight I took from the summer school was how different and yet alike we humans can be. We had to figure out how to navigate those cultural differences in working styles, organisational cultures, different languages and more. It was definitely a challenge, but I believe that was what made it more fun.»