Practice-oriented learning in the global classroom

In doctors’ practices, pharmacies and hospitals, where particularly stringent hygiene and safety requirements apply, large amounts of waste are generated. Items such as expired medications, disposable syringes and medical instruments from operating theatres are discarded. Until now, they have rarely been sorted systematically or recycled – even though they include valuable materials as well as substances with known medical risks. Why is this the case? And how can the pharmaceutical industry be encouraged to become more sustainable? These are the kinds of questions explored by Master’s students at the International Management Institute in international interdisciplinary research and development projects. In doing so, they not only advance their knowledge in their own specialist field, but they also acquire broader skills for their future professional lives.

“The business world has become more complex,” says Albena Björck, who established and leads the collaborations. She explains that there is now hardly any business activity in Switzerland that does not have an international dimension, meaning that managers are required to understand and navigate multiple stakeholders in differently regulated environments. They are also increasingly collaborating in hybrid teams of specialists from a range of disciplines and countries. “We prepare our students for these real-world challenges,” emphasises Björck, a ZHAW lecturer. However, traditional teaching and learning formats, conventional exchange programmes and intercultural training no longer suffice. To develop key competencies such as tolerance for ambiguity or agile thinking, different approaches are needed. Students must be confronted with open tasks, volatile conditions and less structured forms of teaching. “They should learn something new and be enabled to initiate change,” says Björck, referring to the ZHAW’s strategic goal of preparing students to act in an international, entrepreneurial and transformative way.

To meet this aim, Björck, a former manager herself, has in recent years increasingly focused on international, interdisciplinary collaborations. The starting point is always formed by real-world issues, and globally active companies are involved as both clients and sponsors.

Together with the pharmaceutical sector as well as Stanford University (US) and Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden), Albena Björck has developed and established a particularly close form of cooperation. Over several months, students from the fields of business, economics, engineering, entrepreneurship and design come together to work on current challenges. Each global classroom involves eight to twelve participants. They collaborate online and also spend time working together at least at one of the locations. When visiting each other, they gain an insight into the business areas of the corporate partners. They also exchange ideas with other experts, coaches and alumni. The collaborations do not follow a rigid concept or fixed procedures, stresses Björck: “This requires openness, flexibility and a willingness to shape the process from everyone involved.” To date, the study format has focused on medical and pharmaceutical waste. In the first round, Master’s students from Switzerland and the US investigated what is needed to ensure that expired medications are returned more frequently. They assessed existing barriers, conducted market analyses and outlined possible take-back systems. They also developed innovative distribution and packaging models designed to generate less waste and built a prototype. The pharmaceutical industry has recognised that it has to become more circular, says Björck, who states that the sector has considerable potential to conserve resources and reduce waste, emissions and costs. However, a circular economy requires progress to be made across international borders and disciplines, says Björck, which is why she believes that this topic is particularly well suited to such collaborations.

In another round, student teams worked on innovations for sustainability in operating theatres. Medical surgical instruments are often incinerated, largely due to time pressure, limited space and the prioritisation of patient safety. As part of a collaboration that also involved Chalmers University of Technology, a data-driven, contact-free sorting system was developed, along with service- and technology-based business models. All projects to date have been financed exclusively by pharmaceutical companies and interdisciplinary consortia such as Be Circular.

“The ideas, concepts and machines the student teams develop are impressive,” says Albena Björck. They produce tangible, market-ready results that can be further developed and implemented in practice. Working with fellow students from renowned universities is highly motivating for the participants. “They want to show what they are capable of – and achieve a high level.” The Master’s students gain specialist knowledge from other professional fields. Those at the ZHAW, for example, learn how machines are designed and built. Design and engineering students, in turn, learn about project management and how to bring products to market. “Everyone is called upon to handle risks and to take initiative,” says Björck, allowing them to gain confidence and advance their leadership qualities. “This makes them attractive to employers.” The business partners not only benefit from analyses and concrete developments, but they also gain an external perspective on the issues that concern them. “They are explicitly interested in the views of the younger generation,” says Björck. She herself likewise finds the exchange enriching. “It has also advanced my own teaching and research.”

For the collaboration to succeed, however, everyone involved has to be prepared to go the extra mile. They need to manage different time zones, curricula, holidays and examination periods. They are also confronted with different mentalities and mindsets, all of which makes coordination and communication a challenge. Working practices, motivations and expectations vary. “In our part of the world, there is a tendency to structure everything too quickly and too rigidly,” says Albena Björck. To solve complex problems, however, it is worthwhile keeping innovation processes open for longer, she adds. Particularly during phases of uncertainty, individuals may clash – “as in real business life.” To maintain motivation, the project leaders regularly plan highlights, including excursions and activities that foster personal exchange. Today’s challenges can only be addressed in an interdisciplinary way, she concludes, something that also applies to making the disposal of medications or surgical instruments more sustainable. As Björck says, the new study format provides the necessary skills: “Especially in today’s age of AI, business practice depends on professionals who can build bridges.”