IT in Supply Chains – Employability Scenarios and Soft Skills”
Application Training for GJU students – 1.10 – 5.10.2017
Edda Pulst, Britta Kähler
Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, Digitalization and Big Data are major challenges for the economy, the society, and the job market. Virtual and Augmented Reality Influence Supply Chains and therefore the employability of the GJU graduates.
Prof. Dr. Edda Pulst from Westphalian University of Applied Sciences together with her network of industry experts and Dr. Martin Kabath from DHL Supply Chain conducted for the 2nd time a one-week - adapt2Job intense training at the German Jordanian University (GJU) with selected students from Industrial Engineering, Computer Science/Engineering and Logistics Sciences.
The threshold became higher. More Technology. More case studies. More practical examples. More partners. More content and live-demos on companies’ web portals : - adapt2Job , 2nd edition challenged the students with new techniques and real life scenarios.
Content and jobs were directly connected by an introductory panel discussion with representatives of IBM, SAP, and DHL.
Ties to the real practice were even more intense than the first time.
The bridge of Supply Chain and IT was obvious. It was clear that all companies actually deal with the same challenges of digitalization and the need of outstanding graduates who concentrate on business reality rather than on credit points.
In addition, the experts provided the students with information about required job knowledge and current job vacancies.
Direct real-time-interaction between University and Industry in the two days Twin-Training presented by Prof. Pulst and Dr. Kabath showed in a clear structured method numerous practical examples. During the ongoing training Prof. Pulst presented real live case studies and insights on web portals of international companies. In total students got a practical overview on:
Big Data, IoT, Robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Augmented Reality, Heat Maps, Predictive Maintenance, Supply Chain Event Management Tools, Supply Chain Visibility Tools, Digital Spare Part Catalogue, Alarm Systems, Web Portals, Sensors/RFID, Smart Meters, Block chain, Supply Chain as a Service, Supply Chain as a Project.
Information Technology is the integrated part of the whole business. No problem is the same as it was the day before. Students who apply for a job should know the company’s profile by heart and collect information on its new technologies and main business areas.
Outstanding were the examples of SMS Group/Germany with online access to their Industry 4.0 web portal and the perfect documentation of Dr. Reifferscheidt, the Research and IT-director of SMS group.
Faster
Compared to the first training in March 2017, students’ scenarios for the Jordan market had to be developed in a higher speed. Students had to behave like consultants and business people and build their challenging
scenario.
Students were forced to make a fast transfer from the content presented to them to their own creative scenarios for the Jordanian market.
A2J became even more dynamic. Results had to be put into an infotainment presentation, since new technologies can only be used and understood if it is explained in a short and lively presentation to convince the industry partners of the group projects:
- Water Internet Amman 2020
- Smart Traffic Regulation Amman 2020
- IoT Farming in the Jordan Valley
Each group sold its idea to the representatives of the industry: Mr. Tariq Bassouni and Ms. Rana Abu Shawer, both from DHL Express Jordan and Mr. Omar Abbas, IBM Middle East and Mr. Khaled AlKadi, Jordan Business Systems, Mr. Hussein Malhas from Microsoft and Eng. Rasha Alababseh, representing SAP.
The industry experts evaluated the presentation skills of the students and the job relevance of their scenario.
It was a hard but fair feedback with recommendations for the students on stakeholders, financial aspects, concentration on the topic. Well appreciated were the professional presentation skills.
Companies provided the students with constructive advices on business context and content as well as how to improve their performances to better convince potential employers about their ideas.
The remuneration was the joint - adapt2Job –certificate which is already a recommendation for companies looking for good graduates.
The President of GJU, Prof. Manar Fayyad, and Mrs. Britta Kähler, Director of the Office for Industrial Links, handed over the certificates while emphasizing on the importance of - adapt2Job for the German Jordanian University.
Job Reality – Visit to Microsoft
Job Reality, part of - adapt2Job -Training, could be experienced during a field-trip to Microsoft Jordan’s offices as final activity of the training.
Mr. Hussein Malhas, the Jordan country manager gave an insight into Microsoft’s businesses, job opportunities and skills’ requirements of the future. Former GJU students, now employed with Microsoft, shared their experiences with the students.
Mr. Malhas outlined that - adapt2Job is matching to the new job skills requirements like
- Sense Making
- Social Intelligence and
- Adaptive Thinking.
The 2nd- adapt2Job Twin training took place in the frame of GJU’s Flying Faculty program and was organized by the Office for Industrial Links (OIL) in cooperation with the School of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, School of Applied Technical Sciences, and School of Management and Logistics Sciences.
It enhances GJU’s applied and industrial dimension by using the established TWIN-Training - adapt2Job method and its industry network which confronts the students with job reality, case studies, expert panels, field trials and scenarios accompanied by an intense involvement of business professionals.
More information about - adapt2Job: www.adapt2job.com