An incubator for future entrepreneurs: Vienna hosts WiWAG International
The popular simulation game took place at Berufsschule für Verwaltungsberufe (BSVB) in Vienna from April 23 – April 26, 2023.
Delegations from the Landrat-Gruber-Schule in Germany, FEDA Madrid (Spain), Agrupamento ESPAMOL (Portugal), Hjalmar Strömerskolan (Sweden) and the hosting school came together in Vienna to mix up and compete against each other in a simulated business environment.
But what is WIWAG? It is an abbreviation for Wirtschafts-Wochen-Aktiengesellschaft, which means business week public limited company, and is a computer-based economic simulation in which the participants can control their own company and make decisions such as raising selling prices or decreasing staff wages which are then simulated in a life-like market.
But apart from improving their English skills as well as getting a feeling for realistic cause-and-effect chains, we as participants were able to form new friendships and get to know the host city of Vienna in multiple sightseeing tours.
First, the participants were sorted into different groups and given various managerial roles (from CEO [Chief Executive Officer] to CFO [Chief Financial Officer]). After a short introductory period, including a treasure hunt, they were then tasked with creating a corporate identity as well as deciding on which direction to take with their company. In this WiWAG, they took the role of jacket manufacturers.
The participating groups were the following:
- Company 1: Style & Savvy, with their focus on being as affordable as possible while still remaining ecologically sustainable.
- Company 2: CC Jackets, presented a comfortable garment which is of high quality.
- Company 3: Cozy Cure, who created a jacket to soothe back-pain and other aches.
- Company 4: PTA Jackets focused on versatility in their four-season jacket.
- Company 5: Arrow, who also put comfortability and functionality in the foreground.
Pressgroup: WVN (WIWAG Vienna News), who had the job to document and inform about the companiesJacket as well as representing the public view.
After that we made another sightseeing-tour through Vienna to get to know the city further and were able to see many beautiful buildings like the Austrian parliament.
On the next day, the companies were tasked with expanding their branding by creating marketing videos as well as posters, which were then presented to the other participants and rated by the pressteam. In addition to that, the groups had to manage the companies' economic situation.
In the end, we attended an annual general meeting where all participants presented their results, justified their actions and were judged accordingly.
Even though the company Style & Savvy won in terms of profit, all managerial boards were able to gain experience and grow as teams.
To conclude, we are grateful for this special Vienna experience and we surely will profit from it in our future.
Weitere Links:
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Instagram: wiwagviennanews