School of International Studies (ZIS) at Technical University Dresden

It was a pleasure to follow the invitation to give a guest lecture at the School of International Studies (ZIS) at the Technical University Dresden. It is the 4th year I received the honor to speak on different topics, taking the perspective of a practitioner in a school which has a far broader scope than this. This time it was on Opportunities and Risks along China‘s One Belt One Road Initiative. Again, I specially enjoy the discussions with the excellent students there and last but not least the friendly atmosphere in the faculty. At first sight, the small red brick building hosting the ZIS does not let you anticipate what a great reach this interdisciplinary center at the TU Dresden has. I had the pleasure to flip though a folder of alumni, and the little place is actually like the spider in the web of a global network reaching into institutions like the World Bank, OECD, Central Banks, major corporations and German and international diplomacy and even NATO. I am not surprised, knowing the students and the quality of teaching they receive.

The little brick building housing the School of International Studies (ZIS) at the TU Dresden.

I also always enjoy strolling through the old part of town. Dresden was infamously and entirely destroyed by British and American air-forces dropping fire bombs and performing area bombardment on mainly civilians, refugees, wounded and even own prisoners of war. It set the scene of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five”. Today Dresden is beautifully rebuilt, including the Frauenkirche.

Dresden - Leipzig - Berlin - Mannheim

The week started with a trip to Dresden, where I gave a guest lecture on China and the "One Belt, one Road Initiative" at the Technical University in the Zentrum für Internationale Studien. It was a great pleasure to be back to Dresden and catching up. And I really enjoyed the quality of the students. As I had one day gap between my Dresden assignment and further meetings in Berlin, I decided hop over to Leipzig and stay there over night. I have fond memories of Leipzig from the time of the German-German reunification and heard recently that it would become for creative people, an alternative to Berlin (where the cost of living is rising). I went to the Museum der Bildenden Künste Leipzig, visited some galeries, and talked to a few people. But somehow, I could not confirm what many people say about Leipzig. Sure, my visit was very short and it always depends a lot on the angle how you enter a city. Then in Berlin, of course, it was easy to confirm that the city is "hip". In the start-up scene some people bragged how often they already went bankrupt. It's entertaining, but professionally there is not much to do for me there. The week ended with a meeting and lecture in Mannheim, as well as catching up at the Mannheim University Business School, where I had the chance to see the impressive new facilities on campus.

View from the Main Train Station in Berlin on the Bundestag (German Parliament)

Campus Navigator

The University of Dresden would not be a Technical University if the campus navigation did not go beyond a map. And it does. I found my way around very well, with the Android Version of the Campus Navigator (click here to download).  I had the privilege of visiting the School of International Studies (ZIS) at the University for a guest lecture. It was also the first time for me, to get an on site impression of the University itself. It has quite some good vibes, and I really like the spirit. 

The most beautiful dairy in the world never had an elevator pitch

Somehow I suddenly got overrun by startups, entrepreneurs, innovators, people who think out of the box. They are creative and challenge the status quo. Some of them even have a University degree in innovation and creativity. Further, they are disorganised, unprofessional, talk too much, and they are a complete waste of time. And as they are mostly looking for funding, they are very likely also to be a complete waste of money. Can't they just start a company like everybody else? What's all this noise for? It's like the world became a giant TED-Talk. This would fit well the fact that US politics became a reality show. 

It all reminds me very much of standing in the Taschenbergpalais in the 1990s and people talking me dizzy about "tech". It was a venture capital conference. Then came a man in a black shirt to me and said: "I have the most beautiful dairy in the world". I was surprised: "What are you talking about?". "Milk, cheese, anything with milk or related to dairy products ... and it's beautiful. The most beautiful shop in the world", he replied. "Do you take me there?", I asked. "Yes", and so we went straight away, leaving all that would later become the first internet bubble behind, and had a glass of Champaign or two, cheese, olives, and homemade bread.

A tile of the most beautiful dairy in the world (courtesy of Gebrüder Pfund Molkerei)

When I am in Dresden, I always go to The most beautiful dairy in the world. It is the only company, which is still around. All the Internet thing passed, but people still eat cheese. The shop is a landmark of the city, has wonderfully restored Meissen tiles, and absolutely great food. And you know, there was never an "elevator pitch".