In October 2025, the third international stage of the German-Ukrainian mini program in business consulting “EMMIDIR. European Management (in Practice): Market Innovation, Digital Change, and Resilience” was successfully completed. This stage became the culmination of close cooperation between the lecturers and students of the Faculty of Business and Economics at Chemnitz University of Technology (TU Chemnitz) and the Faculty of Economics at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv.
This educational collaboration became possible thanks to a year of intensive preparatory work by the teaching teams of both universities and the support of the DAAD project “Lernbrücke Chemnitz–Lviv 2025”, financed by the Harald Christ Foundation for Democracy and Diversity.
The program aims to develop students’ practical skills in business modeling, international consulting, local market analysis, strategic planning, financial forecasting, and teamwork in an intercultural environment. At the same time, it serves as a platform for supporting Ukrainian businesses in developing realistic and sustainable market-entry scenarios in Germany — particularly in the federal state of Saxony.
The International Autumn School, held on October 13–17, 2025 at TU Chemnitz, became the final and most dynamic stage of the mini program. Eighteen students from Ukraine and Germany participated, working in mixed teams on real consulting cases from Ukrainian companies — AVR Development (architecture and engineering), Kredens Café (restaurant chain), Meest Post (logistics), Piana Vyshnia (themed bar and beverage franchise), and MONAKO (stationery retail). Each team followed a complete consulting cycle — from market research and consumer analysis to developing adapted business models and financial projections for the German market. The final day featured team presentations and project pitches before lecturers and invited experts.
Teaching and mentoring were provided by business experts and lecturers from both universities, including Jun.-Prof. Dr. Charlotte Förster (European Management), Assoc. Prof. Marianna Kokhan (Management Department, IFNUL), Dr. Julien Bucher (Innovation and Technology), Assoc. Prof. Vira Shevchuk (Accounting and Audit Department), Assoc. Prof. Anna Hryshchuk (Management Department), and M.Sc. Jörg Müller (Finance and Banking). The school’s sessions covered such topics as market analysis of Saxony, adaptation of business models to EU standards, use of AI for business idea validation, financial planning, and intercultural teamwork. The format was intentionally non-competitive — focusing on mutual learning, creativity, and collaboration instead of ranking or scoring.
The idea of the mini program emerged from the long-standing cooperation between the two universities and the need to create an applied model of cross-border interaction between Ukrainian companies and the German market under wartime conditions. The Lviv University team initiated and led the development of the program concept in close dialogue with colleagues from TU Chemnitz. In June 2025, a preparatory visit to Chemnitz took place, during which the program’s structure, company participation format, and key educational stages were finalized.
Between July and September 2025, the second stage of the program took place — dedicated to forming student teams, developing research hypotheses, and defining stakeholder requests for market exploration in Germany. During this stage, Ukrainian students worked closely with their stakeholders under academic supervision, analyzing the specifics of their business models, international experience, and development needs. At the same time, consultations were held with TU Chemnitz colleagues to coordinate the participation of German students, synchronize academic activities, and clarify logistical and content-related details.
The program was coordinated and implemented by Assoc. Prof. Marianna Kokhan, author of the program concept and academic coordinator of the school. The project also involved lecturers from the Departments of Management and Business Economics at IFNUL, including Vice-Rector Prof. Andrii Gukaliuk, Prof. Svitlana Urba, Prof. Zoryna Yurynets, Assoc. Prof. Nataliya Chopko, Assoc. Prof. Nataliya Danylevych, and others.
Significant support for the project was provided by the administrations of both universities. Special appreciation is extended to Prof. Dr. Silke Hüsing, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Economics at TU Chemnitz, Prof. Dr. Rostyslav Mykhailyshyn, Dean of the Faculty of Economics at IFNUL, M.Sc. Oksana Molderf, DAAD Project Manager, and Nicolai Teufel, DAAD Lecturer, for their organizational and warm professional support.
Ahead lies the final stage — the preparation of analytical deliverables, presentation of results to Ukrainian business partners, and planning of new joint initiatives within the “Studio of European Management”, which has become the nucleus of this international collaboration
