On June 2, 2014, the Economic Forum’s general meeting took place on the campus of the University of Applied Sciences. Claudia Huberti, who succeeded Prof. Dr. Dietrich Goldenbaum a year ago after his 10-year term, was unanimously re-elected to her position. “Of course I accept the election,” she said with a beaming smile following the vote. The Economics Forum, the association of the Department of Economics, supports the department’s research, teaching, and alumni activities. In addition to the annual presentation of the Kurt Dörr Prize for outstanding commitment to the department and the co-funding of departmental events, the association also supports student projects requiring additional funding. The association, which is currently undergoing a reorientation, intends to focus even more intensively on the department’s alumni in the future, in addition to its existing activities, and to actively promote their networking. The other board positions were also filled through new elections. The association was able to recruit Joachim von Trützschler—one of the first AStA chairs at the former HWF, the predecessor of today’s Department of Economics—as treasurer. Also new to the board is Frank Ehresmann, another graduate of the university of applied sciences, who was elected deputy secretary. Prof. Dr. Dietrich Goldenbaum, who served as treasurer last year, will support the association in the future as an at-large member. The other board members—Stefan Poetini as vice chair, Christian Bernhart as vice treasurer, Peter Calovini as secretary, and the at-large members Bernhard Schulte-Kellinghaus, Thomas Herzog, and Erhard Kriese—were each unanimously confirmed in their positions. “With the new board, we have a team that is ideally positioned to further develop the association,” Claudia Huberti is convinced.

On May 8, 2014, the members of the Business Forum’s board met with a select group of guests for a brainstorming session. After a brief introduction to the creativity technique “brainstorming” by Claudia Huberti, Chair of the Economic Forum, the participants were divided into two groups, which addressed the following questions:
“How can the WFFM attract new members?” and “What tasks or projects should the WFFM focus on to become more attractive?” Moderated by Bernhard Schulte-Kellinghaus (tasks/projects) and Claudia Huberti (member recruitment), participants were encouraged to let their ideas flow freely on each topic. There were no limits to their imagination. Afterward, the results were presented to the full group and evaluated by the participants. All guests received a thank-you gift certificate in recognition of their outstanding commitment to the association and the multitude of ideas and suggestions contributed that evening. The board will now review the ideas generated to assess their feasibility and discuss them further. We will keep you updated on further developments.

On April 4, 2014, starting at 2:00 p.m., the Department of Economics at Mainz University of Applied Sciences celebrated its 50th anniversary. The development of what is now the Department of Economics began in 1964 with the founding of the “Höhere Wirtschaftsfachschule” (Higher School of Economics), which had 25 students in its very first semester cohort. Today—following several reorganizations—it has grown into a department with approximately 2,900 students and 18 different degree programs. Over the course of its 50-year history, the proportion of female students has risen from 0% to nearly half of the student body. To mark the department’s 50th anniversary, the Economics Forum also got involved. The 1,000 celebratory balloons released into Mainz’s blue sky at 3:00 p.m. to mark the occasion were sponsored by the Economics Forum, which also supported the commemorative publication with an advertisement. In addition, the Business Forum set up an information booth where interested visitors could learn about the association’s activities. The highlight was the presentation of the Kurt Dörr Special Award for outstanding commitment. For the first time, a trophy was awarded that had been created in collaboration with the Department of Design, bringing together students from different departments. We would like to take this opportunity to once again extend our heartfelt thanks to Prof. Lutz Büsing from the Department of Design for his excellent organization of the student competition, from which the trophy emerged as the winning design. And, of course, to Matthias Käsler, who won the student competition with his design of the orange “artichoke.” The Kurt Dörr Special Anniversary Award was presented to the “IUH – Institute for Entrepreneurial Action” for outstanding contributions to the department. It was an all-around successful event that was also a great success for the Business Forum.