MBA Program for Visionaries: HHLA Partners with KLU

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The port logistics company HHLA has come together with KLU as its partner in further education endeavors to improve the international ties within the company and the creative powers of its employees. Kühne Logistics University (KLU) has designed a part-time master’s program in English specifically tailored to meet the needs of the logistics company’s work force.

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) is a leading European logistics company that operates a large network of container terminals in Hamburg, Odessa, and Tallinn. In addition, it operates rail terminals in Central and Eastern Europe. HHLA’s board is determined to facilitate opportunities for its employees to gain the skills needed in order to answer increasingly complex questions and for developing new business ideas. This is becoming steadily more important when considering trends such as automation, digital transformation, and growing competitive pressure.

Promoting Cultural Change

The MBA’s curriculum includes, e.g. courses in economics, business administration, and management. It also focuses on further developing intercultural competency and cultivating a contemporary understanding of leadership. “Leadership is one of the most difficult yet one of the most desperately sought after skills in the entire logistics industry. Therefore, our aim with this program is to give participants the management skills they need,” stated Torben Seebold, HR Director at HHLA. The Corporate Master’s program at KLU serves as an important component in HHLA’s strategy as it focuses on bolstering the knowledge and skills of their employees. “This program has been specifically tailored for us, and it is a milestone in many ways. It fosters internal talent, advances the personal development of participants, and it improves the international network within our company,” explained project leader Anna Bolliger-Fussner.

Locally Based – Globally Oriented

HHLA’s goal is to play an active role in shaping the future, one it shares with KLU. “I am extremely pleased that HHLA has decided to trudge this path with us,” exclaimed Neele Mansfeld, Director of Operations at KLU Executive Education. “What makes our further education opportunities at KLU stand out are the lively discussions held among students and with their professors, who teach and research in their areas of expertise. What is more, we offer this in an intimate atmosphere at an internationally-oriented university,” continued Mansfeld. “KLU and HHLA have more than a few things in common. We are both locally based in Hamburg yet have a strong global outlook. We are driving the industry forward, and we are constantly improving ourselves.”

17-Month-Long Postgraduate Program

The program consists of twelve monthly block seminars and two study trips, one to Tongji University in Shanghai and the other to The Ohio State University in the USA. The modules will be held online in accordance with the protective measures currently in place due to the coronavirus as long as necessary. Regarding their master’s theses, students ought to choose practically-oriented subjects; ideally ones that would be useful to HHLA. Neele Mansfield has affirmed, “I am very much looking forward to meeting the new MBA cohort!”

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