President Series · #449

Why Does This German University Stop Classes Every Term for Industry Week? - with Professor Dr. Ramon O’Callaghan, President, Gisma University of Applied Sciences

Professor Dr. Ramon O’Callaghan, President · Gisma University of Applied Sciences

Mar 4, 2026 36 min

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Video published on the EdUp Experience channel on YouTubeOpen on YouTube

01
How does a 5 year old German private university scale to 3k students from 100 countries by combining business & computer science with required industry faculty experience?
02
Why does Gisma dedicate 1 week every term to Industry Week where companies present real challenges & students solve actual business problems through hackathons?
03
What makes scaling from startup to 3k students require digital infrastructure while maintaining human connection that technology cannot replace in education?

In this episode, President Series #449, powered by ⁠⁠⁠Ellucian⁠⁠⁠, & part of our EdUp Innovators Series, sponsored by MindBank AI

How does a 5 year old German private university scale to 3k students from 100 countries by combining business & computer science with required industry faculty experience?
Why does Gisma dedicate 1 week every term to Industry Week where companies present real challenges & students solve actual business problems through hackathons?
What makes scaling from startup to 3k students require digital infrastructure while maintaining human connection that technology cannot replace in education?

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