Master’s programme “Managing Global Dynamics” at THWS integrates state-of-the-art AI
Students use Icanpreneur to develop sustainable digital business models based on their personal calling
The English-taught Master’s programme Managing Global Dynamics (M.A.) at THWS has expanded its practice-oriented profile with a new teaching format: Students use the AI-supported start-up platform Icanpreneur to develop sustainable digital business models that are aligned with their personal ikigai – their “reason for being.”
“Our goal in the Master’s programme Managing Global Dynamics is to enable students to shape international companies sustainably in the digital age – or to found their own,” emphasises Programme Director Prof. Dr Harald Bolsinger. “With Icanpreneur, we are integrating a digital 24/7 learning lab in which global dynamics are shaped responsibly and at a high level through students’ own business models,” adds THWS lecturer Bernd Hanheiser, who initiated the cooperation with the Bulgarian start-up platform for his course Sustainable Digital Business Models.
As part of a project-based module, international students work with Icanpreneur, an AI-powered startup platform that acts as a strategic partner, guiding them from the initial idea through validated market feedback to a clear go-to-market strategy. In this way, students put the entrepreneurial journey previously taught in class into practice: They define challenges, develop value propositions, test assumptions in the market and, at the same time, reflect on how their ideas contribute to global sustainability and societal value creation. Master’s student Julia L. sums up her experience as follows: “Overall, the Icanpreneur platform is very helpful and, especially thanks to the AI support, provides major relief throughout the entire process. The idea of using AI to generate personas, research, and even complete landing pages is fundamentally very powerful and, in particular, a great advantage for users without any programming skills.”
The Icanpreneur Experience (Screenshot: Icanpreneur/Gergana Krusteva)
Icanpreneur supports this process with AI-based workflows for problem discovery and validation, interview design and insight analysis, validation tools, and structured assessments for product–market fit and investor readiness. This makes the platform a perfect fit with the focus of the degree programme, which combines business expertise with intercultural and strategic competencies and enables students to further develop organisations in a constantly changing, globalised environment.
Prof. Dr Bolsinger is already looking beyond the current teaching format: “The initial results are very promising: Many students, using the tool and the didactic concept we specifically developed over two years for this Master’s programme, are demonstrating an unprecedented level of clarity, responsibility, and entrepreneurial maturity in their work.” As a result, the use of AI will now be systematically anchored in the Master’s programme Managing Global Dynamics to ensure that international start-up ideas are developed to be competitive from the outset.
Purpose-driven entrepreneurial careers
For many students, the project is not just an examination requirement but a starting point. Some are planning to continue working on their digital business models afterwards and to shape their transition from studies to their own purpose-driven entrepreneurial careers. “The Master’s programme offers excellent conditions for refining and implementing these business models,” explains lecturer and entrepreneur Bernd Hanheiser, “because the topics can be further developed directly within a research seminar and the Master’s thesis.”
The joint entrepreneurial AI-didactics team of THWS Business School and icanpreneur: Prof. Dr. Harald Bolsinger (THWS), Gergana Krusteva (icanpreneur), Bernd Hanheiser (THWS), Emil Tabakov (icanpreneur) (Photo: AI-edited from Gergana Krusteva)
About the Master’s programme “Managing Global Dynamics” (M.A.)
The Master’s programme Managing Global Dynamics at THWS is a three-semester, English-taught degree course that combines in-depth, application-oriented business knowledge with intercultural and strategic competence. A compulsory semester abroad at an international partner university strengthens students’ ability to act autonomously and sustainably in a global, dynamic environment and to deepen their international networks.
Further information about the Master’s programme “Managing Global Dynamics” and application modalities can be found on the THWS website: https://www.thws.de/en/services-and-support/application-enrolment-exams-internship/degree-programmes/managing-global-dynamics/