Post by Petra Youngzie Barthelmess, Prof. Dr.

“One must often change who wishes to remain constant in happiness and wisdom.” — Confucius After nearly eight deeply rewarding years as Study Program Head and Head of International Education & Development Academic Programs at the ZHAW School of Management and Law, I will be stepping down from my role. I will remain at our wonderful institution and focus on new professional projects. Looking back, I am filled with gratitude. These past eight years have been shaped not only be projects and milestones, but by the people I worked with – colleagues whose commitment, professionalism, and ingenuity made every challenge easier and every success more meaningful. A special thank you to two outstanding teams: 🌍 International Education & Development Team Juanita Guarín Dávila, Dr. Jeremy Dela Cruz, Maximilian Nopper, Dr. Oliver Thomas, Susan Ch. Bergen, Ramon Scherrer 薛睿義, Maya Gadgil, and Michal Kendzia Together, we expanded our academic portfolio, created new study formats, launched new programs, and nearly doubled the number of our students. We secured the Master program in International Business' inclusion in the Financial Times Global Masters in Management Ranking and advanced it into the Top 50 worldwide — strengthening the global reputation of ZHAW School of Management and Law and all its academic programs. We also built a thriving and engaged alumni community that continues to grow. 🎓 Commission for Academic Studies Jörg Wendel, Gunther Kucza, Christian Berger, Maximilian Müller, Philipp Sieber, Claude Müller, and Heike Rawitzer Together, we strengthened the qualitative development of all academic programs. We navigated the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic — transitioning the entire school of ~9,000 students and more than 400 lecturers from on-site to online learning and testing during lock-down. And most recently, we began integrating AI into teaching — both as a tool for innovation and as a subject of critical academic dialogue. Looking ahead 🔭 I will expand my teaching across nearly all study programs, bringing a cosmopolitan global perspective to all of our students’ education. I will lead a cross-sectional research project on the impact of study-abroad experiences on personal competence development. And I will deepen my involvement in continuing education, particularly in the fields of intercultural competence, diplomacy, and geopolitics. For now, I simply want to say: thank you 🙏 🙏 🙏 — thank you for the trust, the collaboration, and the opportunity to learn and grow alongside you ❤️ . It has been an honor to serve and to contribute to a community defined by ambition, excellence, creativity, and a broad, forward-looking global perspective.