The product range includes raw materials as well as highly sophisticated special substances. That this business is already complex today and future developments can be diverse and unforeseeable is the result of this year’s practical course in “Strategic Management” offered by the University of Applied Sciences Ostwestfalen-Lippe in Lemgo.

For the fifth time, the future experts of ScMI accompanied international students from the Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe - this year together in cooperation with the "Personal Care" business area of Evonik. The master's students from more than 10 countries worked together on the future of the global personal care market and the relevant value chains, with a particular focus on the impact of digitalization. A total of ten future scenarios were developed in several steps. Six out of the ten scenarios were elaborated and the resulting consequences for Evonik were analyzed.

The presentation of the work results took place at an Evonik's location in Essen-Goldschmidtstraße, where Dr. Thomas Satzinger, Global Director Strategy for the Personal Care Division, welcomed the students. Together with several colleagues, future experts from SCMI and the supervising university lecturer Prof. Dr. Wilfried Jungkind, the students presented the various future scenarios. Over the course of the day the breadth of the future space and its development possibilities became clear. "Our students profit greatly from their experience of practicing scenario management on a real business case," Jungkind concluded. The intensive and informative day was rounded off with a guided tour through the Research & Development department where the students got the opportunity to carry out different skin care tests by themselves.