Written by Colin McEvoy | August 5, 2024 | SHARE
German students from the Ruhr Fellowship program immersed themselves in leadership and innovation at Lehigh, then began internships in the greater New York City area
During an excursion to New York City last year, Alisea Wigger learned about an exciting opportunity: a competitive program for select German students to gain entrepreneurial and leadership skills at Lehigh University, followed by a seven-week internship in the New York City area.
“I thought, ‘Wow, that sounds amazing, that’s exactly something I want to do,’” said Wigger, 26, who has studied Communication Studies & Anglophone Studies at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE). “It’s something that really spoke to me, since I will be pursuing female leadership positions in the future. So I applied, and it’s been even better than I expected.”
Wigger is among the 12 fellows from this year’s cohort of the Transatlantic Ruhr Fellowship, which is available to high-performing students in various academic backgrounds from the three German educational institutions of the University Alliance (UA) Ruhr. They include UDE, Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), and Technische Universität (TU) Dortmund.
Lehigh University has a long-standing partnership with UA Ruhr, hosting the Ruhr Fellows for multiple years to help them develop skills in entrepreneurial mindsets, leadership, global markets, and other areas.
“The Ruhr Fellowship offers a unique opportunity to gain cultural and professional experience at Lehigh University, as well as through prestigious internships in the metropolitan New York area,” said Stacy Burger, Director of Global Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives at Lehigh.
Hannah Boeckmann, 23, is pursuing a Master’s degree in Business Psychology at RUB, with a particular specialization in human-robot interaction and user experience. Boeckmann was drawn to the Ruhr Fellowship for its interdisciplinary approach and the chance to meet students from diverse universities and fields.
“Entrepreneurship is very new to me, but I’m very open to new experiences and new ideas, and it’s always good to have a different viewpoint and not get stuck in your own field,” Boeckmann said. “So it was great to be exposed to these different things here at Lehigh, and it was also nice to get to know the other students here.”
The Ruhr Fellows spent time at Lehigh from July 29 to Aug. 2, before beginning their internships at various organizations. Wigger will intern at Lafayette College’s Office of Sustainability in Easton, and Boeckmann will be at the German Center for Research and Innovation in New York City.
On Aug. 1, the Ruhr Fellows attended an entrepreneurship workshop, led by Michael Lehman, Faculty Director of Lehigh’s M.Eng. in Technical Entrepreneurship program. They tackled specific problems using the de Bono Concept Fan, a creative thinking tool that helps systematically expand approaches to problem-solving by generating solutions and broadening perspectives.
Starting with a clearly defined central problem, the de Bono Concept Fan involves generating immediate solutions, then broadening the perspective to consider related contexts and larger issues. This iterative process encourages lateral thinking, fostering a wide range of potential solutions from various viewpoints.
During their time at Lehigh, the Ruhr Fellows visited companies at the Ben Franklin TechVentures business incubator, toured the National Museum of Industrial History, and participated in a CliftonStrengths assessment. They also heard from Larry Starr of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine, one of the Iacocca Institute Executive Fellows.
They also participated in leadership courses and seminars taught by Iacocca Institute Executive Director Scott Koerwer, ICAPE Director Mark Ouellette, Assistant Vice Provost for Global Learning Angelina Rodríguez, and Vice Provost for Entrepreneurship Lisa Getzler,
“I would encourage all other students to be part of this program, because we can learn a lot from each other,” Wigger said of the Transatlantic Ruhr Fellowship. “I think that’s a huge part of what this program is about: the American and German cultures learning from each other, and how they can go hand-in-hand.”