Page 4 - VIA Broschüre

In April 2011, the program started with the first cohort of

students. As with subsequent cohorts, students and professors
met for an intensive initial retreat, either in the Brandenburg
or Heilbronn­Hohenlohe countryside. Very quickly, a DCR
community spirit was established. The group culture
developed into one of mutual trust, respect for intellectual
contributions, and a clear sense of quality, curiosity,
and fruitful competition. Interestingly, this special culture
did not suffer from the several hundred kilometers that
separated the two cities. Each student cohort stayed in
Frankfurt first, then in Heilbronn. After wards each scholar
could decide on his or her anchor location. The whole
community met regularly at the two universities for
workshops, and they attended academic retreats and
international conferences, first and foremost at the
Academy of Management Annual Meeting in August,
usually held in the US.

The nucleus of the special DCR culture remained stable over
the years, although the group mix changed and became more
and more culturally diverse. As professors, we had to keep
discussions, proposals, dissertations, and conference visits
on track and in balance, but the DCR community culture,
as an invisible hand, ensured that students came up with
excellent intellectual contributions, graduated with their
doctoral degrees, and found impressive jobs, often in academia.

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