Five test seminars were held in June 2013 as part of the development of the part-time Master's degree program "Integrative Regional and Transformation Management - Transformation Pilots".
The focus was on the challenges and requirements for future transformation managers. The focus was on the relationship between the specific framework conditions on site and overarching contexts. The participants want to acquire the skills they need to initiate processes and help shape local change; they ask themselves what course needs to be set and want to encourage joint reflection on how they want to live locally. It is important to be able to deal with complex situations and recognize the limits of what can be shaped - as well as areas of opportunity. Transformation managers operate in an interplay: the ability to analyze, but also to empathize (empathy) is required. Mental agility is necessary in order to view different markets and social processes - from conventional to alternative - with a holistic perspective.
The focus was also on the question of which organizational forms are suitable for (desired) processes and how they can be set up. Bringing together different people with different world views, identifying their interests and initiating cooperation is a core task. As a result, cooperation management played a key role and was discussed from different perspectives in all five seminars. Another core competence is to create an atmosphere for joint work and encounters between the stakeholders and, last but not least, to be able to communicate in an understandable language.
The development of the course was funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) from 2011 - 2013.