bilfinger berger magazine 2011 # 1

Inspiring, transforming, enriching

01 2011

8 Northern Ireland A college enriches the region | 28 Denmark Europe’s most luxurious student dorm | 38 Germany School students run their own cafeteria | 44 Ivory Coast An oral education

Bilfinger Berger Magazine

Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011 // 32 \\ IMPRINT

HERBERT BODNERChairman of the Executive Board of Bilfinger Berger SE

SCHOOL SHOULD INSPIRE —PRIVATE ENTERPRISE CAN HELPThe demands placed on our education system have neverbeen greater. Today, schools are being tasked with substan-tially more than imparting knowledge — they must fosterthe individual potential of young people and make roomfor innovative teaching concepts.

At many schools, the inability to meet this mandate canbe attributed to the condition of the infrastructure. Class-rooms are too small, furniture worn out, technology out-dated. In the next ten years, according to the German In-stitute of Urban Studies (Difu), local authorities will investabout €73 billion in their schools — a large sum to be sure,yet scarcely enough for the bare necessities.

It is hardly surprising then, that public private partner-ships (PPP) are in such great demand in the education sec-tor. With the help of such models, school projects can be implemented not only more economically, but also signif-icantly faster. Teachers and students reap the bene fits —working and learning in a more inspirational environment.A study by KPMG confirms that students at PPP schools learnparticularly well and have particularly low absenteeism.

Yours sincerely,

Bilfinger Berger Magazinewww.magazine.bilfinger.com

Published byBilfinger Berger SECarl-Reiss-Platz 1–5 68165 MannheimGermanyTel. + 49 (0) 621 459-0Fax + 49 (0) 621 459-2366www.bilfinger.com

Editorial director: Michael WeberProject management:Dr. Daniela Simpson, Bilfinger BergerBernd Hauser, agentur.zsContact: [email protected] and layout:Steven Dohn, Theo Nonnen,Bohm und Nonnen, Büro für GestaltungPhoto editing: Helge Rösch, agentur.zs

Cover photograph: private, akg-images“Inspiring, transforming, enriching”: subhead/claim courtesy of SERCLitho: Goldbeck ArtPrinting: ColorDruck LeimenTranslation:Baker & Harrison, Bruce MacPhersonCirculation coordination:Business Service Weber

Bilfinger Berger Magazine is published in German and English. All rights are reserved.Items by named contributors do not neces -sarily reflect the opinions of the publisher. The reprinting or electronic distribution ofarticles or excerpts of articles is prohibitedwithout the express permission of the pub -lisher. Bilfinger Berger Magazine is printed on FSC certified paper.

// 5

22 of mind and moneyThe success story at the prestigiousUniversity of Mannheim is all aboutreconciling differences. Business andcultural studies develop joint pro -grams that are unique in Germanyand which consolidate the interna-tional reputation of the university.Bilfinger Berger supports therenowned alma mater.

28 what goes around ...The dormitory’s inner courtyard presents a kaleidoscope of studentlife, everywhere there are windowedcubes projecting from the circularfacade, with lights burning late intothe night and here and there a partyin progress. Some 360 young peoplelive in the Tietgenkollegiet throughwhich groups of visitors wander as if it were a design museum. Itwas not money that called the tune here, but the aspiration to create“the student dormitory of the future.”

44 master of the spoken wordIvory Coast has been torn apart bycivil war. How can the country bebrought back together? StorytellerFortuné, who travels the country onbehalf of the “Peace Counts” project,provides the answer. His message isunderstood — even by those in hisaudience who are illiterate.

50 roads of the world münzgasse, TübingenThe great poet Goethe is an ubiq-uitous presence in Germany. Hun-dreds of high schools and streetscarry his name, and a commemo-rative plaque hangs wherever theman of letters set foot. In Tübingen,however, this reverential remem -brance is impudently challenged by a plaque that was hung out thewindow of a student dormitory inthe eighties and which has now become a permanent feature.

/// N EWS

48 breakthrough at gotthard / The central section of the world’s longest rail tunnel is finished.football championships / Poland is expanding its motorways.fuel gas systems / Bilfinger Berger has acquired Rotring Engineering AG.test tunnel for bmw / Environmental test center in Munich goes into operation.

49 transformation to “se” / Bilfinger Berger becomes European.roland koch to become new ceo / Former State Premier to succeed Herbert Bodner.concession projects / Sale of equity stakes makes room for newcommitments. north sea services / Frameworkagreements with Statoil. ppp in canada / Women’s hospitalunder construction in Toronto.

34 teaching happinessCan one learn to be happy? ErnstFritz-Schubert thinks so. The prin-cipal of a school in Heidelberg hasintroduced a new subject. In addi-tion to mathematics and english,happiness is now taught there.

36 how sweet!The first day at school is an occasionmarked in Germany by a “sweet” custom. To ease their way into the serious side of life, children are givena great cone of paper and cardboardfilled with tasty presents, the “schoolcone.”

38 learning by eating In the Bavarian town of Münch-berg, students at the local secon-dary school are running their owncafeteria. Their success earned themseveral awards. Bilfinger Berger ismodernizing the school and will also manage the buildings in future.

3801 2011Bilfinger Berger Magazine

2 Imprint3 Editorial4 Contents6 Kaleidoscope

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COVER STORY /// EDUCATION

LIVING IN A LUXURY DORM LEARNING TO BE HAPPYCULTURE AND BUSINESS AT UNIVERSITY STUDENTS MANAGE THEIR CAFETERIA TEACHING WITHOUT BOOKS

8 education for everyoneSouth Eastern Regional College(SERC) not far from Belfast is a center for vocational education and business development in Northern Ireland. Bilfinger Bergeroperates it as part of a public private partnership.

16 school has many facesWhat does the classroom of a childwho travels with the circus look like?Who teaches children when they’rein hospital? Where do children ofRhine boat skippers go to school?Sometimes a day at school can befar from ordinary. A photographicjourney through Germany.

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// 76 \\ KALEIDOSCOPE Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

WHO NEEDS AN ENCYCLOPEDIA? In the nine years since it was invented, the online encyclopedia Wikipedia has expanded to include more than 260 language versions.The highest number of articles — three million — are in English. Current-ly there are around one million entries in German.

HIGHER MATHEMATICS“An example of advanced reasoning: The more cheese, the more holes.The more holes, the less cheese. Ipso facto: The more cheese, the lesscheese!” Cited by a professor delivering a mathematics lecture in Aachen

TIMETABLE IN WONDERLAND“And how many hours a day did you do lessons?” said Alice, in a hurry tochange the subject. “Ten hours the first day,” said the Mock Turtle: “nine the next, and so on.” “What a curious plan!” exclaimed Alice. “That’sthe reason they’re called lessons,” the Gryphon remarked: “because theylessen from day to day.” from “Alice in Wonderland,” Lewis Carroll

THE JOY OF READINGUnfortunately, school isn’t always as entertainingin reality as it is portrayed in these popular tales:

“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling

“Matilda”by Roald Dahl

“Nicholas”by René Goscinny

“Sideways Stories from Wayside School”by Louis Sachar

THE WORLD’S BEST UNIVERSITIESEach year the “Times Higher Education” maga-zine ranks the 200 best universities in the world.Here are the current top ten: 1. Harvard 2. California Institute of Technology3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology4. Stanford University5. Princeton6. Cambridge7. Oxford8. University of California, Berkeley9. Imperial College London10. YaleThe highest-ranked German university is theUniversity of Göttingen in 43rd place.

CHILDHOOD WITHOUT LEARNINGWorldwide there are 69 million children of schoolage who are missing their education — mostly be-cause there are no schools and no one to teachthem. Percentage of children who attend school,in selected countries:

Germany 99.9%

Pakistan 66.1%

Niger 49.5%

Eritrea 40.2%

Source: United Nations

THIRST FORKNOWLEDGE

“Education is what’s left when the lastdollar is gone.”Mark Twain

“We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.”John Naisbitt, futurologist

“The more one already knows, the moreone has to learn. As knowing increases, sonot knowing increases in equal measure,or rather the knowledge of what onedoesn’t know.”Friedrich von Schlegel

Master of ArctisThe polar night lasts for 113 days, with an average year-round tempera-ture of minus 4.5 degrees: You need to dress up warm to study arctic bio-logy and geology at the University Centre in Svalbard, meaning “coldshores,” in Longyearbyen on the island of Spitsbergen. The 350 or so stu-dents who train to be arctic experts each year are undeterred. Their lab -oratory is at their doorstep, less than 1100 kilometers from the North Pole. Half the students come from abroad, and lectures are in English.www.unis.no

Bachelor of BassA degree course for techno DJs? The Institute of Elec -tronic Music at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus,Denmark offers just that. For Wayne Siegel, whoheads the Institute, electronic music is just as highan art form as music played on the violin, flute or hu-man voice: “We are looking for people who are al -ready artists and want to develop their originality.”www.diem.dk

UNDER THE NORTHERN LIGHTSCELEBRITY RESEARCHScientists who discover new species can be very creative when it comesto naming them: Agra schwarzeneggeri: a ground beetle with strongly developedlimbs discovered in Costa Rica in 2002.Agathidium bushi, Agathidium cheneyi, Agathidium rums -feldi: round fungus beetles named after George W. Bush, Dick Cheney andDonald Rumsfeld.Campsicnemius charliechaplini: a long-legged fly which movesits hind legs in a manner that reminded theresearcher of Charlie Chaplin.Elvisaurus: a dinosaur witha crest reminiscent of theKing of Rock’s hairstyle.Eristalis gatesi: a hover fly with eyeslike large specta-cles, namedafter BillGates.

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// 98 \\ VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN NORTHERN IRELAND Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

THE COLLEGE USED TO TRAIN WELDERS TO WORK IN THEDOCKYARDS. TODAY, STUDENTS ARE DISCOVERING THESECRETS OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING.

EDUCATIONFOR EVERYONESOUTH EASTERN REGIONAL COLLEGE (SERC) NOTFAR FROM BELFAST IS A CENTER FOR VOCATIONALEDUCATION AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT INNORTHERN IRELAND. BILFINGER BERGER OPERATESIT AS PART OF A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP.

M AT H I A S R I T TG E R OT T / T E X T / / / R A I N E R K W I OT E K / P H OTO S

/// Russell Spencer has high hopes of a newlife in Northern Ireland. A year ago he and hisfamily moved to Belfast from their homelandof Zimbabwe, which was caught in unprece-dented decline. The 21-year-old wears a bluepolo shirt with the logo “Johnson’s Coffee.” Hisjob, repairing restaurant coffee machines,takes him all over Northern Ireland and occa-sionally even to Dublin. He’s earning money.“But I don’t want to be a repairman forever,”he says.

Which is why the freckle-faced young manhas signed up for an electrical engineeringcourse at South Eastern Regional College (SERC).During the two-year course, he will be study-ing the secrets of electrons, transistors andelectrical resistors — every Thursday, from ninein the morning until nine in the evening. “I’llstick with it, because I want to get on in life,”he says. Squeezing between a robot arm, conveyor belt and a hopper full of corn, he ex-plains every detail of the sorting machine builtby the German robot manufacturer Festo. His eyes light up. “A machine like this costs£200,000. And SERC has got one. Amazing!”

EDUCATION WITH TRADITIONSERC is a training center, vocational school andadult education center all rolled into one. Notonly do the lecturers teach students from awide variety of backgrounds the skills theyneed to find employment, they also act as con-sultants and product developers, working on


contracts for private industry. And the coursesare tailored to the needs of employers, makingthe College a center for vocational educationand business development in Northern Ireland.During the past ten years, some 68,000 em-ployees have trained here. “These people areessential to our economy,” says Ken Webb, Prin-cipal of SERC and Chief Executive in charge ofits 1,200 employees.

“We still pursue the same goals as we did in1914, when our school was founded,” he ex-plains. In those days, shipbuilding was boom-

BECOMING A HAIRDRESSER: DESPITE LOW PAY ITREMAINS A DREAM JOB, ESPECIALLY FOR YOUNGWOMEN.

so new, role that SERC is playing in reviving the region’s economy. “We don’t just hand outdiplomas, we aim to turn out skilled workerswith excellent training.” There is an empha -sis on science, technology, engineering andmathematics; one in three students takes oneof these courses.

CLIMBING THE EDUCATIONAL LADDER In the course of a year, a total of 15,000 adultslike Russell Spencer take their seats in theclassrooms, laboratories and workshops. Some

study here in the evenings, still dressed in theoveralls they have worn all day at work.

In the morning, the Lisburn campus is alive with young people. There are more than5,000 school-leavers with and without quali-fications taking full-time courses in 40 sub-jects. Some of them became acquainted withSERC while they were still in school, as the Col-lege has partnerships with numerous schoolswhose students take extra courses here duringtheir vacations. Later on they can completetheir training here, in the car workshop, the

carpentry workshop or the restaurant kitchen.Other young students have their sights set onuniversity; they climb steadily up the educa-tional ladder one course at a time. That’s whatNaomi Campbell, 20, is doing. At SERC she isnow studying a level 3 program in Health andSocial Care. Sitting in a wheelchair, she movesso quickly along the corridors, it’s hard to keepup with her. She hopes one day to be a socialworker at a youth center. At SERC, she has beenelected as the representative for the disabledon the students’ union.

NAOMI CAMPBELL IS CLIMBING THE EDUCATIONALLADDER: FROM SECONDARY SCHOOL TO UNIVERSI-TY ENTRY.

ing in nearby Belfast: birthplace of the Titanic,the most modern ocean liner of its time. TheCollege trained shipbuilders and welders tomeet the demanding needs of the yards. Itsfees were low enough for even the poor to af-ford a higher education. It also offered extrahelp in reading, writing and arithmetic forschool-leavers with poor grades.

Now the ships are being built in Asia, andfor decades the country was paralyzed by the bloody conflict between Protestants andCatholics. Ken Webb outlines the new, but not


James Currie, 21, has a particularly close rela-tionship with the campus. As a student at SERChe helped with the construction of the build-ing, drawing up work plans and supervisingthe flow of materials. A big responsibility. Nowhe has moved on to the University of Ulster inBelfast and is becoming a building surveyor.Thanks to the two years he spent at SERC, hisduration of study will be a year shorter and hewill have saved himself around £10,000 incosts associated with attending university.

NETWORKED WITH PRIVATE COMPANIESThe focus of the College extends beyond its students to include businesses as well. It isnetworked with more than 1,000 firms, includ-ing heavyweights like Bombardier and CocaCola. For the aircraft builder, SERC offers train-ing in working with titanium and carbon;while for the beverage manufacturer, the Col-lege teaches workers how to operate a modernbottling plant. “We ask what courses compa-nies need. We don’t insist that our courseshave a 100-year tradition behind them,” saysMichael Malone, Director of Curriculum Serv-ices and Campus Director. Small businesses,like the three-man operation run by 39-year-old Harry Connor, are still the mainstay of theregion’s economy. The stocky mechanic withtattoos partly visible from beneath his rolledup sleeves points proudly to his invention: atelescopic rod that fits between the steeringwheel of a truck and the brake pedal to checkthe brake lights. “The Extra Foot,” he calls it.“Not a big deal, but they sell well on Ebay,” saysConnor.

The logo for “The Extra Foot” was developedby Andrew Corbett, 42, who teaches art andproduct design at the College. “Jobs like thiskeep me on my toes. They stop me from gettingrusty from too much theory,” he says, leafingthrough a sketchbook. The logo cost inventorHarry Connor a fee of £120. “I’ve got more in-ventions in my head,” he adds with a mischie-vous smile, “I’ll come back to SERC for the CADdrawings and a logo.”

EXCELLENT ENVIRONMENT FOR LEARNING: CHRISTY DADE, 31,GETS AN AUTOMATIC SORTING MACHINE UP AND RUNNING.

CARPENTRY FOR SCHOOL-LEAVERS: THE COLLEGEOFFERS A BROAD RANGE OFPROFESSIONAL TRAINING.

ANDREW CORBETT, 42,TEACHES PRODUCT DESIGN.ORDERS FROM THE PRIVATESECTOR GIVE HIS TEACHING A PRACTICAL CONTEXT.


ROOM TO TALK AND EXCHANGE IDEAS: PLENTY OF LIGHT AND AIR TAKE SOME OF THE STRESS OUT OF STUDYING.

BI LFI NGER BERGER PROJ ECT I NVESTMENTS

PRIVATE PARTNERS MODERNIZE SCHOOLS AND ROADSAROUND BELFASTBilfinger Berger Project Investments (BBPI) has for manyyears been successfully delivering PPP projects in North-ern Ireland, especially around Belfast. BBPI is involved asa private partner in four of the six South Eastern Region-al College (SERC) vocational training facilities: in Lisburn,Downpatrick, Newcastle and Ballynahinch, all on thesouth side of the Northern Ireland capital. Ballynahinch,the latest of the recently modernized and extended build-ings, will open to students in spring 2011. The SERC facili-ties will be operated by Bilfinger Berger Project Invest-ments for approximately 25 years. There are also plans fortwo more PPP schools in central and eastern Belfast.

Since 2009, Bilfinger Berger Project Investments has also been responsible for a 60 kilometer section of theM1/Westlink, which provides access to the southwest ofBelfast. The company had already previously widened and modernized the highway and will now manage it for a period of 30 years in return for a fixed fee from theDepartment for Regional Development. Motorists are not required to pay a toll. (si)

Ian Cuthbertson enjoys the hustle and bustleon campus. “This bright building, with the caféand the hairdressing salon by the entrance, is like a mall,” he says, smiling. Once a monthhe leaves his office in Belfast and visits thecampus to make sure that all is well. Ian is thelocal representative of Bilfinger Berger ProjectInvestments. His company operates the Collegein Lisburn through a Public Private Partnership(PPP). “For 25 years we will make sure that theCollege is always up to date. That applies to thebuilding, as well as the fittings, furniture andequipment.” From the café he looks across tothe hairdressing salon where trainees are busywith combs and hair dryers. “Of course, they

DURING THE DAY, RUSSELL SPENCER REPAIRS COFFEEMACHINES. AT SERC, HE IS TRAINING TO BECOME ANELECTRICAL ENGINEER.

BILFINGER BERGER GUARANTEES TROUBLE-FREEOPERATION OF THE COLLEGE OVER A PERIOD OF 25 YEARS.

always have to be up to date too,” he grins — butthat at least is not part of his field of activity.

Russell Spencer, the young man from Zim-babwe, has plans for the future after trainingat SERC. “I’m interested in high voltage elec -trics,” he says. “A job at a nuclear power station — that would really be something.” That, though, would mean going to Eng-land — there are no nuclear power plants inNorthern Ireland. But a good education allowsyou to dream beyond national borders. //

SERC COLLEGE OFFERS A DIVERSE RANGE OF DEVELOP-

MENT OPPORTUNITIES: FOUR CASE STUDIES.

www.magazine.bilfinger.com

// 1716 \\ LEARNING IN UNUSUAL LOCATIONS Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

FLORIAN LUTZ, 8 years old, attends the hospital school at the Asklepios Klinik Nord in HamburgMELISSA MNICH, 9 years old, lives and learns at the maritime children’s home in Mannheim

SOMETIMES, A ROUTINE DAY AT SCHOOL CAN BE ANYTHING BUT ROUTINE: A PHOTOGRAPHIC JOURNEY THROUGH GERMANY.

My mother and father travel along the river, becausethey’re skippers of a boat on the Rhine. There’s no schoolon the boat, so from Monday to Friday I live at the homefor mariner’s children in Mannheim. Luckily, I have six of myeight brothers and sisters at the home. From two o’clock

until half past three we do homework. Sometimes afterthat we can go to the gym. Otherwise, we play somethingelse — and wait for the weekend, when we take the trainto be with our parents. I can certainly imagine living in oneplace, like other children.

“WE WAIT FOR THE WEEKENDS”

K AT H R I N H A R M S / P H OTO S

You can't mess around or copy from someone else at myschool. Because I’m the only student. The day after my ap-pendix operation, a teacher came to visit me at my bedside.And the day after that, we started with my lessons. I likethat. Mainly we’re repeating stuff, in math for example.

And only for an hour or two a day. No one can bother meat the hospital school. At my real school there are a fewboys who do that. There’s less homework here, too. But I stillmiss my real school and my friends. Most of all I miss gymclass.

“I’M THE ONLY STUDENT”

KEVIN JÄGER*, 17 years old, lives in a juvenile detention center in Berlin


ISABELL MA ATZ, 7 years old, comes from a family of circus artists and attends the circus school

When I go to school, I only have to cross the yard. A prisonofficer goes with me. I have classes from 8 until 1 o’clock,then it’s back to my cell. The lessons are fun, not like out-side where I always just switched off. That hardly ever hap-pens here in prison. The classes are smaller, and I can understand more. I’m amazed at what I’ve learned already,

especially in physics. I used to keep dropping out of school.But here I think I could even manage to get my high schooldiploma. I’ll need it for my dream job. When I get out, I wantto work in hotel management.

*The name has been changed

“THERE ARE NO DISTRACTIONS HERE”Our teacher’s name is Eva. When she comes to see us onthe circus grounds, we first have breakfast together. Thenwe have school. Math and stuff. Then it’s time for recess,then we learn German, English, and finally we have lunchwith Eva. There are only three students. But we don’t haveschool every day. When we’re traveling from town to town,

and when we are putting the tent up, there are no lessons.Eva fits in with our schedule. One day, I would like to be a circus performer, like my cousin Leslie. She’s 15. Apartfrom school and homework, she practices for hours andhours every day.

“WHEN WE PUT UP THE TENT, THERE ARE NO LESSONS”

MARVIN SCHWEITZER, 9 years old, is the son of a family of showpeople at the “Cannstatter Wasen” fairground in Stuttgart


ALEXANDER BEISSWENGER, aged 7, goes to a tiny village school in Unterjoch in the Allgäu region

I live on a farm. On the way to school I see cows, sheep, hors-es and farm-raised deer. I like that a lot. We only have oneteacher, and only one room. I’m in the first grade, and thosein second grade also learn with us. Of course, sometimesit’s a bit loud. When the second graders are on recess out-

side they make a lot of noise. And when they come in theyslam their school bags down on the floor. But sometimesthey help us, too. Unfortunately, it ends with the thirdgrade. Then I will have to take the bus to another townwhere there are lots of classes in a big building.

“MY SCHOOL ONLY HAS ONE ROOM”I go to school wherever my mother happens to be work-ing. She has a ball-throwing gallery. We’ve always traveledaround. On the fairground, we’re a community. We all sticktogether. As children we get everything for free, like icecream and cotton candy. But in school, it’s not always so

easy. I often start off as an outsider and I always have tomake new friends. But I never want to give up traveling.There’s always something new to see. And after lunch,when I’ve done my homework, I can ride the bumper carsevery day, as long as I want.

“AFTER I’VE DONE MY HOMEWORK, I RIDE THE BUMPER CARS”

// 2322 \\ UNIVERSITY OF MANNHEIM Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

THE SUCCESS STORY AT THE PRESTIGIOUS UNIVERSITY OF MANNHEIM IS ALL ABOUT RECONCILING DIFFERENCES.

ST E FA N S C H E Y T T / T E X T / / / E R I C VA Z ZO L E R / P H OTO S

OF MIND AND MONEY

AT THE START OF THE WINTER SEMESTER, MARKUS SCHMIDASSUMED HIS POSITION AS PROFESSOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, A PROGRAMPARTIALLY FUNDED BY BILFINGER BERGER.

ACCEPTED AT SIX GERMAN UNIVERSITIES, SIXTINA WÜNSTELDECIDED FOR THE ONE IN MANNHEIM: NOW SHE’S TAKING

THE POPULAR CULTURE AND BUSINESS PROGRAM.


accommodated under the roof is named afterHasso Platter, the founder of SAP and a majorbenefactor. There is hardly a hall or lectureroom in the so-called “Studenten-Schloss”(student palace) that is not named after asponsor. The University of Mannheim fostersand values its close relationship with thebusiness world from which it has attractedgenerous financial and ideational support.

ONE TOP RANKING AFTER ANOTHERThe university belongs to an elite circle. TheBusiness School, for example, is in a position toselect its 700 entrants a year from almost4,000 applicants and has occupied the topspot in national rankings for many years. To-gether with the affiliated Mannheim BusinessSchool, which focuses on executive MBA pro-grams, it is one of the leading institutions ofits kind in Europe. The School of Humanities,however, can also point to superior achieve-ments, as evidenced by the latest rankings ofthe German Center for University Performance(CHE), which carries out the most comprehen-sive comparison of German universities.

In one of the university buildings, just astone’s throw away from the palace, sits Dr.Jürgen M. Schneider, a slim, tanned man, aged64. The newly appointed Dean of the BusinessSchool clearly has fond memories of his ownstudent days in Mannheim, where he studied

business administration and went on to ob-tain a doctorate. After more than 30 years inindustry, most recently as Chief Financial Of-ficer of Bilfinger Berger AG, Schneider has nowreturned to his alma mater. “The university hastaken huge steps forward. Not only in terms ofappearance, but in its courses, internationaloutlook and generally with regard to thestandards it has set for itself,” is JürgenSchneider’s assessment. His school comprisesthirty chairs and around 250 academic staffwhose interests he now represents, especiallyin regard to partner universities that are bothcompetitors and networking partners.

The fact that the Business School has ap-pointed a manager for this role is unique inGermany and just one of many examples ofhow Mannheim perceives itself as a businessuniversity. There was a fierce debate about theuniversity’s profile several years ago. The com-paratively small School of Humanities fearedfor its survival in light of the predominance ofthe Business School and fought tooth and nailto ensure its continued existence. The rep-utable University of Mannheim experiencedits first student revolt and half of the cityjoined in. The chairman of the UniversityCouncil at the time mediated in the pitchedbattle between the Business School and Schoolof Humanities. He introduced a reform that resulted in the School of Humanities adopting

a highly innovative, practical approach, inter-linking it extensively with business and socialsciences — a solution all parties were satisfiedwith.

INTERDISCIPLINARY VIEWThe university’s Business School and School ofHumanities actually share a common vision,which Jürgen Schneider, Dean of the BusinessSchool, sums up succinctly: “The emphasis ison business at Mannheim, but the relation-ship with associated disciplines is a key factorin ensuring this focus does not result in nar-row-mindedness.”

The newly created Chair of Business Ethicsat the School of Humanities is an example of the opening-up of the disciplines. The pro-fessor holding the chair, humanist BernwardGesang, researches rationing in healthcareservices as well as examines the limitations ofgrowth, alternatives to the capitalist economyand business ethics by companies in the age of climate change. His lectures are mandatoryfor traditional business students, while con-versely, the humanists have to engage in basicbusiness and economics studies.

PLEASANT STRESS IN THE PALACEThe bachelor degree course in “Culture andBusiness” is a prime example of the reestab-lished partnership between the disciplines

/// Looking deeply into a newspaper archiveuncovers an article entitled “The Miracle ofMannheim.” A few days later at the entranceto the university, one gazes over a row of laven-der meeting with a row of red roses and fol-lowed by the gold-painted tops of the cast-ironfence. A vast square lies behind, encircled byEurope’s second largest baroque palace afterVersailles. A bottle of Asti Spumante lies on the pavement, while an empty bottle of Grau -burgunder stands next to the statue of KarlLudwig, the electoral prince of the Palatinatewho commissioned the building. Two days earlier, 13,000 visitors had been celebrating the summer and the university palace.

Continuing into the foyer of the East Wingwith its pillars, glass surfaces and lavish stair-cases, one encounters two screens on the highwalls displaying current lecture information,continuously interrupted by a book recom-mendation: “Geist und Geld” (Of Mind andMoney), from the “Focus on Business and Cul-ture” series, published by a Mannheim profes-sor of history.

The university is a success story that recon-ciles the much invoked opposites. Mind andmoney, business and culture, even the wallstell the same story. The rectorate hall, namedafter the Mannheim entrepreneur and patronof the arts Heinrich Vetter, is an area used for alternating art exhibitions, while works by A.R. Penck hang in the senate hall, a loan by the businessman Reinhold Würth. The library

STRICT FUNCTIONALITY IN THE BAROQUE PALACE: A LECTURE IN BUSINESS STUDIES.

FORMER CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERAT BILFINGER BERGER AND NEWDEAN OF THE BUSINESS SCHOOL: DR. JÜRGEN M. SCHNEIDER.

“Culture and business are not opposites. Only whenthe two interact is innovation driven forward andpurpose established.”Dr. Jürgen M. Schneider


ODD ON E OUT

THE BRONNBACH SCHOLARSHIPIt is the odd one out among the grants available to young lawyers and economists, and it fits right inwith the image of Mannheim’s business university. The Bronnbach Scholarship offers students the chanceto spend a year meeting and talking with artists and those involved with culture at events and presen-tations. The aim is to open students’ eyes to creative processes and problem-solving approaches and en-courage their interest in art and culture. The students can look forward to weekend and evening eventsincluding lectures, seminars, excursions and projects. The grant is awarded by the Federation of GermanIndustries (BDI). Bilfinger Berger is among the contributors.www.bronnbacher-stipendium.de

PARTN ERSH I PS FOR EDUCATION

BILFINGER BERGER OFFERS SUPPORT ACROSS THE SPECTRUMBilfinger Berger maintains partnerships with various educational institutions. The com-pany finances university chairs, provides guest lecturers and supports gifted studentsof civil, mechanical and service engineering, facility management and economics. Bilfinger Berger also helps new business start-ups: Candidates with a business idea thatfits the company profile are rewarded with a Bilfinger Berger mentor. Courses for sec-ondary school students offer insights into technical career choices including applicationtraining. The company also partners with more than twenty primary schools in order tostimulate an interest in technology among third- and fourth-graders. (si)

ABOUT 11,000 YOUNG PEOPLE STUDY AT THEPALACE UNIVERSITY IN THE CENTRE OF MANNHEIM.

and combines core humanities subjects — likelanguages or history — with business studiesor economics. Students obtain a joint qualifi-cation that opens up excellent career opportu-nities in areas such as cultural management,marketing or publishing.

There is great interest in “Culture and Busi -ness” with nine applicants for every place. Sixtina Wünstel has made it into the course.After passing her final secondary school ex -

aminations with an outstanding grade of 1.4,she worked with street children in Peru andundertook an internship with a corporateconsultant. She says that she is “one of thosepeople who likes to achieve.” It is little wonderthen that all of her six applications to Ger-man universities were accepted — and thatshe chose Mannheim. “I see myself as a hu-manist, but I think ‘Culture and Business’ alsoopens up opportunities in business,” says the

21-year-old. She is now in the third term of herstudies, majoring in French and Spanish. Sheis also working part-time at the School of Hu-manities and is still committed to developmentwork. Isn’t that stressful? “Pleasantly stress ful!Attending courses in a palace in rooms withparquet flooring and high ceilings certainlymakes studying all more enjoyable,” she replies.

Prof. Dr. Markus Schmid, 35, is now standingin one such lecture theater. With his left hand

in his trouser pocket and a laser pointer in hisright, he stands in front of his students whoare quietly tapping away on their laptops. Thegiant casements are open and the streetnoise drifts in. He is holding his lecture onhedge fund strategies and their specific risksin English, which is now commonplace at theBusiness School in Mannheim. He was namedendowed professor of Business Administra -tion and Corporate Governance in the wintersemester 2010. The chair will be jointly fund-ed for a five-year period by four Mannheim-based companies, including Bilfinger Berger.“Not least in light of the financial crisis, thetopic of corporate governance is extremely rel-evant from a practical as well as an academicperspective,” explains Schmid, who previous-ly lectured at the University of St. Gallen. Thenative of Switzerland freely admits that he ini-tially thought that Mannheim was in anotherpart of Germany. But he was naturally wellaware of the palace university’s reputation: “Ialso had an offer from a private university witha significantly higher salary, but Mannheim isthe leading university in my field,” he adds.

By the time Markus Schmid leaves thepalace after his lecture, it is already dark and Mannheim is aglow with lights. He livesnearby, between the railway station and thepalace building. Schmid will work long into the night on tomorrow’s lecture. “Just-in-timeproduction,” says the economics professor,making his way home. //

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD:WORKS OF MODERN ART ADORN THEWALLS IN THE LIBRARY.

// 2928 \\ STUDENT DORMITORY OF THE FUTURE Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

IT WOULD BE DIFFICULT TO FIND A MORE ATTRACTIVE STUDENT DORMITORY.A VISIT TO THE CIRCULAR TIETGENKOLLEGIET IN COPENHAGEN.

B E R N D H AU S E R / T E X T / / / L U N D G A A R D & T R A N B E R G / P H OTO S

THE TIETGENKOLLEGIET BY NIGHT: DANISH WINTERS ARE LONG, THE DAYS SHORT.

ALL THE MORE IMPORTANT, THEN, THAT THE STUDENTSFEEL AT HOME IN THEIR OWN FOUR WALLS.


/// The inner courtyard presents a kaleidoscope of studentlife, everywhere there are windowed cubes projecting fromthe circular facade, with lights burning late into the nightand here and there a party in progress. Some 360 youngpeople live here in the Tietgenkollegiet through whichgroups of visitors wander as if it were a design museum,attracted by rave reviews in the Danish press. Journalistshave declared it “one of Denmark’s finest buildings,” or,simply, “luxury.”

Student dormitories in Denmark are frequently builtand run by charitable trusts. And the Tietgenkollegiet,

which was financed by the well endowed foundation set upby a major bank, is no exception. But it was not money thatcalled the tune here, but the aspiration to set an interna-tional benchmark: “the student dormitory of the future.”

INSPIRED BY A STACK OF PLATESThe circular design that won the contest for the Tietgenkol-legiet was the brainchild of 51-year-old Peter Thorsen. Athome in cowboy boots, turtleneck and leather jacket, he isa partner with Copenhagen architects Lundgaard & Tran-berg. He recalls how during the contest his team spent a

long time brooding over a plan of the surrounding build-ings: The location for the dormitory was in northernØrestad, a district of the city built on the “new town” prin-ciple. By no means all of the buildings in this new districtare architectural gems. The Tietgenkollegiet site is sur-rounded by extended rectangular blocks occupied by of-fices and the university. How could a pioneering design befitted into this configuration? How could the rigid struc-tures be loosened up? “We weren’t at all sure,” Thorsen ad-mits. The team had been eating cake, their plates laystacked upon the table. “Suddenly one of us grabbed the

stack of plates and planted it on the plan,” he recalls. Thearchitects had wanted to create a building to encouragecommunication and community. And what symbolizes to-getherness better than a circle?

NO PLACE FOR LONERSOn the inside of the ring the architects positioned the com-munal rooms, while the 25- to 33-square-meter individualrooms are on the outside.

“Scandinavian architecture is always functional,” saysThorsen. It is a matter of course that the walls and floors

WHEN THE KITCHEN RESOUNDS WITH COOKERY, THE STUDENTS IN THEIR ROOMS REMAIN

UNDISTURBED THANKS TO THE SOUND-INSULATINGFLOORS, WALLS AND DOORS.

BRIGHT ROOMS FOR BRIGHT MINDS. “LUXURY” IS HOW ONE DANISH NEWSPAPERGLOWINGLY DESCRIBED THE DORM ROOMS.


in a student dormitory absorb noise, that designers thinkabout where students can dry their wet boots.

The absence of cooking facilities in the rooms is alsopart of the plan: “We didn’t design the building for peoplewho want to shut themselves away on their own.”

A BUILDING IS LIKE A GOOD WINEThe ground floor is a case in point. There, the residents canchat in the computer room, practice circuit training in thegym, do their sewing in the workrooms, play the piano in

the music room. On Saturdays there is a bar in the partyroom. The building is clad with tombac on the outside, abrass alloy with a high percentage of copper that looksgood even in “gråvejr” — which is important: “grey weath-er” is common in Copenhagen. The € 107 million price tagis the only aspect criticized by the Danish public. Isn’t thata lot to pay for a student dorm? No, says Peter Thorsen, asthe use of durable materials will prove more economicalas the years go by. “The building is like a good wine,” headds. “It will continue to improve with time.” //

SPECIALIST BRIDGE BUILDERS WERE CALLED INTO HELP INSTALL THE PROJECTING KITCHENCUBES THAT ARE SUPPORTED BY STEEL CABLES.

FROM THE FIRST TRIAL SKETCHES TO THE FINISHEDBUILDING: THE DORMITORY IS DIVIDED INTO FIVESEGMENTS, EACH CONSISTING OF TWELVE LIVINGUNITS.

// 3534 \\ INTERVIEW Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

Mr. Fritz-Schubert, can anyone actually get abad grade in happiness?Theoretically, yes. But the students are so en-thusiastic that their grades are generally good.Are students less happy than they used to be?Why the need to teach happiness?The opposite of happiness is anxiety and depression. Studies have shown that they areon the rise in our society. Pressure from highexpectations is increasing.What used to make people happy?Simple things, such as lying in a field on a sunny day, picking the ripest apple or playing soccer with your friends. There are more op-portunities today, but they are not alwayswhat they seem. You can have hundreds offriends on Facebook and still be lonely.What exactly does happiness consist of?There are three fundamental components: afeeling of freedom, security — including exis-tential security — and a sense of meaning.

Do you have any tips on how to give life asense of meaning?You have to feel you’re being productive, eithermentally or physically, or both. And then thereis the ability to immerse yourself in an activity,to dive right in. Thirdly, we shouldn’t considercrises to be catastrophes. We need to see themas challenges. None of that is really so hard.So can one learn to be happy? One can learn the right mindset to assess a sit-uation and deal with it. For example, I couldend the day by spending the evening broodingabout what I did wrong. But I can also thinkabout what went right, and what I can do bet-ter. In other words, shift the focus from theproblem to the solution.Can everyone be happy?Of course some people find it easier becausethey were born with a sunnier disposition. Ifyou are not born that way, you might have towork at it a bit harder.

How do you teach your students the skillsthey need to be happy?It is a matter of developing formative experi-ences and linking these with positive emo-tions. The experience of meeting someone, forexample. Those who stand up straight andsmile are usually greeted with a smile in re-turn. That releases positive emotions. Duringour lessons we try out things that come fromthe field of theater and movement education.So the students discover their strengths inpractical exercises and through feedbackfrom their classmates. Exercises like these al-so improve their self-confidence. It feels betterto stand up straight rather than hang yourhead. Try it, it’s quite easy. “How you stand, ishow you feel.”Can you find something positive in every experience, even failure?If you ask what was good about it and how canyou do it better in the future, then yes.

What’s good about failure?It could motivate you to make a greater effort.Or provide an incentive to take another look atwhat you’re aiming for. Maybe you’re aimingtoo high. Or it could be an opportunity to seekout new strengths. Why are feelings so important in your lessons?Less than ten percent of the spoken word is actually sustainable. Learning takes place lessat a conscious level than through emotionsand physical impressions. Which is why afterevery exercise we ask: what did you think, howdid you feel, and how does that fit into yourdaily life? It’s a form of implicit learning.If the spoken word on its own is of so little im-portance, why does it play such a domi nantrole in school lessons?That’s my criticism too. Schools must make agreater effort to ensure that they don’t focustoo much on the head; they have to considerthe heart and the soul as well. We have to link

learning goals with experiences. For example,to try and understand minorities, you put to-gether a group of students who then all walkforward at the same pace. One student has thetask of walking slowly behind. He feels acute-ly alone. It’s an experience that lingers, with-out the need for too many words. Your students spend a year learning happi -ness. Is that enough for a lasting happy life?The students learn that positive feelings are anecessary part of setting life’s goals, and theylearn how to summon them up. They learnwhat is good for them. And that endures.One of your course modules is called “enjoy-ing achievement.”Yes, achievement makes you happy if it isbased less on the expectations of others thanon a goal you have chosen for yourself. Enjoy-ing achievement means measuring successand taking pleasure in it. Achieving a goal youhave set yourself gives far more pleasure than

achieving one set for you.Do you laugh a lot in happiness lessons?Certainly. The discoveries we make bring a lotof joy. Enjoyment is the day-to-day reflection of happiness.Do you cry as well?That too. Without sadness there would be nojoy. How did your colleagues react when you sug-gested introducing happiness as a subject? Most of them thought it was a good idea. Eventhough we Germans generally have a skepticalview of happiness.Why is that?Our religious background tells us that happi-ness is something to “anticipate.” Some waitfor eternity. But it’s worth taking your fate in-to your own hands.

GETTING AN “A”IN HAPPINESSERNST FRITZ-SCHUBERT, PRINCIPAL OF THE WILLY HELLPACH SCHOOL IN HEIDELBERG, HAS INTRODUCED A NEW SUBJECT. IT’S CALLED “HAPPINESS.”

E VA WO L FA N G E L / I N T E RV I E W / / / K AT H R I N H A R M S / P H OTO

PRINCIPAL ERNST FRITZ-SCHUBERT:“STUDENTS SHOULD LEARN WHAT MAKES THEM HAPPY.”

// 3736 \\ A SWEET WAY TO START SCHOOL Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

The so-called “school cone” was so big, it was as tall asthe little boy himself — and the ribbon it was tied withblocked his view. Stumbling along, he ripped open thepointed end of the bag and treasure spilled out ontothe pavement: The boy stood up to his ankles “in can-dies, chocolates, dates, Easter bunnies, figs, oranges,tarts, waffles and marzipan.” The little boy’s name wasErich Kästner, and he grew up to become a famous author. That morning in Dresden in 1906 was his firstday at school: an occasion marked in Germany by a“sweet” custom. To ease their way into the serious side of life, in addition to a school bag children are al-so given a great cone of paper and cardboard filledwith tasty presents, the “school cone.”

The shape has not changed in the past two hun-dred years, but the size and contents certainly have.Long ago, candies and fruit were soon joined by morepractical items, like aprons for the girls or the laptopof its day, a small slate complete with sponge and pen-cil. Children from poor families found the conestuffed half full of newspaper, because there wasn’tenough money to fill it with treats. It’s not unusual fortoday’s children to find a mobile phone or a comput-er game hidden among the jellybeans, set square andthermos.

And of course there always has to be a photo, tak-en by parents who on this day share the same mixedemotions that the camera so often catches on theirchildren’s faces: delight, pride, and sometimes a bit ofanxiety.

HOW SWEET!AN OLD GERMAN CUSTOM: A BIG BAG OFCANDY ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

PAU L L A M P E / T E X T

1900 1915 1930 1930 1932

1944 1956 1958 1958 1959

1967 1968 1972 1973 1974

1974 1974 1975 1976 1977

1979 1980 1982 1984 1984

1986 1988

1994 1998

2000 2007

1993

1999

2009

// 3938 \\ STUDENTS RUN THEIR OWN CAFETERIA Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

/// “What do we say?” Year 11 student CarolinStrößner, age 17, holds on tight to the plate ofmouth-watering chicken breast. “What do wesay?” she repeats, until the boy in front of herunderstands and murmurs “thank you.” Final-ly she lets go of the plate, leaving him to returnto his classmates at the table. Lunchtime inMünchberg. When the bell sounds after thefifth lesson of the day, the cafeteria in the sec-ondary school’s recently renovated centralblock soon fills up. The relaxed atmosphere —punctuated only by the gentle hum of activi-ty at the counter and the muted whistle of thesteamer — is now replaced by boisterousclamor and excited chatter. “I didn’t put in an

order,” says a year 12 student, “but I’d still likesomething to eat.” Teacher Elmar Hofmann,watching the scene from inside the kitchen,fixes him with a stern look. Of course the hun-gry young man gets his schnitzel. Flexibility isalways part of the service here at the winnerof TV channel Pro 7’s contest to find “Germany’sbest cafeteria.”

WASHING UP IS A POINT OF HONORWhat’s special, and what has impressed othersbesides the Pro 7 jury, is not so much the qual-ity of the food. It’s good, and often features or-ganic produce, but other school and factorycafeterias can also serve up decent meals.

What makes the Münchberg model unique isstudent commitment. This is their cafeteria,and they manage it themselves. From the timethe kitchen was designed five years ago to thepresent day, they have had an important say ineverything. A lot of students, if they have a freeperiod in the morning, drop in to chop onions,lay the tables or help out in some other way.And while they may avoid washing up athome, at school it is a point of honor.

If you want to find Elmar Hofmann, there isno need to ask at the office or in the staff room.When he’s not teaching German or philosophy,Hofmann spends his free time in the kitchen.Peeling carrots, talking to the students,

LEARNING BY EATINGIN THE BAVARIAN TOWN OF MÜNCHBERG, STUDENTS AT THE LOCAL SECONDARY SCHOOL ARE RUNNING THEIR OWN CAFETERIA. THEIR SUCCESS HAS EARNED THEM SEVERAL AWARDS. BILFINGER BERGER IS MODERNIZING THE SCHOOL AND IN FUTURE WILL MANAGE THE BUILDING.

P H I L I P P M AU S S H A R DT / T E X T / / / H E I N Z H E I S S / P H OTO S

SOMETIMES SCHOOL CAN BE SWEET: PUDDING ROUNDS OFF AN EXCELLENT MEAL.


MAN N ERS MATTER

TOP 12 TABLE MANNERS1. Before you eat, wash your hands!

And maybe afterwards as well?2. Sit up straight, don’t slouch!

Don’t take up more room than you need.3. The knife is not an axe, the fork is not a spade,

the spoon is not a shovel.4. Remember, you are what you eat.

So eat in moderation.5. Eat soup with a spoon, don’t drink from the bowl.6. Napkins are not just for decoration,

they are there to be used.7. It is not acceptable to slurp, belch or make other

noises while eating!8. Talking with a full mouth spoils everyone’s appetite.9. We do not shout across the room, we speak quietly.

10. If you can make a mess, you can clear it up.11. “Please” and “thank you” sound so much nicer than

grunting.12. The π KANT team are students, not servants.

The π KANT team members hope you enjoy your meal.

Number of students at Münchberg secondary school: 872Average number of meals served per day: 150Kitchen team: 3 part-time staff, 2 trainees, 25 studentsPrices: between 2 and 4 eurosGovernment subsidy: 0 euros

discussing the next day’s program with man-ager Gabi Ruckdeschel. As a member of thesenior leadership team, Hofmann sees theschool kitchen as a way to learn for life, and hasspent years campaigning for such a facility.

DEVELOPING TALENTFor Hofmann and his colleagues, there ismuch more to it than filling hungry mouths.Apart from all their differing views on teach-ing and learning methods and school con-cepts, there is one thing the educators agreeon: The quality of learning is always most in-tensive where students can combine the sub-ject matter with their own experience. Longbefore the havoc wrought by the results of thePisa study, education departments and teach-ers’ seminars were working on concepts totranslate the communication of knowledge in-to creative processes. In simple terms, the morefun you have, the more you want to learn.

To the untrained eye, all that happens eachday in Münchberg is lunch. But for Elmar Hof-mann, there is much more going on here: “Thestudents learn how to take responsibility, becreative, express themselves, organize a busi-ness, from ordering via the Internet to payingthe monthly accounts.”

Today being Monday, there are three dish-es on the menu: breast of chicken with red andgreen peppers, fillet of fish or a hamburger. Allhomemade, of course, and at an astonishing-ly low price of between two and four euros forthis quality. And that includes salad from theself-service buffet as well as a free drink. Theschool receives no subsidies from the publicpurse to run the cafeteria.

QUEUING FOR LUNCH: TEACHER ELMAR HOFMANNBACKS UP THE KITCHEN TEAM.

THEY MAY WELL SHIRK THE WASHING UP AT HOME, BUT AT SCHOOL THE YOUNGSTERS CLEAN CUTLERY

AND PLATES WITH ENTHUSIASM.


The students have decorated the tables withan autumn theme. A notice near the entrancelisting the “top twelve table manners” remindsdiners of the accepted standards of central Eu-ropean behavior: “The knife is not an axe, thefork is not a spade, the spoon is not a shovel.”Over 150 meals are served over the counterhere every day, generally to the customers’complete satisfaction. The students havenamed their canteen “Pi-Kant” — eating is al-so a spur to education. When the rush beginsshortly after 1:00 pm, every detail is organized:Carolin positions herself by the exit, her task isto cast an “evil eye.” Anyone who leaves thetable without wiping it clean is transfixed by

her gaze. Not one fails to run around and pickup the cloth. Three girls who have quickly eat-en their own meals now stand by the industri-al dishwasher, cleaning plates and cutlery inordered harmony. Two rooms away, three year12 students sit in the office, calculating theday’s accounts on a computer.

SCHOOL DOESN’T STOP FOR REDEVELOPMENT“If you were to offer the whole thing as a sub-ject on the curriculum, it would fall flat,” ElmarHofmann is quite sure. But this way it works,because it is voluntary and because the cafe-teria manager Gabi Ruckdeschel is more than

just a good housekeeper. Gabi is the soul of thecafeteria, someone to whom the students canfrom time to time let off steam about theteachers or pour out a lovesick heart.

Just a few weeks ago the kitchen teammoved into their freshly renovated premises.The workmen modernizing the entire schoolcomplex have now moved on to the next stageof the job. Carrying out the work while theschool is still operational requires a talent fororganization on all sides. When examinationsare due the workmen switch to quieter jobs,and deliveries of materials are scheduled so asnot to cause any disturbance.

The Münchberg secondary school is just

one of four schools in the Hof district that arecurrently being modernized and will subse-quently be operated (PPP) by Bilfinger Berger.The district administration on its own couldscarcely have afforded the cost of the buildingwork totaling some €45 million. It was thelong-term contracts for a PPP project with Bil-finger Berger that made the redevelopmentpossible.

Lunch is over now, and the stainless steelkitchen surfaces are spick and span. GabiRuckdeschel just has time to catch her breathbefore her day continues: Year 5 students havesigned up for a cooking course. Learning forlife — more than just words in Münchberg. //

PPP I N TH E EDUCATION SECTOR

STRONG DEMAND FOR MODERN SCHOOLS Many district administrations are facing a Herculean task: There ishardly a school in Germany that isn’t in dire need of modernization.Insulation, heating and sanitation are often forty years old or moreand the classroom technology, cafeterias and open spaces are poor-ly designed and out of date — if they exist at all.

In the Hof district of rural Bavaria, four schools are currently be-ing expanded and modernized in parallel in a public private partner-ship (PPP). The Münchberg secondary school is one of them (see ourreport opposite). Construction work at the schools will be complet-ed in less than three years — if it had not been for PPP, the projectwould have taken twelve years. The district administration willspread the cost of the modernization over a period of 22 years, whileBilfinger Berger operates the school buildings. The overall packagewill cost the district around ten percent less than a conventionalmodernization project, because in public private partnershipsbuildings are optimized over their entire life cycle.

In Halle an der Saale, too, there are a lot of schools in need of ren-ovation. Since 2008 the city has increasingly relied on partnershipswith Bilfinger Berger. The company modernized five schools in 2008,four more in 2009, and now the municipality has commissioned aprimary school and an after-school center. In every case BilfingerBerger also operates the buildings.

PPP continues to make inroads in the education sector. Around15 percent of all school construction measures in Germany are be-ing carried out through public private partnerships. (si)

PROJECT MANAGER MARTIN KÜPPERS MAKES SURETHE RENOVATION WORK IS DONE AS QUIETLY AS

POSSIBLE, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE “EXAMINATIONIN PROGRESS” SIGN IS HUNG OUT.

A GOOD MEAL STARTS WITH A LOVINGLY LAID TABLE: HERE A STUDENT FOLDS NAPKINS.

// 4544 \\ STORYTELLER OF THE IVORY COAST Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

/// The man on stage opens his eyes wide and yells: “Bang! Bang!Bang!” He shrinks away as if seeking cover from the bullets andwith a quivering voice imitates the cries of children hiding be-hind a wall: “Come here, Madame Kambou, come here to us!”Then the man draws himself up and pauses for a moment beforecontinuing in a deep voice filled with emotion: “But MadameKambou went out onto the street despite the bullets to find asack of rice for her orphan children.”

In a dusty square, children are crouching in front of the stage,staring up at the storyteller. The elders in their colorful robes andembroidered kepis sit rigidly in a row of plastic chairs. Behindthem stands a crowd, so many that the glow of the spotlights failsto illuminate them all.

“Are the children supposed to starve, I ask you?” the storytellerdemands with such vehemence that even the elders flinch.“Should they starve?” he repeats. “No!” the children scream.

“Madame Kambou looks after 56 orphans,” the storyteller low-ers his voice a little. “56” He pauses for effect. “That’s more thanfive football teams!” The children laugh, the elders too. MadameKambou’s story is followed by one about a school master who me-diates between nomadic herdsmen and farmers when the no-mads’ cows have trampled the farmers’ fields. Every story tells ofpeople who set an example of how to resolve conflicts by peace-ful means. The heroes of the stories intercede between enemies,teach former fighters how to earn a peaceful living, defend therights of political prisoners. They are committed civilians whowield neither power nor weapons — just the same as those wholisten spellbound as the stories unfold.

And yet it is these people the country is depending on for itsfuture. Four years after the bloody civil war ended, Ivory Coast isstill a country in tatters. The first presidential elections offer achance for a new beginning — provided they do not trigger afresh round of violence in this, the world’s fifth poorest country,in which barely half the population can read and write.

CONTINENT OF ORAL TRADITIONNewspapers are a medium reserved for an urban elite. The ruralpopulation has no television. When a traveler appears, the firstquestion the head of the family asks is, “Et les nouvelles?” —“What’s the news?” It is the duty of travelers in rural areas to bethe bearers of information, and the relating of it has a long tra-dition in West Africa: The bards who for hundreds of years havepassed down an oral history from generation to generation are

called “griots.” Sometimes, the annals of the tribes stretch backto the old kings of the Tuareg in the Sahara. But there are few ofthese traditional “griots” left. Their art lives on in modern forms.Rappers, storytellers and entertainers on television and at chil-dren’s birthday parties all regard themselves as “maîtres du mot,”masters of the spoken word. Africa is a continent with a long oraltradition. Rural schoolchildren have little in the way of books.They learn by listening and repeating. From Abidjan, the biggestcity in Ivory Coast, to remote townships, there are people on everycorner talking into their mobile phones. But woe betide anyonewaiting for an answer to an e-mail: A forlorn hope even whereInternet access prevails.

PEACE ROADSHOW “We take advantage of this oral tradition,” explains Tilman Wörtz,37, a journalist and project leader with the “Peace Counts” initia-tive that supports the peace process in areas of conflict world-wide. Wörtz began by training a dozen Ivorian journalists, re-searching and photographing stories with them which show howpeople all over the country are working towards peace, regard-less of the ethnic group or religion to which they belong. The re-ports were then published in the country’s newspapers. To reachpeople in rural areas, the German-Ivorian team headed by TilmanWörtz developed the idea of a road show built around the story-teller Fortuné.

The storyteller, presenter, radio technician, assistants, musicians,dancers and all their equipment are crammed into a truck, a 4x4and two minibuses. The convoy sets off in the north, in Korhogo,winding its way towards Bouaké in the center of Ivory Coast, thenwestward on a journey totaling 2,800 kilometers. The shows arebroadcast on the radio, in French on the national channel RTI andin the tribal languages on local stations. This is the first time the

“Et les nouvelles?” — “What’s the news?” It is the duty of travelers in rural areas tobe the bearers of information.

IVORY COAST HAS BEEN TORN APART BY CIVIL WAR. HOW CAN THE COUNTRY BE BROUGHT BACK TOGETHER?STORYTELLER FORTUNÉ, WHO TRAVELS THE COUNTRY ON BEHALF OF THE “PEACE COUNTS” PROJECT, PROVIDESTHE ANSWER. HIS MESSAGE IS UNDERSTOOD — EVEN BY THOSE IN HIS AUDIENCE WHO ARE ILLITERATE.

A N D R E A S L E N Z / T E X T / / / M AC L I N E H I E N / P H OTO S

// 4746 \\ STORYTELLER OF THE IVORY COAST Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

government channel RTI has cooperated with rebel stations inthe north. In his day job, the “Peace Counts” storyteller is an ac-tor in the soap opera “Quoi de neuf?” (“What’s new?”), a charac-ter everyone knows in Ivory Coast. His appearances in the villagesare preceded by youths touring the streets with megaphones,drumming up an audience: “This evening, Mesdames etMessieurs, we bring you a sensation — but don’t tell anyone: At seven o’clock the famous actor Fortuné is appearing in thePlace de la République!“

IN THE LANGUAGE OF THE PEOPLEOf course, there is no one in the square at seven o’clock. First loud-speakers fill the neighborhood with a blare of music. After anhour or so, a thousand, maybe two thousand people will have

bunched together in a semicircle around the stage, hungry fornew experiences that are a rarity in their media-free environ-ment. “You know, I like to tell a joke,” Fortuné begins with the oneabout the farmer harvesting manioc who cuts off his pride andjoy. “But tonight I want to talk to you about serious things,” hecontinues, assured now of their attention. “In these parliaments— you know what happened? — political opponents were ha-rassed, minorities were excluded, people who have lived in IvoryCoast for a long time, Senufo, Yacouba, We.” Fortuné doesn’t talklike a university professor. He doesn’t use the abstract turns ofphrase beloved of academic development aid workers, youwon’t hear him speak of “synergies between nomads and farm-ers”. Instead, he pretends to be a cow that drops a dung pat in afield and fertilizes it: “Nomads and farmers need one another!

The farmers should let the nomads leave their cattle in the fieldsthat are lying fallow! Then everyone’s a winner. Then there is noneed to keep killing one another. Is that not right?” — “Yeessss!”the children cry.

EVERY STORY NEEDS A MORALBesides his voice, Fortuné’s most important tool is the finger hepoints. “You too can be like Madame Kambou!” he urges his au-dience, “Whatever you do for a living: everyone can help! Yes, you!And you, and you!” His pointing finger picks out individualsamong the crowd. A European audience might find it too em-phatic. “To start with I was concerned that Fortuné was being toodramatic, moralizing too much instead of passing on informa-tion,” project leader Tilman Wörtz admits. But Fortuné just

laughed. “A story without a moral? Every story needs a moral. Atleast it does in Africa!” Nor would he give up the jabbing fingerand the shouting. “You Europeans are prudes! For Africans theseare not aggressive gestures. People want this kind of unambigu-ous clarity!”

Success proved Fortuné right. The peace shows were not on-ly played out in the villages, they were broadcast nationwide onthe radio and achieved an impact that exceeded all expectations.

In 2009 Peace Counts was presented with the Peter Becker Awardby the University of Marburg for its unconventional educationalapproach.

LOUDSPEAKERS FILL THE PLACE DE LA REPUBLIQUE WITH A BLARE OF MUSIC. A THOUSAND, MAYBE TWO THOUSAND PEOPLE BUNCH TOGETHER IN A SEMICIRCLE AROUND THE STAGE.

// 4948 \\ NEWS Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 2011

BMW TEST TUN N EL

TURNKEY SNOWSTORMSBMW’s Energy and Environmental Test Center (EVZ) in Munich has gone into operation.The new center, the largest of its kind in the world, enables BMW to simulate mountaindriving, high speeds and the effects of weather conditions and climate zones. BilfingerBerger Industrial Services constructed the test bed on a turnkey basis. The company hadpreviously built the biggest climatic wind tunnel for rail vehicles in Vienna.

FUEL TREATMENT PLANTS

ACQUISITION OF ROTRING ENGINEERINGBilfinger Berger Power Services is toacquire Rotring Engineering AG, aspecialist in fuel treatment systemsfor the power generation industryworldwide. Rotring Engineering’s ser-vices include the design, delivery andinstallation of complete systems forthe treatment of liquid and gaseousfuels. The company has an annual out-put volume of around € 30 million andis highly profitable. Bilfinger Bergergenerated an output volume of morethan € 1 billion in the Power Servicesbusiness segment last year. Activitiesin this segment are the most profit -able in the Group.

On October 15, 2010 Bilfinger Berger celebrat-ed the breakthrough at the Gotthard BaseTunnel which, at 57 kilometers, is the world’slongest rail tunnel. Together with its partnersfrom Switzerland and Italy, the company hasbeen working on the centerpiece of the newAlpine transit route since 2002. The break-through at the southern end met with hugepublic response. The Gotthard Base Tunnel isone of Europe’s most ambitious transportprojects. Trains are due to start runningthrough the tunnel in 2017.

BREAKTH ROUGH AT TH E GOTTHARD

CENTERPIECE OF THE WORLD’SLONGEST RAIL TUNNEL

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSH I P 2012

POLAND DEVELOPS MOTORWAY NETWORKA consortium headed by Bilfinger Berger Civil has received an or-der to build a 12.6 kilometer section of the new motorway ringaround Warsaw. The section will connect the international airportserving the Polish capital with the A2 highway. The project is valued at a total of € 200 million, with Bilfinger Berger’s share

amounting to € 135 million. The new road is due to enter servicebefore the European Football Championship begins in June 2012.Bilfinger Berger is also building a nine-kilometer long southernsection of the Danzig motorway ring as well as an 11-kilometerstretch of highway near Bialystok.

SWITZERLAND CELEBRATES THE GOTTHARD BREAK-THROUGH.

CLIMATIC WIND TUNNEL FOR RAILTEC ARSENAL IN VIENNA.

PPP I N CANADA

WOMEN’S HOSPITAL IN TORONTOBilfinger Berger Project Investments is todesign, finance, build and operate thenew Women’s College Hospital in Toron-to. The project foresees an investment vo-lume of € 340 million with Bilfinger Ber-ger making an equity commitment of € 27million. The concession is being awardedfor a 30-year period. Once completed, theclinic sponsored by the Health Ministry ofOntario will have the capacity to treataround 400,000 female patients per year.

NORTH SEA SERVICE

FRAMEWORK AGREEMENTSWITH STATOILBilfinger Berger Industrial Services hassigned new framework agreementswith Norwegian energy group Statoilvalued at more than € 250 million. Theagreements cover the maintenance ofoffshore production platforms andprocessing vessels in the North Sea aswell as at onshore locations in Norwayand Denmark. The contracts run for fouryears, with options to extend for a fur -ther four-year period.

SHARES SOLD I N CONCESSION PROJ ECTS

SCOPE FOR NEW COMMITMENTSBilfinger Berger Project Investments is taking on a partner in four of its 29 concessionprojects. HSBC Infrastructure will acquire half of the stakes held by Bilfinger Berger inthe Edmonton Ringroad and Kicking Horse Canyon highways in Canada and in the KentSchools project in England, and will also take an indirect 41.6 percent interest in the M80motorway project in Scotland. The price amounts to € 72 million, above the net presentvalue of the four projects as reported by Bilfinger Berger. The sale will provide the com-pany with financial scope for new commitments.

FROM POLITICS TO BUSI N ESS

ROLAND KOCH TO BECOMECHIEF EXECUTIVE

Roland Koch, the former Premier of theState of Hesse, is to succeed HerbertBodner as Chairman of the ExecutiveBoard of Bilfinger Berger SE. Koch joinsthe Board on March 1, 2011 and will takeover the chairmanship with effect fromJuly 1 when Herbert Bodner retires afterfourteen years as a Board member,twelve of them as Chairman. RolandKoch expressed his pleasure at his fu -ture task, saying “Bilfinger Berger is apremium address in the German busi-ness world and one of the most dynam -ic companies I know.”

KICKING HORSE CANYONHIGHWAY, CANADA.

ROLAND KOCH TO TAKE THE HELM.

BI LFI NGER BERGER GOES EUROPEAN

TRANSFORMATION TO “SE”Since October 2010 Bilfinger Berger is nolonger just a German company by name,but a European one: The company nowtrades as an SE (Societas Europaea). Thetransformation reflects Bilfinger Ber-ger’s strong growth in Europe and servesas an outward indication of the compa-ny’s European sense of identity. The Su-pervisory Board of Bilfinger Berger SE iscomprised of twelve members. Dr. h. c.Bernhard Walter is the Chairman.

// 51Bilfinger Berger Magazine // 01 201150 \\ ROADS OF THE WORLD

“GOETHE LIVED HERE”The great poet Goethe is an ubiquitous pres-ence in Germany. Hundreds of high schoolsand streets carry his name, and a commem-orative plaque hangs wherever the man ofletters set foot. This is the case at Münzgasse15 in Tübingen, where a sign reads: “Goethelived here” — namely for 14 days, while on hisway to Italy, having stopped here for a visitwith Johann Friedrich Cotta, the famouspublisher of German classic literature. In1986, the groups of tourists who regularlymake a pilgrimage to Cotta’s house inspiredthe students in the adjacent dormitory tohang an equally edifying sign from one of thewindows: “Goethe puked here.” A provocationthat may just contain a kernel of truth: It is re-ported that Goethe countered his displeasureover Tübingen with long evenings in the city’svarious taverns. The spoof of the commemo-rative plaque is now better known than theoriginal, and for the city’s tour guides it oftenserves as the final highlight of their excur-sions. Through the years, however, the old ply-wood sign has suffered the perils of weatherand time, so now one of the initiators wouldlike to replace it — with one made of materi-al more befitting a commemorative plaque:Carrara marble.

B E R N D H AU S E R / T E X T / / /

H E I N Z H E I S S / P H OTO

bilfinger berger magazine 2011 # 1

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