Teaching

Teaching Interests

Core teaching areas: international business, global strategy, organizational design

I have taught courses and supervised theses in international business and global strategy at undergraduate and graduate levels. My general teaching approach is driven by the belief that students learn best when they are encouraged to actively engage and participate in the classroom. Especially in times of distance learning, I make use of the flipped classroom approach to discuss readings, case studies, and recent business events in great detail. The interactive format of my classes pushes students to think more critically about taught concepts and develop innovative solution approaches to business problems. In order to provide students with the best possible learning experience, I combine insights from academic research and practice so that students are able to apply acquired theoretical key concepts and frameworks to real-life business cases. In addition to conveying those method skills, I am fully committed to impart self-competence and social competence skills in my classes. Hence, my courses facilitate a combination of different, complementary types of teaching and assessment methods to create a holistic learning experience for students. I am especially committed to providing detailed feedback on student assignments, as I believe that I can have a positive effect on many of my students by offering individual feedback. Students highly appreciate this teaching approach and often express their gratitude for my constructive feedback. Being part of the students’ learning progress and preparing them for their future careers is what really motivates me in my teaching.

For more information, please download my teaching statement.

Teaching Cases

Schmitt, J., & Nell, P. C. Robert Bosch Power Tools: Regional Headquarters Structure for Eastern Europe and Middle East (published via Ivey Publishing, Part A and Part B).

Schmitt, J., & Nell, P. C. Transformation at Starwood: Becoming a truly global company (in preparation).

Graduate Teaching

Theories of International Business (lecture to 1st-year Master students), University of Amsterdam (UvA)

  • Winter 2022

Globalisation and Offshoring (lecture and seminar to 1st-year Master students), University of Amsterdam (UvA)

  • Summer 2022

Research Foundations & Thesis Proposal in International Business (seminar to 1st-year Master students), University of Amsterdam (UvA)

  • Summer 2022

International Business Project (supervision of a consulting project with 2nd-year Master students), WU Vienna

  • Summer 2019: "The wisdom of the crowd? How to best balance alignment and common understanding with crowd collected market data in strategic planning" in collaboration with ABB: Instructor ratings = 4.80/5; General impression = 4.58/5

  • Summer 2018: "Defining a Rulebook to Improve the Sales Performance" in collaboration with ABB: Instructor ratings = 4.67/5; General impression = 4.49/5

  • Summer 2017: "Future Leaders’ Ignorance about Emerging Markets" in collaboration with the Gapminder Foundation: Ranked among top 10 best business projects of all 30 CEMS schools worldwide [no student evaluation available]

Global Strategic Management (Master-level core course – Teaching assistant of Phillip C. Nell), WU Vienna: Winter 2016

Undergraduate Teaching

International Business (lecture and seminar to 2nd-year Bachelor students), University of Amsterdam (UvA)

  • Summer 2022

International Business Applications (seminar to 2nd-year Bachelor students), WU Vienna

  • Summer 2021: Instructor ratings = 4.94/5; General impression = 4.71/5

  • Winter 2020: Instructor ratings = 4.75/5; General impression = 4.95/5

  • Summer 2020: Instructor ratings = 4.41/5; General impression = 4.49/5

  • Winter 2018: Instructor ratings = 4.86/5; General impression = 4.60/5

  • Summer 2018: Instructor ratings = 4.97/5; General impression = 4.83/5

  • Winter 2017: Instructor ratings = 4.94/5; General impression = 4.62/5

  • Summer 2017: Instructor ratings = 4.90/5; General impression = 4.79/5

Student Feedback

  • “I enjoyed Jan’s course and I believe it has been one of the most valuable professional and academic experiences I had so far.”

  • “Overall, Jan was one of the best instructors I have had so far and his class was one of my best experiences at WU.”

  • “I really liked the well-thought and detailed feedback Jan gave us after every presentation. He was critical and motivating at the same time.”

  • “I was particularly surprised and impressed by Jan’s detailed and very constructive feedback on the presentations.”

  • “Jan was a great instructor and we learned a great deal in his class.”

  • “Great instructor – gives detailed feedback and also tries to improve himself. Comfortable atmosphere during the lessons.”

  • “Jan is by far the most involved professor I ever had regarding the response time on questions, grading, etc.”

  • “Jan was always willing to help and really cares about the progress of his students.”

  • "I really like Jan’s way of explaining and giving feedback. I do feel like he cares about our improvement and he gives feedbacks for us to get better and better."

  • “Despite the current COVID crisis and the new online setup, the course was very well-structured (it seemed like the instructor has done something like this before). Jan provided additional readings and material to requested topics.”

Thesis Supervision

Supervision of more than 50 bachelor's and 20 master's theses on various topics including:

  • The Role of Contemporary Headquarters in Multinational Corporations

  • Corporate Headquarters’ Role in Building a Sustainable and Responsible Business

  • Multinational Corporations' Hierarchical Complexities and its Impact on Organizations

  • Orchestrating Organizations through the “New Normal”

  • Foreign Divestment Decisions in International Business

  • Location Choices of Multinational Corporations

  • The Impact of Top Managers on Firm Location Choices

  • The Impact of Brexit on HQ Relocations

  • The Impact of Digitalization on Future Headquarters