JBT donates about € 9000  [01.07.21]

Implement projects efficiently? They can do that. Dealing with the corona blues? Not really their thing. Instead, they prefer to get active themselves and make a contribution to fighting the pandemic. Since many of the Junior Business Team's consulting projects were temporarily on hold or had to be moved to digital spaces, the students converted their vacant offices at Steckfeldstrasse 1 into a Corona test center for a good month. With great success: The offer, which was intended primarily for those on campus, attracted a large number of visitors, not only students but also citizens from the surrounding area. The student consultancy group is now planning to donate the proceeds of around €9,000 to two charitable organizations (DKMS and "Hey Alter!").

 

Studying during the day - testing in the evening: this was the daily routine of around 20 Hohenheim students from the Junior Business Team in recent weeks. In alternating shifts, they kept the test center running even on Saturday and Sunday.

The comparatively late opening hours of 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. obviously proved to be a good supplement to the existing offers of the local pharmacies: From week to week, more and more students and citizens took advantage of the offer for a free quick test in the rooms of the JBT.

 

High demand at exam times

"In the first week we carried out around 100 tests, in the second 200, and in the third around 300. The really big rush then finally came with the start of exam time," said Christian Obst from the organizational team.

Since there was uncertainty for several days as to whether or not a negative test result had to be submitted for exams, the President had sent a circular email to the examinees asking them to take a test as a precautionary measure. At the time, however, the university itself was unable to offer an on-site testing option in a hurry.

"With our testing center close to campus, we were able to fill a gap here, so to speak. In this situation, we tested quite unbureaucratically, even without an appointment. This temporarily led to somewhat longer lines, but we were able to absorb the very high demand at short notice very well in this way," said Christan Obst.

 

From idea to implementation in two weeks

It took just two weeks from the initial idea to the opening of the test center. The student organization team had a lot to manage: Developing a hygiene concept, registering with the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians, organizing training for testers, preparing rooms, procuring tests, conducting trial runs, distributing flyers...

"From our work at the JBT, we are used to familiarizing ourselves with a wide variety of topics and implementing projects in a structured manner. Of course, this experience also benefited us now with the opening of the test center. The excellent, unbureaucratic cooperation with the city of Stuttgart also made the implementation much easier," stated Christian Obst.

 

Donation for DKMS and "Hey, Alter!"

Due to declining incidence rates and lower demand, the JBT has now decided to close the project. The balance is impressive:

"For each citizen test performed, we received a lump sum of €12 from the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians. Since our association provided the office space free of charge and the students involved received only a small expense allowance, we were able to generate a profit of around €9,000 through the campaign. We would now like to donate this amount to two non-profit organizations that also made a very valuable contribution during the pandemic."

The amount is to go in equal parts to the DKMS and the "Hey, Alter" project. The Junior Business team has already been working with DKMS for several years and, among other things, regularly organizes registration campaigns for potential stem cell donors, most recently online in spring 2021. The "Hey, Alter" project provides discarded but functional laptops and tablets to school students who lack computers for remote learning.

 

Background: The Junior Business Team

The Junior Business Team (JBT) was founded in 1997 and is one of the most successful student-run business consultancies in Germany, with over 8000 consulting days completed.

The student members from the greater Stuttgart area advise companies ranging from regional craftsmen to internationally operating corporations. A certification according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2015 and constant training and further education for the members guarantee the quality for successfully completed projects.

 

Text: Leonhardmair / Translation: Neudorfer