Created 25 February 2026
Companies benefit from collaborating with students
Meet Steffen Rathcke, the CEO of DYKON, who benefits from collaborating with students from IBA.
Fresh perspectives on things. Solutions that take new directions compared to the usual.
These are the experiences of many local companies that collaborate each semester with students from IBA International Business Academy in Kolding. The companies provide one or more cases, which then become part of the teaching in IBA’s various study programs. From there, it is up to the students to apply their professional skills and contribute ideas that the companies can continue working with.
“We receive many creative ideas when we collaborate with students from IBA. They are able to look at us with fresh eyes. At the same time, they have the tools to contribute ideas that are highly relevant.”
Students solve real life cases for companies
Several times, he has collaborated with students from the Multimedia Design programme. Most recently, they had the opportunity to work on one of these cases: a new B2B LinkedIn campaign, an interactive duvet guide, or a campaign focusing on sleep tips.
“The collaboration with IBA is not an alternative to hiring a professional agency. You also shouldn’t expect the students to deliver finished products that you can use immediately. Instead, you gain new perspectives on things and hear what young people think about your product. That is extremely valuable,” explains Steffen Rathcke.
EWII's good experience with students
EWII also has positive experiences collaborating with students from IBA. Most recently, a group of IT Architecture students presented a promising solution for how handwritten sales contracts can be scanned with a mobile phone so the information is transferred directly into EWII’s internal system.
“When we collaborate with students, we hope to gain a fresh perspective on things. For us, it is always interesting when they question the way we usually do things,” says Lars Christian Jensen.