IIM SEMINAR ROOM

The Design

The IIM Seminar Room is designed in a U-shape that supports open communication. The seating rows are graded in height and enable every contributor to take part in discussions. Further, the spatial design ensures that everyone has an overview of the whole room. Excellent acoustic is the key to a great learning experience. The air-conditioned room with a capacity of 39 seats is equipped with 9 blackboards, two projectors and full video conference capabilities.

What is case study teaching?

The case study teaching method is an instructor-guided, discussion-based teaching and learning approach. The cases introduce complex and often ambiguous real-world scenarios, typically with a protagonist facing an important decision. Students receive the case before the in-class discussion and have to prepare it in a first step individually. In a second step, they are discussing the case in small learning groups of four up to six students. The most important part is the participation of the contributors in an 80 min. class discussion, guided by the instructor.

The learning experience

By practicing case studies, students advance their own learning and that of their classmates. Ideally, learning should continue after class as students reflect on the discussion and apply insights and lessons in the broader context of their academic, professional and personal lives.

Why does the Institute operate a "Harvard Room"?

During his post-doc as a visiting scholar at the Harvard Business School in Boston (1997-1999), Prof. Christian Ramsauer experienced the power of the case study method in the MBA program. Encouraged by Harvard Business School Prof. Stefan Thomke, he introduced the case study method as the main teaching method when he became a professor in 2011. After two years of construction work, Prof. Stefan Thomke visited the institute and opened the new room, teaching the “Apple” case in 2015. The case study teaching method was introduced at the Law School of Harvard University in 1870 and the Business School followed 50 years later. Nowadays, HBS is the world’s largest publisher of case studies, selling them all over the globe.

“Excellent acoustics and spatial organization of a room is half the success of the Harvard case study teaching method. Time in the classroom should be characterized by an atmosphere that can be translated directly into real life.”

Prof. Stefan Thomke,
Harvard Business School