A company analysis can not only be entertaining, it can even be film material. That was made clear by the young participants at Videoblogger Economics, the new video competition of business@school, the educational initiative of the international management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Yesterday, the winners were awarded in Munich.

And the winner is Videoblogger Economics! As part of the formal award ceremony, the first winners of the new video competition were honored in Munich yesterday. Students from all types of schools submitted videos; the four winning teams and the winner of the Audience Award have now been awarded. Their creative approach to business issues excited the judges and the online community. From self-animated explainer videos to detailed analyses to real movie dramas, the spectrum was wide. In addition, one teacher received the Teacher Award for her participation with a class of refugees.

Acquiring both business know-how and skills in handling digitalization is becoming increasingly important for students. They should be able to understand, analyze, and assess business topics. In addition, they are expected to be able to work productively with new media and critically evaluate information.

In order to bridge the gap between business and digital know-how, the educational initiative business@school launched the Videoblogger Economics video competition. It provides an opportunity for students from all types of schools between the ages of 14 and 20 to select one of four companies, analyze the reasons for its success and failures as well as risks, and present their results in four-minute videos.

Carsten Kratz, Managing Director Germany and Senior Partner, Boston Consulting Group, emphasized the innovation of the video competition: "Top management at companies doesn't always have an easy time with the accelerated change stemming from digitization. Students today are growing up with it and are at home in the digital world. In their videos, the students explain how they imagine business in the future. Excitingly wrapped in dramatic scenes, creative news reports, or as a self-animated explainer video. They're as diverse as their makers. Because the students come from different regions in Germany, they have different cultural roots and religious backgrounds, and attend different types of schools. When young people come together with such diverse backgrounds, interests, and capabilities, innovation is the result. Even established companies can learn from that."

The winners in the four competitive categories:

Georg Banten, Julius König (both 17), Erzbischöfliche Liebfrauenschule, Cologne

Lisa Gaffron (15), Alexander Kraus (16), Arian Rashidi (16), Ann-Kathrine Ratajczyk (16), and Jenny Wu (15), Kaiser-Wilhelm- und Ratsgymnasium, Hanover

Philipp Jung (18), Niclas Kern (17), Finn Schlei (16), Thomas Sossna (17), Erzbischöfliches Irmgardis-Gymnasium, Cologne

Dennis Gajdek, Nils Wilken (beide 17), Gymnasium Nieder-Olm, Nieder-Olm

Audience Award presented

In addition to four company awards, the Audience Award was also presented at the award ceremony. Between September 12 and 19, all website visitors were called upon to vote for one of the ten nominated videos. It was neck and neck, but the submission about the fashion company Esprit by Jasmin Daghfous, Laura Fiorentino, Laisa Helmers, Nele Laumann, Julia Schlese und Svea Weers (all 16) from Immanuel-Kant-Gymnasium school in Münster won the Audience Award. In their explainer video, the students touch on difficult aspects like profit slumps and give tips on how Esprit can wow a young audience.

Sabine Eckhardt, Chief Commercial Officer, ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE, handed over the award. In her speech honoring the girls, she underscored: "Building up digital competence can't begin soon enough and should definitely be an integral part of the curriculum at school. All the more reason for us at ProSiebenSat.1 to be pleased about this award that bridges the gap between business topics and motion picture, which we enthusiastically and actively support." She awarded the winners with a trip to Berlin including a visit at Studio71 and a meeting with YouTuber JANAklar.

Teams from the following schools were in the online vote:

For her participation in the competition with an international focus class, Barbara Stieldorf was presented with the Teacher Award. The 38-year-old teacher at Max-Weber-Berufskolleg in Düsseldorf teaches students who are new in Germany and are primarily learning the German language. In addition, the curriculum includes general economics, German, English, mathematics, and politics. 

Barbara Stieldorf participated in the competition with ten students during a project week before summer break, with lots of personal commitment and enthusiasm. During her studies as a teacher, she carried out projects on e‑learning; her love of all things digital and new, exciting projects hasn't waned. Her group created videos on Esprit and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. For her, more important than the result was the learning process for the students: They practiced teamwork, dealing with feedback, objective argumentation, and implementing suggestions for improvement. Skills that are just as critical to integration as learning the language, according to Barbara Stieldorf.