Industry collaboration from day one: Fabien opens the door to B&O
At AU Herning, new bachelor’s students are introduced to the local business community from the very start. Assistant Professor Fabien Rezac has developed a close collaboration with Bang & Olufsen, giving students the chance to work on real business challenges in their very first semester.
When new bachelor’s students begin the Economics and Business Administration programme at Aarhus University in Herning, it is only a matter of weeks before they get to put theory into practice beyond the lecture hall. Their destination is Struer, where Bang & Olufsen welcomes them for a full day of business challenges, a company tour and hands-on case work.
The person behind the first-semester initiative is Fabien Rezac. For him, the collaboration is about far more than an interesting company visit.
“For new students who may have travelled here from the other side of the world, the first semester is about working out whether they feel they belong. My job is not simply to teach models, but to help them make the transition to university and spark their curiosity. I want to show them that there are exciting opportunities and companies right on their doorstep,” he explains.
A winding road to the lecture hall
He grew up in the Czech border town of Aš, played in a punk band, dropped out of his first degree programme in Prague and spent some time working as a gardener in Manchester. As a young man, he lacked both direction and confidence, but gradually found his footing and went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in Scotland.
During a Christmas visit to his hometown, he met his now wife, Diana, and the couple later decided to move to Denmark. She was accepted onto a design programme at VIA, while he enrolled on the master’s programme in Marketing and Business Innovation at AU Herning.
He went on to pursue a PhD at AU Herning as well and spent an extended research period at the University of Oxford. He then returned, submitted his dissertation and was appointed assistant professor in organisation and management.
He draws actively on his own experience of feeling unsure about his direction when working with new students:
“I want to give them a safe space where it is okay to make mistakes. The aim is to bring out the best in every student, whatever their starting point, as long as they are willing to put in the effort. They may not have been drafted into the NBA, but we play as if they have,” he says.
That same approach also shapes the collaboration he has built with B&O.
From five companies to one close collaboration
When Fabien took over the Business Development Project course, students worked with five different companies. He soon realised they would gain more from focusing on one company and getting to know it properly.
Through previous teaching at the department, he was already in contact with Bang & Olufsen in Struer. The company was keen to raise its profile among young people and give them a clearer sense of what the brand stands for. At the same time, it was important to Fabien that the collaboration created value for everyone involved.
“A partnership should never be a favour from the company. Businesses have their own goals, and as a university we need to understand what we bring to the table. If a collaboration is to have a lasting impact, it needs to be transparent and create genuine value for both sides,” he explains.
After the initial visit to Struer, the students continue working in groups for several weeks. The project concludes on campus in Herning, where representatives from Bang & Olufsen listen to the students’ presentations and provide direct feedback on their recommendations.
The assignment is based on real business challenges within areas such as branding, sustainability and business development. For example, students have explored how B&O might use hotels as showrooms, and how the company could evolve from a traditional design brand into a modern experience-led brand.
Bringing learning to life
For Fabien, the collaboration with Bang & Olufsen is a clear example of what makes AU Herning stand out. The students do more than simply visit the company. They spend several weeks working on its challenges and present their recommendations directly to the people who deal with them in their day-to-day work.
“Close links with the business community are one of the pillars of our department. In many ways, it is why we are here. For a global company to open its doors in this way to brand-new bachelor’s students is quite unique. And from day one, it shows students how they can apply what they learn in the real world.”