It promises everything: knowledge, jobs, wealth, exploration, and success. There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of hype, and a lot of media attention for the new job-oriented International Logistics Management major.

Pulseoftheworld.com sat down with one of the 23 pioneers of this new and supposedly revolutionary major to find out his point of view. Devashish Tikekar (’10), the President of the new Logistics Chain Club was kind enough to take some time to sit with us and answer some of our queries.

Why did you decide on Jacobs? My decision to apply to Jacobs — and only Jacobs, for that matter — is based on my long relationship with Germany. I have many friends living here, and before coming to Bremen for my undergraduate studies I had been to Germany twice before. In 2005 I even did an exchange semester at the Waldorf school in Freiburg. I have to say I really love the country. I have personally always had a good impression of the people and the way everything is run. I just knew that I wanted to study in Germany. Lastly, I was quite excited by the thought of being in the first incoming Jacobs University batch; I thought that was something special which I wanted to be a part of. The standard here is said to be very high and there was no reason for me not to come here. 

What was your first impression of Jacobs University? When I visited the campus, I immediately loved it. It seemed really cozy and friendly. My first feeling was that it would be very easy to feel at home here. I even met some second- and third-year students in my visit and they were just so nice and open, I was happy to imagine finding an entire university filled with such good people.

What is the thing which shocked you the most when coming here? Except for the workload, I have only had positive experiences here. I didn’t expect that. I’m so happy because people here are so exceptional and thus create this extremely friendly and very different environment where everyone is accepted. I was shocked to come here and find out that there is no fighting going on and that there are no sort of hazing rituals.  The second- and third-year students were immediately accepting, and I very quickly felt like I was not only a member of the Jacobs community, but I was a wanted addition to it. I usually want to balance out my opinions and discuss the good and the bad, but so far I am just extremely happy here.   

Why did you choose the new major International Logistics Management? I actually started off as an EECS major, but I realized that I didn’t like math, and I was very confused with what I actually wanted to study, so I also took some humanities courses. Eventually in my confusion and frustration my academic advisor introduced me to the Logistics major. I found that to be a very attractive option and so I went for it. At the moment, I’m taking all the classes to be a double major in ILE and ISS. So far it’s all right, but I’ll see how that goes.  International Logistics Engineering seemed to be perfect for me though, it’s got a bit of everything I’m interested in: economics, management, engineering and logistics. I’m very excited to also be a part of the growth of the major, as the admin is open to ideas and suggestions. 

What have you been learning in your major-specific lectures and labs? This a bit of a problem as there are five mandatory courses for Logistics this semester, two of which need to be taken over the winter break. The mandatory courses are ESM 1a, Economics – Management, General Logistics, Q and Q, and the Logistics lab. At the moment the only thing we are taking which is major-specific is General Logistics.  

I can only say good things about that course. The professor is very well reputed in the field, and he even gives lecture to the CEOs of different businesses. You can really see from his lectures that he enjoys what he’s doing and he knows what he’s talking about. The professor also encourages critical thinking and the input of new ideas. Logistics is based on the concept of the whole supply chain and the managing and the processes which go on between the raw material and the final product in the hands of the consumers. For example, we would start the chain from the raw iron ore in the earth, all the way through every molding and shaping processes from country to country and factory to factory and storage facility to shop till it reaches the every day market as a consumer product.  

Which courses do you dislike? I really do not like Math, because at the moment I do not see how it is important for what I want to do in the future. Also Q and Q — though I do not really dislike it, I also find it pointless for anything which I want to do in the future. Q and Q is not really related and you don’t see the point to it at the moment. 

Is it what you expected? Actually, for the most part things are going as I had expected. Somethings definitely still need to be worked out since it doesn’t make sense to have two of the five mandatory courses in the winter, but otherwise everything is great.

Tell me about the new ILM club which you have formed. I came up with this idea to start a club to compliment the Logistics course and support all the people in the new major. We call ourselves the “Logistics Chain,” and are sort of a class outside of classroom. If there is a question or a misunderstanding, then the club is where it will be sorted out. People give presentations on new topics beyond the course syllabus, and also people give reviews and summaries on the actual classes. Then we also discuss what is going on in the world in terms of logistics. At the moment there are 22 members of which 14 are active. Through the use of the club budget, we can access some information online which we would normally not be able to access. Also, we are planning to take trips to visit companies in the area and make ourselves known and evoke more interest in this new major and the Jacobs students in general.

Tell me about your specific workload - is it manageable? For most of the Logistics majors, I would say the workload is not really too much of a problem as a lot of work will be over the winter. However, I can not say the same thing for myself since I am hoping to attempt a double major. At the moment I’m taking 10 classes. Though the midterm period was extremely stressful, at the moment the workload is extreme but still manageable.

What's the difference between ILM and ILE? In the first year there is no difference between International Logistics Management and International Logistics Engineering. It’s only in the second and third year where there is a slight difference in the mandatory classes. Your specialization classes will either be in management or in engineering. Also in the fourth semester, when we have mandatory internship semesters, our placements will differ depending on our specializations. 

Any other thoughts? All I can say is that im very interested to see how this major will grow in popularity. We started off with 13 students and now we are 22, there are even three second-year students who switched to Logistics. I also know first-year students who are already planning to change next semester. It really has some great potential and I’m excited to be part of creating its new reputation. Jacobs is definitely the place for me.