Botho University Master of Business Administration (MBA) student and Senior Branch Manager at Access Bank, Ms Kehumile Otukile, embarked on a research visit at BU partner university, Baden-Wuerttemberg Cooperative State University (DHBW), Heidenheim Campus in Germany. Ms Otukile’s research focused on Digital Banking Platforms in German Banks – a comparative study with Botswana.
As a visiting student researcher, Ms Otukile got an opportunity to work with prominent Professor Sabine Moebs’ research group. The research visit was funded by the REK – Short-term Scholarship by Baden-Wuerttemberg Stiftung and the research network FIRE (Female International Research).
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academics & Quality), Dr Ivy Rose Mathew said, “ BU is a member of the FIRE research network, which consists of members from Germany, Southern Africa, and Eastern Africa. The network aims to increase research visibility. FIRE facilitates cooperative and interdisciplinary research through structured exchanges and is focusing on increasing the number of female researchers and their scientific output.’’
Ms Otukile shared that the exchange enriched her experience as a student and meeting diverse people as well as making new friends, differences in teaching and learning, research and industry abroad. She notes that her key learnings include: the cooperation between Fintech and banks in Germany is driven by the utilization of resources that each party possesses, such that banks gain from the injection of innovative technologies whilst FinTech’s companies gain market entry, increase their profits and can develop new products.
