University of Bern

How do you turn a classic university lecture into e-learning that even reaches the back row?

Introduction to Management is a compulsory course at the University of Bern.
For many students, it’s their first encounter with topics like Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Our task was to redesign exactly this CSR module — in a way that doesn’t just ask students to listen, but invites them to truly engage.
Whether they’re sitting in the lecture hall, studying on the train, or starting their day at 8 a.m. with half-open eyes.

The approach: nostalgia meets didactics — and management suddenly becomes fun

The challenge was obvious: uploading PowerPoint slides wouldn’t work.
And not every student attends lectures with the same enthusiasm or regularity.

So we started with a feeling. What happens when an e-learning experience looks and feels like back then — scribbled notebooks, handwritten notes in the margins, Pac-Man and Snake on early mobile phones? That very “old-school” feeling became the design principle. Not ironic. But warm, playful, and instantly familiar.

Combined with interactions that keep students alert rather than distracted — short videos, quizzes, real-life examples, and elements that invite participation instead of passive consumption — the result is a learning format that feels like a throwback and works in a thoroughly modern way.

Why it works

Because it doesn’t feel like a lecture.
It feels like a learning moment — engaging, activating, and memorable.

Design with a wink

• Doodles, sticky notes, game references

• Nostalgic, yet clean

• Familiar, yet fresh

Interactivity with purpose

• Videos to anchor theory

• Quizzes to support knowledge transfer

• Real-world examples that make CSR tangible instead of abstract

Didactic structure instead of slide overload

• Clear lessons

• Small learning steps

• A logical narrative that guides students through the topic

The combination of nostalgia and modern didactics ensures that even complex CSR concepts are understood intuitively — and actually stick.

The outcome

Students don’t just learn what Corporate Social Responsibility means.
They experience why it matters — for businesses, for society, and for their own future role in management. The e-learning complements the lecture perfectly, but also works as a standalone module. Ideal for blended learning. Ideal for flexible study routines. Ideal for a university that continues to rethink teaching.

About the client

The Institute of Organisation and Human Resource Management at the University of Bern, led by Andreas Hack, stands for modern, engaging management education.

Professor Hack easily captivates students at 8 a.m. in the lecture hall.
With this e-learning, he demonstrates once again that great teaching isn’t bound to time or place — but to curiosity, humour, and strong didactic design.