An optimal combination of theory and practice

Gustav Lobeda is enrolled in a dual study course. As an up-and-comng logistics manager, he has found exactly the kind of practice he needs for his studies at HHLA.

Gustav Lobeda und Jonathan Heffels auf der Bühne beim ITS Weltkongress in Hamburg.

This is not how Gustav Lobeda (20) imagined the turn of the year from 2021 to 2022. On New Year’s Eve, he was sitting alone in a room in a quarantine hotel, looking at the skyscrapers of Hong Kong. But as a dual student at HHLA, he wouldn’t have had it any other way. For his semester abroad, he chose Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. However, to enter the Chinese special administrative zone of Hong Kong, visitors must spend three weeks in strictly monitored quarantine immediately upon arrival. “I’ll manage it all right,” says Lobeda in a Teams chat. “I brought a lot of work with me and get some exercise every day.”

Lobeda and his friend Jonathan Heffels, another dual student at HHLA, have come to terms with the three-week restrictions; once they’re over, they’ll get to study for five months in an international metropolis that’s home to one of the biggest ports in the world. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that HHLA has made possible for the junior staff members.

Theory alone wouldn’t have been my thing. And the Port of Hamburg is fascinating, even from a distance. Now that I work directly with the containers and ships, it’s even more exciting.

Gustav Lobeda, dual student

The “Logistics Management” dual study course at the Hamburg School of Business Administration (HSBA) is one of the subject fields that HHLA offers.

Students complete the practical part of the dual study course at HHLA; for Gustav Lobeda, this was the deciding factor. “Theory alone wouldn’t have been my thing. And the Port of Hamburg is fascinating, even from a distance. Now that I work directly with the containers and ships, it’s even more exciting.”

Volunteering is essential for social cohesion and for strengthening democratic values and behaviour. Therefore, HHLA deepened its cooperation in 2021 with the Evangelische Stiftung Alsterdorf (ESA), which offers assistance, residential and educational services for people with disabilities as well as for children and young people.

Lobeda, a native of Greifswald, started his studies in Hamburg in 2020. It takes six semesters to complete a Bachelor of Science. Between the blocks of theory classes, Lobeda rode in a freight train to the Czech border and shadowed his Metrans colleagues at the rail terminal in Prague. During his time in Container Sales, he put together a daily newsletter about market trends. And he won a prize.

Lobeda took part in a hackathon with three other HSBA students. They invested a whole weekend in working non-stop on a given question. The prospective logistics managers had to figure out how to reduce queues of trucks in the Port of Hamburg.

They then presented their solution at the ITS World Congress in Hamburg, as one of six teams selected to attend. At the trade fair for intelligent transport systems, the best projects were chosen by the amount of applause they received from visitors. Lobeda and Heffels and the HSBA team were presented with a promotional award.

Gustav Lobeda very much appreciates this variety in his daily study routine. It has only one small disadvantage: he hasn’t been able to decide what he wants to do at HHLA once he finishes. Fortunately, he still has some time to find a role that fits his diverse talents in the large HHLA Group.

Published 02/2022

Curious about us?

They have a lot to say – from the port, from the past, from their day-to-day work or from abroad.