Blog: June 23th 2026 – The Last Week of the Honors Seminar 2026

Authors: Marina Corso, İbrahim Dağ

Okay, let’s be honest: What do you actually remember from a semester?

Not the slides. Not the exact wording of any theory. You remember the moment someone almost fainted. You remember the professor who unexpectedly said, “So, let’s talk about Viagra!” You recall the fictional language nobody could decipher. You think of the first aid kit that was completely empty.

For the last session of the Honors Seminar, we didn’t have a new lecture. Instead, we had sticky notes, a whiteboard, and the question: What stuck?

The Wall We Built Together

Each author group went to the front and shared what they remembered from their week. They talked about one moment, one quote, or one thing that popped into their minds weeks later. Then, everyone was asked to write down what stuck with them throughout the lectures.

Thirteen weeks. One line each. And as a conclusion:

“All weeks were very nice. 😊”

The Week Nobody Forgot

Ask anyone which session they remember most. The answer is almost always Week 4.

Prof. Feucht walked in and started with: “So, let’s talk about Viagra!” That certainly got everyone’s attention.

The actual topic was about products that failed before finding their true purpose. Post-it Notes, Bubble Wrap, Listerine, Play-Doh — these were all accidents that became part of daily life. Viagra was initially a heart medication; we all know how that story turned out.

The Emergency That Was Also the Lesson

Week 6 began with what looked like a real crisis. A student turned pale, seemed like they were about to faint, and Prof. Florian Hörmann rushed over while someone grabbed the first aid kit.

The kit was filled with empty, expired packages. Useless.

Then everyone had to discuss what just happened: what went wrong, and what needed to change in order the improve the process.

One part that drew some awkward laughs in the final session was that the kit that Florian had taken home, hadn’t been resupllied yet. Nothing had been replaced. We found another mistake.

This could be the most realistic “failing forward” moment of the whole semester. Knowing something needs to change but not changing it anyway is very human and relatable.

Five Euros

In Week 1, everyone was given a random challenge to complete before the next session. Coincidentally, the Week 7 authors all got the same challenge of asking a stranger for 5 Euros. Our Colombian student completed the challenge with ease, whereas the German students found it genuinely difficult and almost uncomfortable.

Same task. Different experiences. This result beautifully proved the point of Alisa Kasle-Henke’s session. What feels like a normal social interaction in one culture can feel mortifying in another. The “Ausfrage” discussion about the German school system showed a similar divide: Half the room had school flashbacks, while the other half wondered what the fuss was about.

What Personally Stuck With People

When everyone wrote freely, without prompts, the notes weren’t really about failure theory, they were about the big take-aways from the whole course, and they sounded more like this:

“Vulnerability is not a weakness. It takes courage to start, courage to fail, and courage to keep going.” “Learn to deal with mistakes differently and not be too hard on yourself.” “Seeing everyone make mistakes, not just me!”

At the same time, there were comments about coming together for one semester, people from all faculties and sitting at the same table, starting as strangers, finishing as friends. Thisthey sounded like this as well:

“Meeting interesting people.” “Honors highlights the power of diversity!” “Making new friends.”

Apparently, the seminar wasn’t just about failure. It was also about the people in the room. Students from different faculties, countries with diffrent perspectives who were all committed to showing up every week.

Things We’re Still Thinking About

Some questions came up that didn’t get fully resolved:

Week 6 raised the question of when a mistake stops being a mistake, and who gets to decide. Nobody had a clear answer.

Week 3 showed how personal forgiveness is, but what does it really look like in an organization, beyond just individual interactions? Systems need something more structured.

And Week 12 left perhaps the most timely question: what happens to learning when AI can provide instant answers? For this specific question we concluded, that AI such as ChatGPT can assist with tasks, but human supervision is still very much needed for good and correct results.

One Last Thing

One last thing: In the end we all agreed that attending the seminar has been anything but a mistake. We spend 13 days together, spread out throughout an entire semester – discussing, laughing, learning and yes, also making some mistakes. As a group we concluded that this seminar was more than another point on the weekly agenda. It was a place for personal growth and we can give you dear reader one final tip:

” Go to the Honors Seminar – it is a nice experience ❤️”