How my study in Germany prepares me for working in an international business environment

I’ve always enjoyed meeting tourists and was fascinated by their interesting cultures during my latest job in the tourism industry. Therefore, I have been dreaming about working in a multinational company where I can work with colleagues from different countries. When I searched for a study program in Germany, it was important to me that the program could provide me with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in a global business environment, including understanding global economics, cross-cultural communication, and international management practices. For that reason, International Management Studies in the Baltic Sea Region (BMS) became my final choice.

After finishing the project management subject in the 2nd semester, we already had an opportunity to practice our knowledge by working on Baltic Sea Forum (2020) project, an annual event of our faculty to facilitate the network between professors, students, and regional and foreign businesses. The forum provides various topics regarding the business environment & life in one of the countries in the Baltic Sea region. At first, I was anxious since I had never worked on an international project before. Moreover, the event, unfortunately, had to be executed online for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We had no prototype of how students from the previous courses worked on the event and needed to be creative to plan this online event from the scratch. During the projects, we worked as a team to solve the challenges together based on our ground knowledge of project management. We also received support and feedback from professors who shared their real-world experiences with us and provide valuable insights into the challenge. During this event, we learned how to:

• Work with different stakeholders in a project (reporting to the project owner and getting feedback, preparing information for sponsors, sending requests to the university to get the necessary equipment, inviting and interviewing speakers to managing relationships with audiences).
• Work independently and work in an international team in person and online.
• Execute a project (organization, time management, risk management, etc.)
• Use other programs to manage events and create materials.

I was impressed by how many new skills I could learn in one semester and how practical a study program in Germany can be. These experiences are definitely valuable for my future career.

Furthermore, my faculty also has strong partnerships with domestic and international companies. Yearly, students in my program are able to register for domestic and/ or international trips with professors to visit companies in the host countries. In addition, our coordinators also often send out emails with internship and working student job opportunities, both from companies in Germany and outside of Germany. When I needed to apply for my internship, I also received tips and suggestions from her to improve my CV & motivation letter to make my profile more attractive to companies.

The program also includes one compulsory semester abroad which put me on a priority list when I applied for the ERASMUS+ exchange scholarship from the DAAD. During my semester abroad, I had the opportunity to meet and connect with students from all over the world. This valuable experience helped me build strong personal and professional contacts in different countries.

When I went for my semester abroad in Vilnius, I have been in Germany for 2.5 years already. I looked back at my whole journey to Germany and realized that I have changed and grown greatly. I am not as shy as before and I am more confident to work on school projects that involved international factors. For my personal life, it became easier and faster for me to make friends with students from different countries. I am grateful that my study in Germany not only prepares me for the global business environment but also is helpful for my personal development.