After closing the chapter of being an International Business Management student at CUAS, it is fairly interesting to look back, reminiscing how it all had begun. I had done my Bachelor’s in Export-oriented Management in Krems, Lower Austria, not far from my home town. I loved the small-town flair over there, but at the same time I knew that I wanted and maybe even needed to encounter new perspectives, somehow to broaden my horizon. When I told my friends and family that Villach should be the place to start this endeavor, barely any of them could follow my motivation.
However, today I look back with a smile on my face, knowing that my expectations were met, enabling me to enjoy my time at CUAS to the fullest. In my opinion, one should not underestimate the package of educational and life quality that is waiting to be experienced in this comparatively small town in the Austrian Alps. All in all, it was the lively inner city charm combined with the opportunity to escape within minutes, that made Villach a great place to spend my last years as a student.
Education-wise: The curriculum, the teaching staff, as well as the composure of our cohort – all of them were amazingly diverse but still well balanced. For instance, in our boutique-sized program of not more than 25 students, we had the pleasure to exchange thoughts between 15 different nationalities. Heading to Norway for exchange studies in the last semester made my memorable journey within this program complete.
What still should be mentioned is that all these positive experiences essentially may depend on two people. On the one side it is oneself, deciding what to make out of it. In addition to that, it is mainly up to the program director to shape this experience. As for the IBM program, I can only tell that if there is one thing one should not worry about, then it is Mr Sternad as the director and his enthusiastic way of approaching his profession.
I guess I could adapt at least parts of that enthusiasm. Converting and again spreading it, that is what I am currently intending in my new task as the Assistant to the CEO of the Rosenbauer Group, a world-market-leading, Austrian exporter of firefighting trucks and equipment. Being confronted with the creation of top-management decisions day in and out still seems a bit unreal to me. However, my time at CUAS gave me just the right fundament for further pursuing my goals within this great international company.
