ESMT Berlin

Gilles Bouman

Nationality: Dutch
Study background before ESMT: Business Administration
Internship position during the MIM/ Social Impact Project: Intern at Roland Berger in Amsterdam / Executive Team Intern at TerraCycle in Trenton, New Jersey.
Job position after graduation: Junior Consultant at Roland Berger
 
What were your personal highlights from your time at ESMT Berlin?

"ESMT provides quite an all-in experience. It is up to the student to make use of that. I particularly liked the great class diversity - cultural and educational - and the passionate discussions that it created. As the professors are all very motivated and eager to share their knowledge, the class dynamics were something so different from what I’ve experienced before. And then there is the life outside of campus which should not be forgotten; Berlin is a great city and really buzzing. As said, the all-in experience is what makes it unique."

What were your key takeaways from the MIM program?

"My main learnings at ESMT were to adapt quickly to very different surroundings and being able to deliver when needed. Especially at the beginning of the program, when you are fresh and new, I experienced that it was quite a busy time. We were dragged into group work, had to secure internships, were doing other activities on the side and had to study the course content. In hindsight I realize that it taught us how to priorities, work together and quickly create high-quality end-products. Academically, I truly enjoyed writing my thesis. It was fun doing something purely for yourself and getting to discuss your topic with your supervisor who is an expert in the field."

Did you participate in any student clubs? If so, which one and what were your tasks?

I was part of the steering committee of the DigitalFuture Summit 2018, responsible for the Corporate Relations. It was a lot of extra work but very rewarding when everything came together. A must-go for people who are considering to study at ESMT!

How have your studies at ESMT shaped your career thus far?

I secured my job during my internship, as you probably expected. In that sense, the curriculum helped me getting this job. If it wasn’t for the internship period, I probably wouldn’t have done an internship during my Master's. I feel that this is a crucial part of the MIM curriculum. You get to develop a feeling of what you truly like during the program, and you can test that by targeting an internship in an industry or company that matches that feeling. For me, this played out very well.

Any thoughts you like to share with future students?

ESMT and the MIM program offers you a very complete package to develop yourself and make a step professionally and personally. Don’t sit back and wait for it to come to you, but make use of that and absorb what you like. I think that the outcome of the program can be very different for any student. Be ambitious and willing to work hard and try to make the most out of it for yourself!

Riccardo Cocchini

Nationality: Italian/Swiss
Study background before ESMT: Business and Economics
Job position after graduation: Procurement Manager at Audi AG in Ingolstadt

What were your personal highlights from your time at ESMT Berlin?

I was enthusiastic at the hands-on approach adopted by ESMT.
Working together with fellow students from 29 different countries, international faculty and major global corporations represented a truly challenging and thrilling experience. Moderately sized classes allow for a personal one-to-one relationship with fellows, professors and staff to the benefit of a prime educational experience.

What did you learn?

Both traditional as well as entrepreneurship-oriented courses were taught in a dynamic, applied and participative fashion. This carries the benefit of not only learning subjects, but also of developing interpersonal and analytical skills.

How have your studies at ESMT shaped your career thus far?

ESMT exposes its students to an extensive network of alumni, corporations and events. This allows candidates to get insights from a variety of industries and business practices, thus connecting with those which raise one's interest the most.
The program structure was co-designed with prominent corporations and aims at developing candidates as individuals, not only as students, making in this way a MIM curriculum particularly attractive to potential first-class employers.

Geng GENG (耿耿)

Nationality: Chinese
Study background before ESMT: Financial Management
Job position after graduation: Graduate Program at Allianz in Munich, Germany

What did you like about ESMT?

"The best part of my experience in Berlin was the ESMT team. They were always available and helped us students out in case of any confusions or challenges, which I sincerely appreciated.“

What did you learn?

“The investment industry is looking for determined, adaptive and professional talent, and the ESMT Berlin MIM helped me to develop these required qualifications. The courses focus on how to learn quickly and independently and include soft skills workshops, which taught me how to interact more professionally."

How have your studies at ESMT shaped your career thus far?

"The Career Services team at ESMT provided me with the support and methodologies to set my career goals and to specify my interests. These features helped me to successfully stand out among 250 applicants for the position to which I applied: So here I am now, working in the graduate program at Allianz Investment Management!"

Geng Geng - Master’s in Management Alumna

Funda Kirezci

Nationality: Turkish
Study background before ESMT: Chemical Engineering
Job position after graduation: Merchandise Planning Assistant in Category Management at Zalando in Berlin

Watch the video:

Funda Kirezci - Master’s in Management Alumna (video)

Kateryna Malysheva

Nationality: Ukrainian
Study background before ESMT: Economics
Job position after graduation: Energy Consultant at PwC in Munich

What did you like about ESMT?

"I enjoyed working in intercultural teams throughout the program. I am also convinced that the workload and time pressure, which we underwent during the modules, perfectly prepared us for the real working life."

How have your studies at ESMT shaped your career thus far?

“Every bit of the MIM program contributed to my successful career transition. I think "conventional" universities do not put enough emphasis on the training of the soft skills, and this is something that ESMT is really good at. I acquired field expertise during my internship at Apricum, a boutique consultancy for the renewables based in Berlin. I perfected my analytical skills during the Value Chain Analytics specialization, and I applied all the knowledge learned during the social impact project with Deloitte. The MIM program equipped me with all the necessary skills and experiences to qualify for the position of a Business Consultant in the energy industry at Pricewaterhouse Coopers.”

Kateryna Malysheva - Master’s in Management Alumna

Fabio Minnei

Nationality: Italian
Study background before ESMT: Economics and Business Administration
Internship position during the MIM/ Social Impact Project: Financial Reporting Intern
Job position after graduation: Financial Analyst at Daimler Financial Services, Stuttgart

What were your personal highlights from your time at ESMT Berlin?

"The whole master program was very well structured and designed. Moreover, you really get the full package: a great atmosphere, experienced professors, ambitious students, strong connections with corporates, modern facilities and a friendly staff. I can’t just emphasize one or few aspects, because it’s only when you combine all of them that you can get such a great outcome."

What were your key takeaways from the MIM program?

"Aside of all the high-level academic courses, what I consider really valuable were the improvements I made in dealing with stress, time-management, and group conflict resolution. Due to the fast-paced modules, with the help of various development skills sessions, I was able to improve my attitude towards issues as well as the management of divergent opinions in order to get the job done."

Did you participate in any student clubs? If so, which one and what were your tasks?

"I was responsible for the Finance workstream of the DigitalFuture Summit 2018. My colleagues and I put a lot of work and passion into this conference and I am proud of what we have achieved. I am confident that the DigitalFuture summit will become an important “trademark” for ESMT that will get more and more popular year after year."

How have your studies at ESMT shaped your career thus far?

"The strong connection between ESMT career services and Daimler Financial Services is the main reason why I am currently working there. After I did my Internship in the Financial Reporting Group department I continued as a working student and afterwards as a Financial Analyst. A big credit goes of course to the colleagues who started before me and left a good impression at Daimler. Every year more and more colleagues from ESMT join Daimler for an internship and later for a full time position. This clearly shows how well the good work of ESMT students is regarded from corporates."

Any thoughts you like to share with future students?

"ESMT has a lot to offer to its students, more than is actually feasible to do, due to time constraints. If you optimistically look forward to a great experience and you’re hard-working and ambitious, you will definitely get the best out of it!"

Matida Ndlovu

Nationality: Zimbabwean
Study background before ESMT: Electrical Engineering & IT
Job position after graduation: ESMT Responsible Leaders Fellow at AfriLabs Foundation

Watch the video:

Matida Ndlovu - Master’s in Management Alumna (video)

Ognjen Obucina

Nationality: Serbian/British
Study background before ESMT: Foreign Trade & Economics
Job position after graduation: Junior Consultant at Full Circle Consulting

What did you like about ESMT?

"The diversity at ESMT Berlin is what drew me to the school in the first place. Learning how people from all over the world think and solve problems was truly eye opening. Second, the program is punishing and demanding. This turned out to be extremely positive, as it taught me how to prioritize when balancing multiple projects at once and how to work under pressure."

What did you learn?

"Everything I learned at ESMT Berlin has turned out to be useful one way or another. Beyond developing purely technical skills, I also learned how to think critically, how to act decisively and how to work - both as leaders and equal team members. I developed soft skills and emotional intelligence and this, I feel, is something that is lacking in many other schools. Personally, my biggest lesson was: Work on maximizing your strengths, rather than minimizing your weaknesses."

How have your studies at ESMT shaped your career thus far?

"ESMT Berlin showed me that no task is insurmountable and it is this newly instilled attitude that has helped me transition into the "real" world of business. I have developed an attention to detail while keeping the ability to stay focused and this has helped me launch my career as a Consultant in the Oil & Gas Industry."

Nelly Ogonda

Nationality: Kenyan (Kofi Annan Fellow)
Study background before ESMT: Mathematics
Job position after graduation: Graduate Rotational Program at RBC Luxembourg (Royal Bank of Canada Investor and Treasury Services)

What did you like about ESMT?

“ESMT Berlin is an amazing, fun and vibrant place to study. The learning experience during the MIM program was very practical. The school strives to link theory gained in class to real life business problems through class simulations and internships."

What did you learn?

"The courses focus on developing strong business fundamentals and training students to be better managers. The aim is to achieve sustainability and competitiveness in companies by considering social, environmental and economic matters in a holistic approach to handle constantly changing technologies and the challenging business world."

How have your studies at ESMT shaped your career thus far?

"The well-rounded program enriched my knowledge and skills, helped me excel during my internship at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt and at the RBC assessment center in Luxembourg where I am about to start a Graduate Rotational Program in September. The learning experience at ESMT has expanded my horizons and motivated me to strive beyond my self-imposed limitations. I have discovered my strengths and potential in areas that I had not been aware of. It was a worthy choice to study the MIM program at ESMT Berlin.”

Nelly Ogonda - Master’s in Management Alumna

Bar Schwarz

Nationality: Israeli
Study background before ESMT: Software Engineering
Job position after graduation: Product Manager at Raisin Global in Berlin

Watch the video:

Bar Schwarz - Master’s in Management Alumna (video)

Yash Shah

Nationality: Indian
Study background before ESMT: Mechanical Engineering
Job position after graduation: Product Supply Manager at Procter & Gamble in Frankfurt

What were your personal highlights from your time at ESMT Berlin?

"The thing that I liked the most about ESMT Berlin is the international learning atmosphere. The diversity of ideas and expertise coupled with the experience of the professors is certainly unique and were the highlight of my experience at ESMT. I also loved how the simulations and business cases were taught using a hands-on approach. They helped to connect theoretical knowledge with practical insights."

What did you learn?

"I learned many new things about the business world that I was oblivious of due to my earlier focus on technical studies. This helped me prepare myself to step into managerial role immediately after graduation."

How have your studies at ESMT shaped your career thus far?

"ESMT provided me business knowledge and taught me how to use a structured approach to real world business issues. As an engineer, I greatly benefited from delving deeper into the management principles behind the successes as well as the failures of MNCs. ESMT prepared me for the business world and helped me advance my career."

Ana Jagodnik Vicentic

Nationality: German, Serbian
Study background before ESMT: Management
Internship position during the MIM/ Social Impact Project: Project Management/Change Management Intern at Daimler Trucks Asia, Japan/ Developing a business plan for self-sufficient schools in Cameroon
Job position after graduation: Business Development & Sales Executive at CyNation

What were your personal highlights from your time at ESMT Berlin?

The time at ESMT created so many stories to tell. Spending time with people from all around the world, from so many different cultures is like a school on its own. It makes you go crazy sometimes, but then you figure out that every single person can contribute something that you cannot. You get challenged on a continuous basis and you need to step out of your comfort zone every day; and then don’t forget Berlin – that’s a challenge on its own. It seriously never gets boring!

What were your key takeaways from the MIM program?

Having classes almost all day long, having to work on projects and case studies afterwards, and then not to forget the extracurricular activities – you are just forced to learn good time management and learn to prioritise certain things. Then you add the internship and the social impact project on top and that’s when you start adapting to everything you get exposed to. Not to mention the diversity of the teams you work with – after some point you just realise that you have developed so many skills you never even thought of. So, it’s not only the classes, the professors and the content, it’s the full package that supports your personal and professional growth.

Did you participate in any student clubs? If so, which one and what were your tasks?

I was the vice chairman of the DigitalFuture Summit 2018 and it was definitely one of my personal highlights. Yes, it makes you work late nights and very early mornings, but at the end of the day it surely pays off – it landed me my job, for example.

How have your studies at ESMT shaped your career thus far?

Through the classes, you realise what you actually like. Then through the activities you see what you’re good at and where you still need improvement and then comes the network you build throughout those 2 years. All of that helped me secure couple of offers, and the DFS18 helped me secure the offer I finally accepted.

Any thoughts you like to share with future students?
 
Engage as much as possible at ESMT, do what you like, have fun and enjoy Berlin. Don’t overkill yourself with focusing solely on one thing, learn what is important for your future goals and prioritize everything accordingly. Don’t forget – it’s the full package that counts.