Florian Prößl

Year of Graduation

I graduated in 2017.

Which company are you working for at the moment and what is your position/ your Master’s program at the moment?

I am working as a sales strategist for the automotive supplier Bocar Group in Mexico-City, where I analyze mobility trends (electric, autonomous, connected and shared) and their implications for the Bocar Group.

Which technical specialization did you take during your IBT studies?

Mechanical Engineering

Where did you take your mandatory internship during your studies?

I have completed my internship at the BMW Group in Munich within the purchasing area of lightweight casting parts, where I was involved in the procurement process for electric vehicles and the development of the area’s supply chain strategy.

What did you like about your International Business and Technology studies in particular?

Before I decided to go to university, I worked about 5 years (incl. apprenticeship) as an industrial clerk for Pilkington AG, an international glass manufacturer. This experience has taught me that in an increasingly complex and globalized working environment, it is essential to demonstrate profound economical, but also adequate technical knowledge; ideally complemented by English linguistic skills. This is what I was looking for, when searching for a bachelor study program.

The Technische Hochschule Nürnberg Georg Simon Ohm provides exactly these key attributes in its unique bachelor’s degree course “International Business and Technology”. You develop several areas of competence, you can choose between three different technical study subjects (according to your needs) and the majority of lectures are taught in English.

Besides, I fondly remember the international environment of this study program, with fellow students from all over the world. This allowed me to grow personally, become more open-minded and appreciate different point of views from people of diverse background and cultures.

Did your studies prepare you well for your first job after graduation/ for your Master‘s program?

Yes, absolutely. As I mentioned, in today’s and tomorrow’s world, more and more companies are looking for the attributes that the International Business and Technology studies offer. Be it at BMW or at Bocar Group, the IBT study program was highly regarded when I applied for those companies. During your studies, you develop several areas of competence, not only hard skills but also soft skills, that are required to successfully start your professional career.

Do you have any recommendations for future International Business and Technology students?

Enjoy your time and all the freedom that a student life brings with it. Don’t be afraid of upcoming obstacles. Be disciplined and attend your courses on a daily basis, then you are well prepared for all the challenges that you will encounter during your studies. I also recommend gathering as much experiences abroad as possible. Being in a foreign country, separated from your familiar surroundings, are the moments where you learn about your personal skills and strength profile and surpass yourself.

To finish off with a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: “Nothing worth having comes easy.”

Jennifer Mitchell

Year of Graduation
I graduated in 2018

Which company are you working for at the moment and what is your position/ your Master’s program at the moment?

I will study the master program "Internationale Wirtschaftsinformatik/ International Informational Systems" at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg starting October 2018 and be employed as a working student.

Which technical specialization did you take during your IBT studies?
My technical specialization was Electrical Engineering.

Where did you take your mandatory internship during your studies?
At Diehl Defence in Quality Management.

What did you like about your International Business and Technology studies in particular?
What I particularly find interesting about International Business and Technology is that the study program is partly offered in English and covers both the fields of Engineering and Business. Furthermore, you are well prepared for an international environment because you get to know people from different countries.

Did your studies prepare you well for your first job after graduation/ for your Master‘s program?
I am confident that the program has prepared me well for the next step in my career because it is international and broad-based.

Do you have any recommendations for future International Business and Technology students?
- Have an interest in business and technology
- Strong affinity towards engineering
- Be open-minded for new ideas

Shahrokh Kananizadeh

Year of Graduation
2017

Which company are you working for at the moment and what is your position/ your Master’s program at the moment?
I started as a Junior Product Manager at Electrolux. Now I am employed as a Product Manager at Panasonic Automotive & Industrial Systems Europe GmbH

Which technical specialization did you take during your IBT studies?
Electrical Engineering

Where did you take your mandatory internship during your studies?
Electrolux (Nuremberg)

What did you like about your International Business and Technology studies in particular?
The Program was quite dynamic and there were many interactions between colleagues and professors which helped us improve our soft skills in addition to the technical ones.

Did your studies prepare you well for your first job after graduation/ for your Master‘s program?
Yes, the program helped me have a sophisticated approach while encountering issues at work and gave a technical perspective to solve problems.

Do you have any recommendations for future International Business and Technology students?
Yes, I suggest my fellow colleagues to try to focus on subjects at university not just as exams to pass but as projects which prepare them for their future careers. Furthermore, I recommend all to be more involved with the International Office of the school to get to know other international colleagues.

Markus Ratzesberger

Year of Graduation?
I graduated in June 2017.

Which company are you working for at the moment and what is your position?
I am currently working as a project engineer at N-ERGIE, a regional energy supplier, here in Nuremberg. I am responsible for the successful rollout of digital metering systems, all kinds of interesting pilot projects and overall the testing and evaluation of new technologies (e.g. the use of a Long-Range-Wide-Area-Network or short LoRaWAN in Nuremberg).

Which technical specialization did you take during your IBT studies?
I took mechanical engineering. In hindsight, I am personally really happy that I decided for this specialization as the lectures covered a lot of interesting topics. All three options are great and every student should take his or her time to decide which one they want to choose at the end of the second semester.

Where did you take your mandatory internship during your studies?
My internship was “my foot in the door” to my current position mentioned above. I am actually siting at the same desk now with the same colleagues since day one of my internship more than one and a half years ago. Back then my task was to test the receive level of GSM and LTE within the power supply network of N-ERGIE. I used a geo spatial analysis tool to display the different quality levels of reception that would help us decide what kind of communication technology we should use in different areas of our supply network to communicate with our digital metering systems.
 
What did you like about your International Business and Technology studies in particular?
Oh to make it short I would say I liked a lot of it. The nice atmosphere overall, the interesting topics covered in the lectures or the many new friendships made during your studies are just small parts of all the things that make this program so outstanding. I think everyone has certain expectations towards the program when they apply for it but I do not think that anyone can actually imagine the things that happen in and around the lectures. Just by being part of a group of people from all over the world with different cultural backgrounds, religions and mindsets you become a more open-minded person yourself and you learn to understand and appreciate differences between the several members of this group. IBT certainly had a big impact on my personal development and I would not want to miss any of it.
 
Did your studies prepare you well for your first job after graduation/ for your Master‘s program?
Content wise? Well, initially I wanted to build cars or planes, hence I decided for mechanical engineering as my specialization. Now I am sitting here planning the digitalization of our electric meters and dealing with digital communication and electric stuff overall. I never had a single lecture in all these topics besides the basic electrics lecture that everyone gets. Do I struggle because of that fact now? No, I do not struggle because content of the lectures is by far not everything you learn during your studies: IBT combines so many different fields of studies and students face new and completely different challenges every semester, that once you have graduated, you are basically ready to face all kinds of challenges in your future career. You learn how to adapt quickly, how to teach yourself new and unfamiliar content and most importantly to combine the ways of thinking from the perspective of a business (wo-)man as well as an engineer. I left the IBT program with a degree that made me feel prepared for everyone and anything waiting for me. And so far I managed quite well with all that electric stuff.
 
Do you have any recommendations for future International Business and Technology students?
You are interested in business topics as well as technical topics? You want to lay the foundations for a bright professional future?
IBT is not high school anymore and by far not your typical study program where you can just come to lectures once in a lifetime, learn the summary of a student from 5 semesters ago by heart, do a few old exams that you got from a friend of a friend and then somehow still pass with an acceptable grade because you could guess the multiple-choice questions. No, IBT is challenging right from the beginning and you will most certainly say at some point: “it is a lot right now”. However, what you gain from investing all this sweat and tears (no worries, just a saying…) is definitely worth the struggle: you are an engineer that knows as much about the business side as you do about the technical side. Do not underestimate that fact, as this is a big, big plus compared to your competitors on the job market.  You have gained experiences in working in an international atmosphere which is becoming a “must have” with most global players nowadays. You managed to organize yourself and you showed the stamina to overcome a variety of challenges. Once you have graduated, you are ready and a wanted job prospect. So what are you waiting for? Join the IBT program and become part of something bigger!

Daniel Demian

Year of Graduation

2015

Which company are you working for at the moment and what is your position?
I am employed by agriKomp GmbH located in Merkendorf close to Ansbach. I am a Product Marketing Manager and I am responsible for Special Projects, Foreign Market Development, Product Development and Domestic Marketing. I work together with a highly skilled team and they support me on every issue.

Which technical specialization did you take during your IBT studies?
My technical specialization was Natural Sciences (Naturwissenschaft und Technik). My special elective specialization modules were Supply Chain Management and Electrical Physics.

Where and when did you take your mandatory internship during your studies?
I took my mandatory internship at the Corporate Security Division at Mc Donald´s Germany in Munich for 6 months during semester 6 and 7. They also provided me the possibility to write my Bachelor’s thesis with Mc Donald’s.

Did your studies prepare you well for your first job after graduation?
The IBT studies, especially the intercultural and physics part, gave me a good preparation for my current job. I am now working in the renewable energy sector for the German and International market. The technical lectures and especially the course “Technologische und energietechnische Grundlagen” have built a very good foundation for a deeper understanding of this sector. I am also responsible for special projects in foreign markets in North and South America. The language education during my studies, especially Spanish lectures, gave me the necessary communication skills.