Why did you choose the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (UniBZ)?
Having grown up in several countries I chose the UniBZ primarily due to the multilingual lecture offering. I have not yet encountered a university where a degree course is entirely taught in three languages, including exams. This is something incredibly unique and should remain the university’s distinctive feature. On top of that, there were other reasons such as quality of lectures and lecturers, course offering, and, of course, the stunning surroundings.

Why did you choose to study Economics and Management?
The answer to this question is twofold. On the one hand I had an intrinsic interest for businesses, be it business strategy or finance. The easiest question to find out is to ask: What do I do/read in my spare time? Whereas on the other hand I asked myself the question where I would like to be in 3-4 years and what I had to do to get there. I just looked at my role models‘ CVs and found out that Economics and Management was the right thing to study.

Would you recommend the UniBZ and your course?
I certainly would: thanks to different scholarships and exchange programs I had the chance to study all together at 4 different universities/business schools in 6 different countries and found that the level of detail of the lectures and rigorousness at the UniBZ has not been topped anywhere else.
Secondly, the job market is highly competitive - to an extent that a CV filled with decent professional experience and good grades is not sufficient anymore to get a job in a great company. Students from the UniBZ Economics and Management course are able to stand out by showing sound knowledge combined with the ability to work in several languages/countries with the right cultural mindset.

What do you tell people when they ask about your experience at UniBZ? Do you have a favorite anecdote?
Stories about attending lectures in ski pants as the slopes are only 30 minutes away from the campus and the apparent 300 days of sun always attract the envious eye, especially when living in London.

What did you do after graduation and where do you work now?
After graduating I chose to further my professional experience with international internships, followed by a M.Sc. and Diplôme de Grande École at the French business school ESCP Europe. I am currently working as strategy consultant for PwC’s Deal Strategy practice in London. My role involves a mixture of advising senior management of corporates on strategic issues or opportunities (i.e. growth strategies, market entries) as well as drafting due diligence reports for private equity funds.

To which extent did the UniBZ experience prepare you for your job?
To put it in a nutshell: I think there are not too many people in my team who are able to address senior clients in 5 languages.

What will your next career steps look like?
I am currently working towards a manager promotion which I am hoping to achieve within a year‘s time. I have two or three plans for what could happen after that, one of them is to spend one/two years outside Europe to gain further experience in fast growing countries in Asia or South America.
The best is to always have a plan, but to be willing to adapt it if better opportunities arise – and: don’t take “no” as an answer but rather as a challenge!