(openPR) Yang Song, 27, from China, was awarded the EUR 1,000 endowed prize of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) during the 2017 HHL graduation ceremony in Leipzig/Germany.
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Once again, a graduate of HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management has happily received the award as the best foreign student. Today (Saturday, August 26, 2017), Yang Song, 27, from China, was awarded the EUR 1,000 endowed prize of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) during the graduation ceremony.
Only 230 out of the approximately 320,000 foreign students in Germany received the award this year. It is given to students from abroad who are enrolled at a German university and who stand out due to their excellent academic performance and their social or intercultural commitment.
"Talented students are very welcome here and we are happy when they study successfully with us. The DAAD Award acknowledges outstanding achievement. I am pleased that we can enable universities such as HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management to attract international talent with our DAAD program," says Prof. Dr. Margret Wintermantel, the DAAD President.
In the following interview, the prizewinner talks about her MBA from HHL and about her career perspective.
? Why did you decide to study a management program abroad in Germany? Why did you choose HHL?
! I have a finance background. But for me, the MBA program differs a lot from a pure finance program because you must think of the big picture and learn the decision-making process from a manager’s perspective. Furthermore, you have a lot of intensive group work with people from diversified cultural and country-specific backgrounds. I thought that a management program would be a great add on-to my post-graduate expertise.
Germany is a new challenge for me and nearly all my fellow students. Most of us have never worked or studied in Germany before; the whole environment, the language, the study system and even the grading system were new to us in the beginning.
The teaching quality and the reasonable tuition fees lead to a very good reputation of all German business schools, in general. HHL was referred to me by a friend of mine. She had already successfully completed her MBA and shared her experiences with me. I believed this would be a great journey and then decided to apply.
? What conclusions can you draw from your time at HHL?
! It was absolutely worth it, from two perspectives. On the one hand, we have experienced a lot from the intensive courses and expanded our expertise. On the other hand, there is no better experience than to work and become friends with people from so many different countries, which was a fruitful journey for all of us.
? How did you finance your studies? Did you have any support?
! Fortunately, I got scholarships from HHL and DAAD. But the majority was still financed on my own. Plus, during my studies at HHL I worked part-time in a local company, whose founder is a HHL alumnus.
? Did you do any extra-curricular activities during your MBA program at HHL beside your part-time job?
! I’ve also participated in some business contests, hold by Accenture, by a national negotiation challenge and by a supply chain challenge in the Netherlands. These were quite intensive because you have to finish the tasks in a short period of time with a group of people. All of them were great challenges and we’ve learnt a lot. Thereby, I really benefited from the widespread HHL network.
? How have you perceived the city of Leipzig?
! Before I joined HHL, I spent one month in a local language school in Leipzig. Our lecturers showed us around the city and taught us the history of the city, which was quite interesting. Even though Leipzig is quite small compared to my home town in China, it is a very historical and livable place for people all ages.
? What is your personal perspective on the Germans and did your opinions of them change during your studies in Leipzig?
! The people are not quite different from what I imagined before I came to Germany. The Germans are always polite and, especially at the beginning, they keep the distance between each other. From my perception, it is their way of keeping themselves professional and comfortable at the same time. Germans need some more time before entering a friendship. All my German classmates are very friendly and work hard on the group projects and share their point of view on different things. At work, my German colleagues are all willing to teach me something and to share their experiences, too.
? What was your profession before your studies at HHL?
! Before the MBA program, I used to work in a bank.
? Which career perspectives do you have? What are your next plans?
! After my lecture, I’ll start an internship at the financed-related M&A (mergers and acquisitions) department at the chemical/pharmaceutical company Bayer at their headquarters in Leverkusen. This field is where I wanted to work for a long time. Five years ago, as a freshly graduated master student, I just had limited options. At that point, you lack experience, expertise and market sense. Thus, you sometimes have to make compromises in your career path. In my opinion, the whole MBA program is a whole different story, because now we have much more experience, knowledge and skills than before and we have equipped ourselves for the future challenges. It is the right time for us to take the career path that we desire without making any compromises. We believe that we have the right to do so. I really want to enter this field; thus, I am willing to start at the entry level but I will stick with it.
HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management
HHL is a university-level institution and ranks amongst the leading international business schools. The goal of the oldest business school in German-speaking Europe is to educate effective, responsible and entrepreneurially-minded leaders. HHL stands out for its excellent teaching, its clear research focus, its effective knowledge transfer into practice as well as its outstanding student services. The courses of study include full and part-time Master in Management as well as MBA programs, a Doctoral program and Executive Education. HHL is accredited by AACSB International.
Weitere Informationen:
- http://www.hhl.de
- http://www.daad.de
Quelle: idw
