«Without my Master’s degree I would have never made it to here»
Adela Calin
Alumna of the Month March 2016
Dear Adela, thank you for this interview, we are very happy to see you again! You graduated from the master’s degree programme in Information Systems at the University of Liechtenstein a couple of months ago. How is your life going now? You found a nice job in Salzburg, right? Hi Anna, thank you for the opportunity to become an alumni of the month. Yes, I live in Salzburg but I work in another city, Fuschl am See, for Red Bull. Fuschl am See is such a nice place, it is a touristic area near the Fuschl lake surrounded by mountains. So I feel already like at home here – coming from Liechtenstein. You were an international student at our university, coming from Romania. Was it hard for you to find this job? How did you manage to succeed? Any tips or advices for current students? In my case it wasn’t too hard to find a job. Actually it was the first job I applied for (I did it one year before graduation) and I went easily through the application process. The whole process took 6 month. I confess I was worried at the beginning, but it ended up just perfect. I can recommend current students to start searching for jobs during their last semester at the latest. But surely, the earlier the better.
«I can recommend current students to start searching for jobs during their last semester at the latest. But surely, the earlier the better.» Could you tell us a bit more about your current job and its specifics? Are you able to apply some of the knowledge gained at the university? Currently within the Graduate Program of Red Bull I work in the IT Business Applications team that is in charge of the company’s business related applications. As our office is located in
the headquarter, I also have the opportunity to sometimes work with teams that are managing IT related decisions for the whole company. And that’s definitely a great experience. I work as a project manager on various topics, starting from the unification of the user experience along our IT applications to web analytics topics for the internal applications and the intranet. So, I apply knowledge gained during my studies at the University of Liechtenstein on everyday bases – without my master degree I would have never made it to here. And group projects we did at the uni where my team and I were developing applications are most valuable. I feel that the university is doing a great job in providing the environment for experimental innovation and bringing to the table really hot and innovative topics.
«I apply the knowledge gained during my studies at the University of Liechtenstein on everyday bases – without my master degree I would have never made it to here.» Now let’s go back to the beginning: how did you make the decision to come to study in Liechtenstein? What about the university or country did convince you? I wanted to go for study abroad to get emerged into a different culture. I wanted to see how people from other places think so I could learn and improve myself. The decision wasn’t hard. I was attracted by the name of the study programme (it was called IT and Business Process Management) and by the international campus. I love mountains, and I also wanted to avoid big cities. Liechtenstein just fitted. I don’t regret my decision, and I don’t think I will ever do. I also remember that I had a nice and professional welcome service. The employees were always answering my emails and I was getting comprehensive answers all the time.
Trust me, this is not the case of all universities I applied to in the past.
choose from: Business Process Management and Big Data.
We also know that actually you were one of the “faces” of the University of Liechtenstein. How did it happen that you were invited to take a leading part in the video about the university?
Now being a “fresh” alumna, we guess, your everyday routine has changed quite a bit. Was that change easy for you?
It just happened. I received an email from the communications department. I studied public relations before, so it wasn’t hard for me to get involved. It was a really nice project that I enjoyed a lot.
«Changes are inevitable… Then you get used and start enjoying every moment.» In addition, you were a very active person during your studies and were one of the advisors for future students. Which of the university’s features were you pointing out in order to convince them to come to Liechtenstein? Basically, I was pointing out that there are small classes, professors know their students by names, and the communication is very easy. Moreover, the information is always up to date. In our programme there were no lectures with the same information two semesters in a row. Professors were always updating the information according to their research and to the latest research in the academia. To be up to date is normality (which is not the case in every business setting). What is also nice for our study programme is that classes are during the end of the week, meaning you can also work from Monday to Wednesday, and be at school from Thursday to Saturday. Could you tell us something about your Master’s degree programme in Information Systems? What is it focused on? The curricula was changed last year, and now it focuses on two major aspects students can
Hmm, changes are inevitable. Late mornings are only for weekends now, but I am a morning person so it is not a problem for me. The biggest changes happen during the first two months when you get used to your new personal and professional environment. Then you get used and you start enjoying every moment. What do you miss the most from your study time? Some bright memories? There are small things I miss, small impressions. I miss the impressive mountains the most. And the hot Ovomaltine you can get at the hallway in the university – it is the best! Early mornings in the library on Saturday, when I was working; the silence from the library and the impressive sunsets that I could see from uphill. Meeting new people when the semester starts. I miss 10 a.m. veranda coffee with random people from the dormitory; the late night learning and the group-work; parties at the dormitory and late evening talks with interesting people.
«I have too many dreams to let them not come true and every day I take small steps.»
What gives you energy for everyday achievements? Your personal “charging station”? This is simple: my dreams. I have too many dreams to let them not come true and every day I take small steps. What is your plan for the future? Where do you see yourself in let’s say 5 years? Eventually I want to become an entrepreneur. I am not sure if this will happen in the next 5 years, or the next 10. My plan for now is to continue working in IT as a project manager because I like it a lot.
Do you have any advices for our current students? Maybe something you would have to know or hear from someone couple of years ago? I think it is hard to just pick one. For me a good advice was to have patience with myself and most importantly, to start studying in advance (not just couple of days before the exam doom-day). Although I think this depends on the culture you are born in and on your personality. Another advice is to… sleep. I know, this is the hardest, with so many nice people around .
«I feel that the university is doing a great job in providing the environment for experimental innovation and bringing to the table really hot and innovative topics.»