Alumni in Focus
Welcome to our series of articles about the careers as young professionals of former Digital Management students!
Alumnus Bharanidharan Gnanavel successfully completed his master’s degree in Digital Management at Fresenius Hochschule in Cologne last year. What motivated him to study digital management back then? And where does he stand on his path today? In the following, he provides a few insights.
”You get to discover the world and broaden your horizons, it’s a totally rewarding experience”
Dreams Do Come True
A single decision sometimes has the ultimate impact on Life. Yes, that is called the butterfly effect. By moving on to my story, I am the first graduate in my family. I had a childhood dream of doing my education abroad and exploring global knowledge. Due to my financial circumstance, I should withdraw from my dream and start continuing with the river’s flow in my Life. I was employed in one of the best pharmaceutical international companies and worked for several years in India.
How it all started?
One of my transforming things started a couple of years ago. I got an opportunity to study digital management in Germany. Another option is choosing another company with good pay again; I struggle to choose my dream or go ahead with the flow as I did before. Being born and raised in India, leaving a job, and following our dreams is like a nightmare. I have traveled through those sleepless nights.
Motivation is Necessity for Success
Well, the only soul my wife, who keeps supporting and motivating me to follow my dream. She is the only person who believed in me that I can do it and kept pushing me forward to accept my study offer at Hochschule Fresenius university. Finally, I was convinced to travel to Germany by leaving my family with a heavy heart.
Why did I decide to study at Hochschule Fresenius university?
One of the reasons to decide on Hochschule Fresenius university had a well-reputed International business school in Cologne, Germany. Earlier, my master’s is related to marketing, so I want to upgrade myself and now globally all the industries innovating into digitally, so I preferred to Study Digital Management. Fresenius university which accomplishes further progress in my future career.
What were the best parts of being an international student in Cologne?
The biggest pro of being a student in a new city is that you have time to explore it! I only had classes four hours a day, which allowed me to do much other fun stuff. Another cool part was that nobody knew me from Adam, which allowed me to be somewhat different from the person I might usually be. All of this allowed me to meet some truly amazing people.
The Amazing Journey
My course M.A Digital management module perfectly matches my need. During my study period, most of my learnings are practical-oriented, such as team-building activity, brainstorming, participating in various international conferences, and solving real-world management cases guided by skilled lectures and professors. One of the boons to the international students is that they offer to learn the German language and international buddy program assisted by mentors who answer all the questions raised by international students. Meanwhile, I had an opportunity to work at Factor A as an Amazon consultant and internship at a Blockchain-based fintech company. It gave credit to my learnings and international work experience.
My Thesis
My master thesis is one of the key highlights in my study, our lectures were taught by industry experts, which really helped me to understand communication and probing skills during stakeholder interviews and finding results with real-world scenarios related to “digital therapeutics chance and challenges,” where I had the chance to interacted with global experts in the healthcare industry and thanks to my all lectures these phenomenal experience learned from our various international case study projects and leadership activities during my semester.
Dream job
Finally, my Germany journey is entitled to digital management to work present-day trending Gig economy. Currently, I am working as a Global sales manager at German Medical Exports Gmbh for a career, a freelancer in IT for skill development, and knowledge gaining experience at Amazon in consultant and associate roles for the future.
Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about studying abroad?
My advice is, if you want the experience, go for it! I think it teaches you to become an independent adult and more responsible. It will open you to opportunities you never knew you had before and introduce you to people from different cultures. You also learn to work hard and make yourself proud by rewarding yourself when you feel like you have earned it! Homesickness is something you will experience, but you will eventually get through it because everyone can manage it. I also suggest making a monthly budget, creating a study schedule, and using a planner. It helps. My last piece of advice is to enjoy your experience while you can!