I joined the Esslingen MBA in September 2019. It was my first time moving to another country, and my first time in Europe. My biggest worry before I came to Esslingen was that I would be a burden for my family at home and that I would not being able to help them when I was away. In part, this did come true, as I have not been able to help during the COVID pandemic. Gladly, though, I did not become a burden for my family.

In Esslingen, I was able to meet many different people from different cultures, and I really enjoyed that interaction greatly. However, COVID made it difficult to spend time with them and get to know them better. I also wanted to find out about the work culture in Germany, and was able to find an internship here and experience a little bit of the working place culture, but I don’t think it is possible to fully experience it from my desk at home.

I think what I enjoyed the most about Esslingen was its landscape. It is very green, and I loved going there early in the morning for class. I must add the Christmas market. Although we did not get to enjoy it this year, we really loved going there after class last December.

STUDYING AND INTERNSHIP DURING THE PANDEMIC

Finding a thesis position during COVID was very difficult. I did not want to give up easily on doing my thesis at a company, as I really wanted to experience the work culture here. I kept trying to find a place until mid-August, when some other students were already starting to write their thesis. The number of rejections kept growing each day and I was running out of time, so I took an internship that could help me finance my time left here and that was in an area I had not worked in before. After accepting it, I got an offer for a thesis position, but it was already too late.

I do feel Corona played a role; some friends had problems with their thesis specifically because of COVID-19, and the panorama looked different from the way our Seniors had described it as being for them. The extent to which it affected the situation would be hard to tell, though.

THE DEUTSCHLANDSTIPENDIUM

I applied for the Deutschlandstipendium because at the time of applying, there was a lack of master’s thesis or internship positions, and I needed to finance my stay longer. I also had a strong desire to find a position that would align with my future goals. Another reason for applying was the encouragement from one of my classmates :)

Before coming to Esslingen, I worked in a Freedom Business, which is a company that employs and supports victims of human trafficking. It was a life changing experience and it is what gave me the push I needed to come.

When I found out that I had won the Deutschlandstipendium, I was very surprised and humbled. To be honest, after applying I thought it was a very long shot. I feel very honoured that TeamViewer selected me. It is encouraging to see companies that are willing to support students, even foreign students, in these challenging times.

Also, meeting the other students who won the scholarship at the event organized by HE was a great experience!

After graduation, I would like to gain more experience and continue collaborating with the company where I used to work and other freedom businesses.

The Deutschlandstipendium is modelled on the principle of public-private partnership, where businesses, foundations or private individuals sponsor young talent, and the German Federal Government matches their sponsorship amount. Esslingen University has been a part of the Deutschlandstipendium programme since 2011. Currently, 20 organisations give their support to this programme, for example, Gips-Schüle-Stiftung, der Verein Bücher tun Gutes, Vector Informatik, Bosch, Pilz and TeamViewer AG.