Hochschule Pforzheim was happy to welcome back 7 Alumni to our campus for the “MBA Alumni meet current students” event. The Alumni meeting started off with introductions from the current first and third semester students. The current MBA students expressed their wide array of interests in fields such as Product Management, Consulting, Data Analytics and Digital Transformation. Next the 7 MBA Alumni shared their experiences at Hochschule Pforzheim, talked about their current work and finally provided tips for how to succeed in the German labor market.
The Alumni had diverse backgrounds ranging from Senior Consultants to Learning Architects to Global Category Manager. Their companies ranged from large international firms such as SAP & Bayer to SME’s and hidden champions such as Haefele. They also had various levels of German language skills and every single Alumni stressed the important soft skills that learning German brings when applying to various employers. Paritosh Sharma, Product Manager at 1&1, joked, “Nobody is going to reject you from a job because your German is too good!”
The Alumni each spoke and shared their great experiences here at Hochschule Pforzheim and really stressed how networking was vital to success. Bo Zhou, Global Category Manager at Bayer, advised to the current MBA students that they, “Really use the MBA network to connect with others globally.” Kwame Ahiabor, Learning Architect at SAP, said, “The bond within the MBA is strong,” and he talked about how the program helped him see things from different multicultural perspectives. Furthermore, Diksha Ahuja, Senior Consultant at Allianz, was able to leverage the Hochschule Pforzheim network and reached out to Kwame who was able to get her and fellow Alumni Mayak Shekhawat, Senior Consultant at Allianz, into SAP as working students during their MBA program! Diksha said, “Taking the MBA was the best decision I could have taken. Just have fun and take the most out of it!”
Other advice that was shared came from Dongxiao Yang, Senior Consultant at MHP, who shared the importance of Personal Branding: “Go into a company and find problems they may be having and make finding their solution your own thing.” Eduardo Rodriguez, Category & Price Management at Haefele, talked about the multiculturalism of the program and how globalization is a good thing. He also stressed how, “Everything adds up,” including every little step made in the MBA, in work, in learning German and in life.
Following the enlightening Alumni talks, everyone was invited for more questions and networking over pizza, soft drinks and beer. The networking event brought everyone close together and gave current MBA students further insight into the many opportunities and the many ways one can succeed after the MBA at Hochschule Pforzheim. Hochschule Pforzheim looks forward to welcoming even more Alumni back on campus for the next events!

Text: Rupert Rivera III, MBA class of 2019 / MBA Office
Photos: MBA