Alina Pylypenko is a master’s student majoring in International Economics, the Department of Management and International Business, the Institute of Economics and Management, Lviv Polytechnic, shared her thoughts about the study process at the Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences, which took place under the academic mobility program.
– Good day, Alina! The autumn academic semester, during which you studied at the Faculty of Business Administration and Law under the academic mobility program in accordance with the cooperation agreement between Lviv Polytechnic National University and Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences, Germany, has ended. How did you find out about this opportunity and why did you decide to study there?
– As a fourth-year student majoring in Management, I wanted to study abroad. I was particularly interested in Germany, because it is a progressive country with a leading economy. I contacted the faculty of my Department and found out that there is an opportunity to study in Germany under the academic mobility program. However, there was one condition: I had to enroll in a master’s degree in a different specialty – International Economic Relations. I did it and have never regretted it!
– While studying at the Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany for the whole semester, what difference did you notice between the German and Ukrainian education systems?
– For me, the main difference was that we had quite a lot of activities during the semester. Every week we visited different events or companies, where we learned about the intricacies of business, production processes and management of these companies, and also had the opportunity to become part of a team. There are many internship opportunities for local students in various companies. The management of enterprises is interested in the young generation, their involvement in their companies and the training of future specialists.
– What skills and opportunities did you gain for yourself after completing your academic mobility at the Aschaffenburg University of Applied Sciences in Germany?
– Of course, I gained new knowledge in the fields of intercultural communications, learned about subtleties of doing business in the European Union, increased my knowledge of the German language, as well as made new friends. A lot of young, ambitious and promising people gathered in one place, who I still keep in touch with. Perhaps in the future this will lead to new integrations of Ukrainian and foreign businesses.
