Marthe Wolter
Senior Communications Manager
What do you do today?
I work as a senior communications manager in corporate communications. I specialise in internal communications and change communications, i.e. communication within the company and supporting change. I also do a lot of copywriting, organise events and project management. What I like most about it is how varied the work is. No day is like the other. I also like that I can bring in and implement creative ideas, for example for internal campaigns.
How does studying help you for the job?
I work in a German company with various international locations. My team is based in Germany and Poland, I also often work with Italy or the UK. The intercultural understanding I have thanks to ICEUS helps me here. In my job, I also need important thinking patterns from my studies, such as approaching projects systematically or recognising connections quickly and questioning them critically. The compulsory internship also helped me start my career. It gave me more certainty about the direction I wanted to take.
How did you get here?
After my Master's degree, I got an entry-level job with an international company in Hamburg through a lateral entry programme. I had experience abroad from my studies and experience from internships, various part-time jobs and voluntary work. After a year in my first job, I applied for another one and moved to another city.
What advice can you give to ICEUS students?
First of all, I would strongly advise you to enjoy your studies :) ICEUS is a great combination of interesting content and intercultural (experience) life and was very enriching for me. I'm not only thinking of the courses and the internship abroad, but also of the friendships that still exist. Use your studies to understand what direction you want to go in and where your interests lie. After all, with a degree like ICEUS, a wide variety of career paths are open to you at the end.
Tavier Fairburn
Derby Ambassador
What is the position you work in today?
After graduating from my master's, I worked for a year as a City Ambassador in Osnabrück, for my home city of Derby, England, which is twinned with Osnabrück. My role was to strengthen the twinning partnership by reinforcing and establishing new cultural, educational and commercial connections. I really enjoyed working in an international team with four other ambassadors from Turkey, Russia, France and the Netherlands as well as my German colleagues from the city council.
What have you studied and how does that help in your job?
My master's degree in Intercultural Communication and European Studies (ICEUS) at the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda were bilingual, in English and German, which really helped me to improve my German language skills which I now use working in Germany. I studied and collaborated with fellow students from eleven countries and developed high social and communication skills, helping me to be able to better bring people, organisations and groups from the two cities Osnabrück and Derby together.
How did you get there ?
The position in Osnabrück as the city ambassador is a unique role - I had to come from Derby and know the area really well, have a good command of German and be interested in improving international relations. Such a combination is rather rare in my experience. After an online interview (due to the corona pandemic) I was able to convince my future bosses of my motivation to improve UK-German relations. And then I moved to Osnabrück!
What would you recommend our first-year students?
After studying ICEUS there are many different job opportunities. Use work experience and internships to try out different possibilities and roles you enjoy. Lots of jobs advertised could be short term contracts - don't be put off by these and view them as an opportunity to build your working network for the future. Contact ICEUS alumni e.g. via the alumni newsletter to talk to people about their roles and see if it is something you would be interested in.
Norina Fischer
PhD student
What do you work as today?
I started my doctorate at the FGCSS directly after completing my Master's degree. I am doing research on students' perceptions of the future at the German Jordan University. I would divide my main tasks into three main areas: Literature research and literature review, empirical research and data analysis, and writing up the findings in the form of my dissertation. In addition, I give presentations at conferences or write articles for journals in between. So far, I have enjoyed the research with students and the research stay in Jordan the most.
How does studying help you for your job?
I studied "Intercultural Communication and European Studies". On the one hand, theoretical foundations, especially on the topic of empirical social research, help me for my doctorate. On the other hand, the practical experience I gained from my studies in the areas of literature research, data analysis and writing term papers and theses form a basis for my doctoral project. Although this is not the case with me, theoretically the Master's thesis topic can also be used as a basis for a doctoral thesis.
How did you get here?
In the course of my Master's thesis, I started to look at my future, believing in a God who guides me and opens doors for me. In a conversation, Prof. Dr. Eva Gerharz, head of the PhD Centre(FGCSS), drew my attention to a PhD scholarship at Fulda University of Applied Sciences, which I applied for without further ado. For this, I had to write an exposé about my doctoral project and submit it for the doctoral scholarship and for acceptance at the FGCSS. I received the acceptances and thus walked through the open door.
What can you recommend to ICEUS students?
With a degree in SK, there are multiple career opportunities, which can be a curse and a blessing at the same time. I recommend that during your studies you always check where your talents and interests lie-through your own reflection or conversations with friends and family. At the same time, it can be helpful to get inspired for possible career ideas at job fairs. Finally, I encourage everyone to courageously write applications (in good time) and not to be discouraged by rejections.
Ryan Grabijas
Global Mobility Coordinator & Immigration Specialist with Lufthansa
What is the position you work in today?
My title is Global Mobility Coordinator & Immigration Specialist with Lufthansa. In my position I act as the go-to contact for all expatriates on assignment in North America in the Lufthansa Group. My daily tasks include visa processing, ensuring taxation & work compliance, and responding to general inquiries on visa/expat topics. What I most enjoy about my job is being able to provide guidance to our international hires relocating to the United States & Canada.
What have you studied and how does that help in your job?
ICEUS is a very broad program. Its contents range from EU policy, to qualitative social research, to intercultural negotiations. It helped prepare me for my job because much of working in Global Mobility involves becoming an expert in a wide variety of topics. In the same day I may have to help prepare a visa petition, understand & communicate the tax liability of a business trip to the United States, and then research school & housing costs - all before lunch!
How did you get there ?
I had actually planned on going into the field of international education. However, due to the Covid pandemic my planned internship fell through and I had to choose a different one in Global Mobility at a large company in Regensburg. It was through this experience that I gained my first "points of contact" in this field. I then found out about my current position through a former ICEUS alum and applied while cycling from Germany to Portugal!
What would you recommend our first-year students?
The biggest thing I would recommend is to remain open to whatever opportunities come your way. I had always planned on working in international education until the pandemic obliged me to consider other options. I quite enjoy my current field and probably never would have come across it if I remained solely focused on the educational non-profit sector. As a good friend of mine once told me, don't make plans; create options!
Linda Uhlig
Project assistant at Fulda University of Applied Sciences in the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences
What do you work as today?
I have been working as a project assistant at Fulda University of Applied Sciences in the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences for the university-wide MoBeS project since 2022. The aim of the project is to improve student success. In the team, I develop measures to improve the counselling and support services for students. In doing so, I'm involved in a lot of exchange and always represent the interests of the department. It's great that I can contribute in this way so that students in the most diverse situations can successfully manage their studies.
How does studying help you for your job?
I studied ICEUS in Fulda and now I work in the same environment where I studied before. In my ICEUS studies I learned how to bring people with different interests together and how to communicate profitably. This benefits me in my work in many ways. I also work part-time as an experiential education trainer and run day programmes with school classes. There I can apply a lot of knowledge from my Bachelor's degree in "Theology/Social Work in an Intercultural Context" and also benefit from many ICEUS seminars on the topic of intercultural training.
How did you get here?
I have a wide range of interests and have always chosen "combined degree programmes" that combine different things. Professionally, I could also imagine many things, but I didn't know exactly where it would lead me.
When I handed in my Master's thesis, I was informed about the job advertisement for the MoBeS project. I applied, got the job and now look back on a successful start to my professional life.
What can you recommend to ICEUS students?
Let yourself be inspired by the abundance of career opportunities, don't be overwhelmed. If you don't know exactly what you want, it also helps to be clear about what you don't want. Be open to what others suggest or where they see you. This will lead you to paths you wouldn't have found yourself. Of course, your first job is not always your dream job. But professional life is a journey where one step prepares you for the next.
Soudi Muneer
WIR coordinator, employee of the Diversity and Participation Office of the City of Fulda
What is the position you work in today?
WIR coordinator, employee of the Diversity and Participation Office of the City of Fulda.
My main activities are, for example, to set up a regional integration management, to promote intercultural opening and to develop concepts for a culture of welcome and recognition. Networking with all municipal actors in the field of integration, such as integration officers or migrant organisations, is particularly important here.
What have you studied and how does that help in your job?
ICEUS. My focus during my Master's degree was on integration theories and the active participation of people with a migration background in society, which enabled me to acquire excellent knowledge in this field in addition to a lot of theoretical communication content and prepared me excellently for my practical professional life.
How did you get there ?
During my studies I worked as a coordinator for the MenUnited project, which helps people with integration problems and to achieve their goals. After graduation, I started working as a coordinator for the Pre-Study Fulda programme at HS Fulda, where the aim was to support international students and prepare them for the start of their studies. All this, together with my academic qualifications, has enabled me to establish myself as an active person in the field of integration in Fulda and helped me on my way to the Fachstelle Vielfalt und Teilhabe.
What would you recommend to our first-year students?
I advise students to use the time during their studies to learn as many skills as possible. Try to discover and focus on their passion and the field they want to work in by taking the appropriate modules that will help them on their way. All "opportunities" are very important, no matter how small.
Jochen Kohlert
Coordinator of the Welcome In Living Room
What do you do today?
I work as the coordinator of the Welcome In Living Room, a cultural and meeting centre in the city centre of Fulda, which is run jointly by people with and without refugee experience. I particularly enjoy changing the city of Fulda in a positive sense by working together and thus making a cosmopolitan vision a reality. At the same time, I enjoy working with people from all over the world in a friendly context.
How does studying help you for the job?
My ICEUS studies prepared me very well for this job, intercultural communication is part of my daily work. It is not so much individual, learned information that helps me in my job, but rather experience, a general sensitisation for intercultural relations and a certain tact in dealing with people from different cultural contexts.
How did you get here?
The road to this job was long and rocky. We founded the organisation Welcome In! Fulda ourselves, we applied for the funding that pays me today ourselves, we developed the idea for the project ourselves. In this process I have learned a lot, which can open many doors for me in the future.
What can you recommend to ICEUS students?
Money alone does not make you happy, it is more important to feel that you are using your time for something meaningful that you enjoy doing. So: Follow your dreams!