Syed Anas Hasan is from Pakistan. He started the Master in Management Program at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management in 2014.

With the passage of six months, we geared up for the next leg of our Masters - Second semester!

Second Semester at WHU: Master in Management

Being a student at one of the top schools of Europe is not easy, and there’s almost always too much to do and too little time. Such was our second semester; we had to choose our partner schools and start our search for an internship as well, leaving us really scrunched on time. One of the most interesting courses that I took during this time was a work project with Henkel in which I had to present my research findings to the team at Henkel. In addition, we had to continue our research about the best partner university for our exchange semester. Since I wanted to go to the United States and revise my Finance concepts, I chose the famous Simon Business School at University of Rochester known for its amazing Finance and Pricing faculty; more on that later.

The exam weeks at WHU are one of the toughest weeks here and one really has to burn the midnight oil to get a good grade. But the good thing about the program is the quarter system - so courses span only two or two and a half months. These courses are planned in such a way that students thoroughly get to work on individual reports and team assignments so that they are fully prepared by the time of exams.

Internship at Building Radar GmbH

After my two semesters at WHU in Vallendar, I moved to Munich for my internship. I was lucky enough to intern at one of the fastest growing startups in Germany, namely Building Radar. This award winning startup had a very diverse yet very cooperative team. I was working as a Business Development Intern and it was a great experience working with them. Building Radar had offices in both Berlin and Munich so I was lucky enough to work in the Startup Hub of Europe. Working at a startup especially like Building Radar has its perks because one gets to learn a lot while juggling with responsibilities. Building Radar is a ground breaking product in the construction industry as it overcomes the obstacles that different customers face. It is basically Satellite support search algorithm to detect early stage construction projects. Building Radar opens up new doors for sales forces because of automated and authentic lead generation. It was a great learning experience working at a startup like Building Radar which not only had an innovative product in the market but also had a great team to deliver the product to the market.

Exchange Semester at Simon Business School, University of Rochester

While I was a bit sad that my internship had ended, I was super excited because I was going to the Big Apple! I planned my trip in such a way that I spent a week in New York City before moving to Rochester. After enjoying all the touristy stuff in NYC I finally moved to Rochester. Now the thing about Rochester is that it’s a very small city so after experiencing the thrilling lives of Munich and NYC, Rochester was bit of a disappointment. But having said that, it is the kind of city that really grows on you slowly and gradually. It’s a small city which has everything and for someone like me who likes sightseeing, Upstate New York is the place to be. There’s so much to do there like visiting the Niagra Falls, enjoying the amazing vineyards, touring some great cities like Buffalo and Syracuse or relaxing in great parks like the Letchworth State Park. In short, Upstate New York has a lot to offer.

As I mentioned before, Simon Business School is a very reputable school with great faculty for Finance and Pricing. I was interested in Pricing and wanted to revise some of the core finance courses. Simon also follows the quarter system so it was very easy for me to settle in. Additionally, the University of Rochester also houses one of the best squash teams in the U.S so if you’re a Squash fan (like me), then you can really enjoy the free hours there. The campus is also really beautiful especially the Rush Rhees Library, and the courses are really fun and applicative. But the best part about Simon Business School is the people over there. You really feel connected to the Simon Community and you get to take part in all the student activities, student clubs and company presentations.

My experience at WHU has been no less thrilling than a roller coaster ride with countless ups and downs, but I am very thankful to the program office to have developed the structure of the Masters Program in such a way that it tests students on one hand, while on the other it provides them with ample opportunities to have fun. I am almost done with my Masters with just 5 more months left as I fly back to Munich from where I will be writing my Thesis.