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Who are you and what have you studied at the School of Business? When did you graduate?

I’m Maria, an alum from the Aalto IDBM master's program, graduated in 2020. I work in management consulting at Capgemini Invent. I live with my spouse and our Golden Retriever Charlie in Helsinki.

Why did you want to study at Aalto University School of Business and in IDBM program?

I knew already in high school that I wanted to study in business school, for I was widely interested in people and societal matters, and I knew a master’s degree in business would prepare me towards a variety of career opportunities in the future. I grew up in Munich and went to international schools during my entire childhood, so applying to a foreign university would have seemed like a natural choice. However, I decided to make use of Finland's quality higher education and ended up applying for the International Business program at Turku School of Economics.

After my bachelor studies, I went for an exchange in Milan and for an internship at Nike headquarters in the Netherlands. During this time, I explored different master’s degree options and came across with Aalto University’s International Design Business Management (IDBM) program. I got excited by the IDBM program's multidisciplinary and forward-looking approach. At the same time, I liked the idea of completing courses in multidisciplinary teams, solving real-life cases for distinguished company partners of Aalto University. This is why I ended up applying for the IDBM program, and luckily, got in!

What advice would you give to yourself, if you were to study now?

Even though I’m happy to have gathered work experience already during my studies, I wish I would have let myself concentrate on my studies and the student life more – it is, after all, a very short but unique period in one’s life. In addition, I wish I would have taken more advantage of the study opportunities both the University of Turku and Aalto University had to offer besides business studies, just for the sake of learning. This is one thing I would encourage current students to consider.

Furthermore, I would like to remind that the most important part in one’s studies is not completing them as fast as possible with great grades, but more to realize what interests you, and where and with whom you see yourself working in the future.

How did the studies prepare you towards working life? What are the skills needed in your field now?

My studies at Aalto University School of Business gave me a basic understanding of economics, business administration and management. Mostly I learned self-discipline, scheduling, and the ability to understand bigger entities and to apply those in an efficient way – these are the skills needed in any job. The IDBM program taught me to understand design, technology, and the benefits of multidisciplinary cooperation.

Especially in strategy and transformation management consulting, it is crucial to follow what’s happening in the world and across different fields, as changes can happen fast and their synergies can spread out widely. Thus, continuous learning is a journey throughout one’s career, which demands true curiosity and an open mind, especially as it might require getting acquainted with completely new topics as well.

It is also very important to know how to lead oneself. If you want to demand a lot from yourself, you also need to know how to set boundaries and push the break when your mind or body needs it. At the end of the day, we are only humans, not machines. Thus, it is extremely important to learn to define and to tell other people what kind of way of working suits you the best – no one can do it for you.

During my internship at Nike, I got interested in consumer products and the retail industry, due to their fast pace and complex value chain. Inspired by this, I applied for Unilever’s Graduate program at the end of my master’s studies, for I knew it would enable fast learning among different functions (e.g. sales, marketing and analytics). I enjoyed the fast pace of working and new challenges, which made me understand that maybe management consulting could be a great next step for my career. Because of this, I ended up working at Capgemini Invent, and I have been very happy so far.

What is meaningful work to you? What do you expect from the future?

Meaningful work means that I can develop and challenge myself every day. The best part of my current work is when I can share my knowledge and learn from skilled clients and colleagues. At the moment, I’m intrigued by all kinds of projects dealing with value and supply chain optimization, especially when technology and analytics act as the enablers of great products and services.

I strongly believe in the power of the multidisciplinary approach: combining design thinking, technology and strategic analysis is key to turning future challenges into scalable opportunities. This way, we can create value where it truly matters. I’m lucky to be able to work daily among these themes with my clients.

I hope that in the future I’m involved in crucial development project on a societal level. I believe that with the benefits of new technologies, we could do so many things in a much wiser and just way. I also hope that I could help wtih the internationalization of Finnish competence and firms – we have so many great experts and companies that would deserve to be seen outside our borders as well.